The Crown of Excellence : Chapter 12 : § 7.26-28

Chapter 12 : The Eleventh Star or Splendour of the Crown of Excellence of the Mother of God

Continuing our translation of the 1845 reprint of Fr François Poiré's Triple Crown of the Mother of God (1643 French edition).

Notre Dame des Grâces, Cotignac.(Poggi, 2020)

She has been and is still recognized and called blessed by all generations in the world

§ 7. How she was recognised and honoured in the Regular Orders

The Order of Our Lady of the Tower of Mirrors

 26   This Order was founded by the Blessed Saint Frances of Rome[1] in the year 1425 and was approved by Pope Martin V.

For some time the blessed Saint Frances had, with the agreement of her husband, been living in the company of several Roman ladies, dedicating their lives to pious exercises and works. They all regarded Frances as their mother. For many years this group of women, especially blessed Saint Francis, longed to lead the Religious life, but the bond of matrimony held them back, even though leading a completely chaste life within marriage. Frances was firmly of the belief, however, that although she was for the time being unable to be part of a Religious community, that did not mean she should abandon the path of doing the will of God, who was calling these beautiful souls to something greater. Our Lord was to bring this about after a certain fashion as I shall now relate.

Saint Frances had converted her bedchamber into a little hermitage using branches and plants. On the eve of the Nativity, having retired there to spend part of the night in contemplation of this mystery commemorated by the Church, she found herself transported in ecstasy. In the course of this altogether divine rapture, for a long while she was allowed to cradle little Jesus on her lap, as if He had been newly born. Her heart was bursting with a sweet joy and her eyes were filled with tears of devotion. Saint Peter appeared to her accompanied by Saint Paul, Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Benedict, to whom she had a particular devotion. Saint Peter started to say Mass in front of her, but before she was able to receive Communion, he plunged her into the waters of a mysterious fountain that washed away everything that could prevent her from receiving in her Communion the fruits offered by the divine Majesty.

When the Mass had ended, the holy Apostle took Saint Francis and presented her to the most glorious Virgin, to whom she was to be dedicated forever along with the Order that she was founding. He handed her the Rule which contained ten requirements (listed in her life story), the remainder being taken from the Rule of Saint Benedict. The Holy Virgin wanted to show Frances the benefits that would flow from having been received under her special protection. She therefore sent her firstly the glorious Patriarch Saint Benedict who reprimanded her in no uncertain terms for having wanted to take into their Congregation a girl who was too young and did not have enough maturity to understand what she was undertaking. He gave her an explicit warning that she should never be persuaded by favours, gifts nor by any similar considerations to confer the habit on someone who was not suited for the Religious life. The Holy Virgin herself cradled the head of this holy widow on her lap, caressing Frances tenderly. She placed on the head of Frances her own veil, which was of cloth of gold; and she gave her another veil which was whiter than snow and was to be worn by the other Oblates. These gifts were a sign of the protection that she was being given as well as of the special progress that she and the Order as a whole would make.

Once they had been formed into a Religious Community, the example of the lives they led and the words they spoke spread like a beautiful fragrance. Pope Eugene IV, who had succeeded Martin V on the Papal throne, approved their life and granted them several graces and privileges. Finally, in the year 1436, the husband of the blessed Saint Francis who was called Lorenzo de Ponziani, passed on. Finding herself now entirely free of those bonds which had been constraining her, she went to join her sisters where she had so longed to be. They purchased a house which had a tower with six sides and because of mirrors attached to the walls it was known as the Tower of Mirrors[2]. For this reason the Congregation was called Our Lady of the Tower of Mirrors.

The Saint was received with open arms and welcoming hearts as mother of all the daughters that God had called to the order. Soon afterwards, despite her own resistance. She was elected in a unanimous vote to be mother superior of this congregation. She governed it with such wisdom and holiness, that is impossible to describe the good. that she did during her life and how much she was missed after her death.

Footnotes

[1] Francesca Bussa de' Leoni (1384 – March 9, 1440)

[2] The Torre degli Specchi or Tor de' Specchi.

The Order of the Immaculate Conception

 27   When Queen Isabella made her way to marry King John II, King of Castile, she took with her several Ladies and Maids of Honour, including Beatrix da Silva, sister of Blessed Amadeus and of James da Silva, first Count of Portalegre. 

Beatrix was a young woman who, apart from her noble birth, was outstanding for her beauty, grace and intelligence which were such that no-one could meet her without being captivated. After a short while, she broke so many hearts amongst the Courtiers that the whole Court was in turmoil. Queen Isabella was so troubled by this that she had Beatrix shut up in a space so tiny that it was not much bigger than a chest. She kept her there under lock and key, determined to make her think more about satisfying her hunger than on what Isabella considered to be her foolish behaviour. Beatrix felt keenly afflicted not only by the suffering that she was having to endure but also by the unfair suspicions that people had about her. She decided to seek the help of the Mother of Mercy, promising that if she was kind enough to safeguard and protect her innocence and help her escape from these trials and tribulations, she would never have thereafter any spouse except her beloved Son, whom she would serve as a Virgin in perpetuity.

The Holy Virgin appeared to her the following night, wearing a beautiful white dress under her great blue mantle. She promised that she would help her and after three days had gone by, Queen Isabella gave orders for her to be released. When she reminded Beatrix where her duty lay, Beatrix told her that she had other plans in mind, and that no human spouse could mean anything to her. For this reason, she begged in all human that Her Majesty would give her permission to take leave of the Court. The Queen knew that this beautiful woman would face great risks and trials in the world and was pleased about her plan to withdraw from the world. Accordingly, she made no difficulty in allowing Beatrix to fulfil her virtuous desire. The young woman responded so graciously and with such courage that after three days she entered a Dominican monastery in the city of Toledo, where she spent forty whole years without being seen by any secular person, with the exception of the Queen and the Infanta, her daughter.

 28   I almost forgot to mention the following incident. Whilst she was making her way to Toledo, she met two Religious wearing the Franciscan habit. She always said later that these must have been none other than Saint Francis himself and Saint Anthony of Padua, for whom she had a special devotion. She invited them to take food with her when they arrived at a certain place and afterwards they disappeared. They told her amongst other things that she should take heart for God wanted to make use of her and that she would one day be the mother of daughters and that is what I now need to explain.

Beatrix had a great devotion to the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin. She had been turning over certain lofty thoughts in her mind and er intention was no less than one day to found an Order which would make a particular profession of honouring this most excellent mystery. She communicated her idea to Queen Isabella who was so taken by it that she promised to do everything she could to help bring it about. The only request the Queen had was that Beatrix should recommend her and the Order to God and to his most Holy Mother. As events turned out, both of them acquitted themselves so worthily in this matter that Beatrix for her part won over the support of Heaven whilst the Queen for her part won everything that she had asked for from the Holy Father. This was Innocent VIII and he prescribed a rule of life following the constitutions of the Cistercian Order, but under obedience to the local Bishop. He approved the new religious Order under the title of the Immaculate Conception. 

It would be wrong with me to pass over in silence something which happened around the same time and which deserves to be remembered forever.

Queen Isabella had undertaken to have sent from Rome the Bulls concerning the foundation of this new Order and, in particular, the first monastery. As ill luck would have it, however, the messenger carrying the Bulls to lost them on the voyage. This was, however, a misfortune that Heaven had permitted in order to make the foundation more worthy of acceptance and belief. While Beatrix happended to be going through certain papers in her chamber, she came across the Papal Bull that had been lost at sea. This event filled not only the house and the Court but also the whole City with astonishment.  Accordingly, the Bishop of Guadix, in compliance with an order given by the Archbishop of Toledo, carried the Bull in solemn procession into the new house or Palace that Queen Isabella had prepared for them. In the year 1484, Beatrix finally entered the convent with a dozen women and so began the Order of the Immaculate Conception.

The Holy Virgin had shown Beatrix the habit they were to wear and in fact is what she herself had been wearing when she first appeared to her. It was white tunic, a white scapular and a blue mantle on which would be displayed an image of the Holy Virgin clothed with the Sun and her head a crown of stars, holding her Son in her arms. They were also given their own Breviary which, except for Sundays and solemn feasts, contained only the Office of the Immaculate Conception.

Ten days after receiving the habit, Beatrix passed on to a better life. It had been revealed to her that she had been kept alive so as to complete this praiseworthy plan of establishing the Order. Immediately after her decease, she appeared more beautiful even than she had been in life. What added wondrously to the beauty of her angelic countenance was the presence of a golden star, giving off bright rays all around her. It helped people to appreciate the splendour of the soul that had animated this beautiful body. The Dominican Fathers made great efforts to be given the remains of Beatrix but the Archbishop of Toledo would never consider allowing her to be taken away from the place where she had been led by the extraordinary providence of God.

A short time after, the twelve Sisters adopted the Rule of Saint Clare  following the direction of Cardinal Don Francisco Ximenez, a Rule they have followed ever since.

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The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.

 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam. 

© Peter Bloor 2025