Lettice Mary Tredway facts for kids

Mother Lettice Mary Tredway (born 1595, died October 1677) was an important English nun. She was known as Lady Tredway. She founded a special monastery in Europe during the 1600s. This monastery was for English women who wanted to join her religious order.

Mother Lettice's Early Life

In July 1616, Lettice Tredway joined a group of nuns called the Canonesses Regular of the Lateran. She went to their priory (a type of monastery) in Sin-le-Noble, near Douai. This place was in a region called Flanders, which is now part of Belgium. The priory had been around since the 1200s, helping travelers and sick people. She likely studied there. In October 1617, she officially became a nun by taking her vows.

Founding a New Monastery

In 1631, Mother Tredway had a big idea with Father Miles Pinkney. He was a priest from the English College at Douai. They wanted to open a new monastery just for English nuns in Douai. Important Catholic leaders in England and other countries liked this idea. So, in 1634, they decided to open this English priory in Paris, France.

Bishop Richard Smith helped them a lot. He was in charge of the spiritual care for English Catholics living in Paris at the time. He can be seen as a co-founder of the new monastery. Bishop Smith blessed Lady Tredway as the abbess (the head nun). The Priory of Notre-Dame-de-Sion was officially opened in Paris in 1639.

Father Carre and Mother Tredway also helped start the Seminary of St. Gregory. This school trained priests for the English mission. The new monastery also had a place for English ladies to stay and a school. Mother Tredway was the abbess of this monastery until 1675. She had to stop because she became ill.

After Mother Tredway passed away, the leaders of the priory were called "prioress." This is a common title for Augustinian canonesses.

The Priory's Journey

The priory that Mother Tredway started kept going for many years. The school attached to it also stayed open. However, during the French Revolution, the English nuns were forced to leave. They went back to England. There, they were able to continue living as a religious community. Eventually, this community became St Augustine's Priory, Ealing.

Family Background

Mother Mary's father was Sir Walter Tredway. He was from Buckley Park in Northamptonshire, England. Her mother's name was Elizabeth Weyman.