M.T.A.R. Sponselee-de Meester.
Margarita Carolien Alexandrina de Licques. A recalcitrant noblewoman.
Noordbrabants Historisch Jaarboek 19 (2002) 90 - 116.
In 1636 the Norbertine sisters of the Saint Catharinadal convent were confronted with a religious noblewoman who would thoroughly disrupt their pious lives. The lady in question was called Margarita Carolien Alexandrina de Licques and came from the Saint Margarite Augustine convent in Deinze, Belgium. Problems with her superiors and with the bishop caused her to leave Deinze for Breda, where she took a job as a teacher of French at the convent school of Saint Catharinadal. In every way imaginable she tried to get accommodation in the deanery, the home of the provost of Saint Catharinadal. Furthermore, she wanted to enter the convent, on the condition that her extensive list of demands would be granted. In the meanwhile, she lived the life of a noblewoman, complete with servants and a horse and carriage. Her conduct stirred up bad feelings in the other nuns and the people of Breda cried shame over it. Where provost Balthasar Cruyt did not succeed, his successor provost Henricus Assels did: he made sure Margaretha left the convent in 1656. From her Brussels residence she instituted legal proceedings against Saint Catharinadal concerning the financial settlement of her departure from the convent. For over twenty years Margaretha has disrupted the religious life of the Norbertine sisters with her fads and fancies. What caused her to act in such a recalcitrant way cannot be answered unequivocally. This is partly due to the lack of data on her childhood and family life.
Translation: Auke van den Berg, Rosmalen.