Bridgettine convent in Pirita

The idea to restore the Pirita Convent came about soon after the restoration of Estonia’s independence, following half a century of occupation. The Bridgettines visited Estonia prior to the restoration of independence. Mother Teresa Perciaccante – head of the Bridgettine Convent in Turu, Finland – had already visited Estonia in 1990, participating in the memorial mass in Tallinn for Bishop Eduard. In the pivotal year of 1991 for Estonia, Mother Teresa – along with six Bridgettines – was once again in Tallinn, participating in the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the Pirita Convent on 30 June. Even so, it took some more time before the idea to restore the Bridgettine Convent in Tallinn began to take shape.

Immediately following the restoration of Estonian independence, Mother Tekla Famiglietti, Abbess General of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of Saint Bridget, wrote a letter to the Government of the Republic of Estonia inquiring about the ruins of the Pirita Convent – to determine the condition and ownership of the ruins. This step signalled that the Bridgettine’s political alertness and interest in events taking place in the world had not diminished over the years.

In the fall of 1993, Mother Tekla arrived in Estonia for her first visit. A deep impression was left upon her by Estonia and the ruins of the historical convent at Pirita, and it was during this visit that the decision was made to return and restore the continuity of the Bridgettines on Estonian soil. It was left to friends in Estonia to search for a suitable new plot on which to build the new convent.

On 16 April 1994, four sisters of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of Saint Bridget – Mother Teresa along with sisters Riccarda, Patrizia and Hedvigiga – once again arrived in Tallinn. The first four sisters had arrived at Pirita Convent nearly 600 years earlier, in 1412.

When Mother Teresa and the sisters arrived in Tallinn in the spring of 1994, the Bridgettines had to stay in temporary locations. They lived in a nunnery, as well as on Munga Street in Old Town.

It took several years to finally find and formalise the purchase of a plot. At the end of 1995, the Order became the owner of a 0.9 hectare plot located on the land of the former Mihkli Farm, located directly adjacent to the north side of the old convent.

In order to obtain a conceptual design for the new convent, a closed architectural competition was held with four participants. The winner of the competition was Arhitektuuribüroo Luhse & Tuhal, from Pärnu

The new convent building, intended to continue the historical seclusion of the nuns, is lined with limestone. Cut limestone alternates with broken limestone, which together with the large glass surfaces creates an interesting rhythm and leaves an entirely modern impression.

The cornerstone for the new convent building was laid in the fall of 2000, and on 15 September 2001 the beautiful new sanctuary was consecrated. The work of the convent was led by Mother Patrizia from 2001-2004, and has been led by Mother Riccarda since 2004. Originally from Mexico, Mother Riccarda first visited Estonia with the other sisters in 1990. Before moving to Estonia, she lived for 14 years in Finland – spending six years in Helsinki and eight years in Turu.

At present there are ten nuns living in the Pirita Convent, in Tallinn, who were born in Mexico and India. These nuns – who hail from countries that are quite exotic to northerners – have, with the aid of a teacher, learned Estonian in Tallinn; and they even sing in Estonian during masses.

A day in the convent begins while the majority of people are still sleeping. On working days, the nuns wake at 5.45. The first prayer begins in the chapel at 6.10. They gather four times per day in the church for services.

Prelate Vello Salo serves as the priest for the convent. His circular Maarjamaa contains a great deal of useful information, including about Christianity and the history of the Pirita Convent (http://salo.pri.ee).

The sister’s responsibilities also include maintaining the guesthouse located near the convent. The funds received from renting rooms in the guesthouse are also used for charity work.

The Pirita Convent is a great source of support for the Catholic Church’s social work organisation Caritas. The Caritas School of Creativity has worked here. Work has also taken place with underage mothers, and the Crime Prevention Foundation also began its work in the rooms of the Pirita Convent – at the time still being a part of Caritas. Handicraft groups from Tallinn’s recycling centre have also visited the Pirita Convent. The convent is always open to new ideas in the field of social work.

The Pirita Convent has also assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the ruins of Pirita Convent, which takes place under an agreement with the Pirita District Administration. The convent family has – within the limits of its possibilities – promoted cultural events taking place in the ruins and the new convent complex. In cooperation with the Pirita District Administration, convent day has already been celebrated for six years – since it was on 15 August 1436 that the Pirita Convent was consecrated.

Convent day is a popular event for the entire family. There is singing and dancing, a handicraft fair takes place, and circus artists perform. Memory game participants sharpen their minds. The public is always entranced by the presentation given by the dance troupe from India working at the convent. Indian dancing is taught by Sister Creszenzia, who was a dance instructor in her home country before joining the convent.

Since the summer of 2005, the Birgitta Festival has been taking place in the ruins of the Pirita Convent. This event, organised by the Tallinn Philharmonic, is also strongly supported by the City of Tallinn.

The celebration of Christmas is especially festive in the Pirita Convent. The convent family has tried to share its happiness with the residents of Pirita and its friends. On each Sunday during advent a concert takes place in the chapel, and all those who wish may take part in the construction of the Christmas manger. A Christmas play, under the direction of Liina Orlova, has been performed for two years and has been attended by Pirita’s nursery schools and primary school children from local schools.

The building, with a volume of 2283 m2 constructed on an area of 1307 m2, is divided into two parts – public and closed. The public part of the building complex contains a guesthouse, conference rooms and chapel, while the closed part contains the living quarters and work rooms in the convent for the sisters. The convent has two small libraries – a public library located on the ground floor and a convent library located on the first floor.

The daily services in the convent are accessible from the vestibule of the convent complex as well as the gate located on Merivälja Road. Everyone is welcome to attend the services which begin on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 7.30, Wednesday at 17.00 and Sunday at 10.00.

The Bridgettine Order is characterised by a respectful attitude towards all people, regardless of their religion. The services of Saint Bridget, and the order founded by her – to help unite Europe’s Christians – has been highly appreciated by Catholics and Lutherans alike.

In the spring of 2019 passed 25 years of the Brigitins come back to the Estonia and from the reopening of the Pirita Monastery.

History of the Bridgettine convent

 

The history of the St. Bridget’s Convent in Tallinn – the Pirita Convent – dates back to XV century. The idea to found a convent in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, was initiated by some Tallinn merchants already in 1400. In early 15th century when Pirita convent was built, Tallinn (Reval) had started to benefit from its privileged situation as a monopolistic transit trade point between east and west. During that medieval building boom in Tallinn town wall was reconstructed and many new towers built. In addition to Pirita convent also several other outstanding buildings, of which some have survived until nowadays, were built, including the new Town Hall in old town. 

Largest nunnery in Old Livonia

The Pirita Convent that operated over 150 years, used to be the largest nunnery in Old Livonia.

When St. Bridget first convents were opened (the very first was the St. Bridget Vadstena convent in Sweden, that was opened in 1384) the convents followed strictly the rules of St. Bridget. According to the rules the Convent could not have more than 85 members – 60 sisters and 25 brothers (of these 13 were priests, 4 deacons and 8 lay brothers). The convent of nuns and the convent of monks were separated by the church that was common for both sisters and brothers. The nuns and monks still did not see each other during the joint masses.

The inhabitants of the two convents were allowed to talk to each other and to guests in special rooms only, so that the principle of enclosure would be observed. These rooms, the so-called parlours, were partitioned, and there were little windows in the walls – it was not possible to see through these windows, but to exchange certain necessary information and objects.

The church was built following strictly the St. Bridget rules. The floor was covered with limestone flags and, in some places, with glazed tiles. The interiors were dominated by ascetic greyish-blue colour.

Being built upon St. Bridget rules, the Pirita convent church was also a typical style of Tallinn. Its walls and pillars were smooth, without the vertical relief articulation so typical of French Gothic cathedrals and their countless followers. The heavy transverse arches that separated the bays did not rest on attached shafts but on elongated consoles. The consoles and the arches had simple geometric forms and clear and heavy moulding, that were typical variations of the late Gothic idiom that developed in early 15th century Tallinn.

Pirita Convent – landmark in local architecture

The facade of the Pirita Convent church with a monumental triangular gable rising above the portal, with a height of about 35 metres, had landmark significance in local architectural history. The floor space of Pirita convent church was over 1360 m².

The interior dimensions of the Pirita Convent church were 24×56 m, the west gable 35 m high. Despite the most of the rules of St. Bridget order were followed during the construction, the main altar was located in the east and not in the west as is typical for Bridgettines. The reason for that change was the location of the convent – it would have been inappropriate to locate visitor’s entrance on the bank of river in the east instead of west where the entrance is closer to the road. According to the St. Bridget rules, the church had 13 altars, all named after the apostles – so each priest had its own altar and apostle. In addition there were also several other side altars like the St. Bridget altar.

As pointed out by Villem Raam and Jaan Tamm, the co-authors of the book “Pirita Convent” we don’t need to go far in our search for the main influences, as they are for the most part apparent in the early Gothic forms of Tallinn’s Toomkirik (Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin), in the basilica of Niguliste (St. Nicholas Church) and in Oleviste church. According to Villem Raam and Jaan Tamm it seems that these forms typical of Tallinn partly influenced the interior of the motherhouse at Vadstena, Sweden, evidenced by the elongated pendant consoles of the south wall and the pillars.

Largest choir in Estonia

Since the main activity of the Bridgettine nuns was praying that mainly meant singing, the sisters at Pirita convent can be called the first large women’s choir in Estonia. Their dedicated songs were performed seven times daily at one of region’s largest concert hall.

Gathering in the church seven times daily the sisters and brothers sang every week the entire Old Testament Book of Praises, 150 psalms. Sisters dedicated also time for reading and meditations well as housekeeping and handicrafts, the brothers in turn were also given sermons in other churches. The sisters never left the convent and upon the death were buried in their own church.

The Pirita convent was also one of the well-known destinations for international pilgrims. The rooms for guests were located at the northwest corner of the church.

The Pirita Convent was brutally destroyed by Russian army short invasion in late January 1575. In addition, the nearby village was also destroyed. The local inhabitants never restored most of the buildings. As late as in last century – in the 1930s – potato field covered the former nuns quarters and the potatoes were stored in the former hypocaust of the abbess’s residence.

Systematic excavations led to remarkable findings

The first systematic excavations started in 1934 and led soon to remarkable findings. In the early 1960s the excavations shifted to south, focusing on remains on the east side of the monks quarters.

The findings can be divided into two large groups. One group included buildings and carved stones and the other group consists of innumerable fragments of artefacts, associated with everyday life in the convent. Especially significant in the last group are the fragments of ceramic vessels, which come in all shapes and sizes etc. Several of these findings are described in the book “Pirita Convent”, written by Jaan Tamm, one of the founders of Estonian Heritage Society and by Villem Raam, a long-time researcher of the ruins of Pirita Convent.

The once existing Bridgettine convent and its historical ruins in Tallinn had a special meaning for many Estonians during the last decades of Soviet occupation. The historical and popular site of the convent did not only remind the nation about its long and rich past, but was also depicted in on of the most popular Estonian films, made during years under Soviet rule. The film that tried partly to depict the life in old convent and stressed the will of the free nation to battle foreign forces included also a song that called up anyone who dreams about the freedom, to escape. The film as well as the song became enormously popular among Estonians and took the Bridgettine convent closer to nations heart. The old Convent itself had been in ruins after it was brutally destroyed by Russian army during XVI century.

The architects of the new convent are Ra Luse and Tanel Tuhal. The new St. Bridget convent, built next to the magnificent ruins of the old convent, was opened in 2001 and inaugurated by Archbishop Erwin Josef Edder on September 15, 2001.

St. Bridget and St. Mother Elizabeth Hesselblad

The founderess of the Bridgettine Order is Saint Bridget. Bridgettine Order was approved by Pope Urban V in 1370. Since 1999 Saint Bridget is one of Europe’s patron saints. During last century new branch of the order that spread widely in Europe and elsewhere was established by another Swedish woman, Mother Elizabeth Hesselblad. 

St. Bridget, also known as St. Birgitta and Birgitta of Vadstena (1303 – July 23, 1373) is the most celebrated saint of Sweden and the northern kingdoms. She was the daughter of one of the richest landowners of the country – Birger Persson, governor and lawspeaker of Uppland. Mother of St. Bridget was a member of the so-called Lawspeaker branch of the Folkunga family.

At the age 13, in 1316 she was married to Ulf Gudmarson of the family of Ulvasa, lord of Närke. The couple had eight children, one of whom was afterwards honoured as St. Catherine of Sweden. Birgitta’s saintly and charitable life soon made her well known. In 1341–1343, the couple went to pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, one of the most popular pilgrimage destinations also nowadays.

In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died and Birgitta decided to devote herself to religion. As a child she had already believed herself to have visions that became more frequent after the death of her husband. The Bridgettine order was created upon her revelations, as it was believed it was Lord who had told her to found a new order.

St. Bridget – Europe’s patron saint since 1999

About 1350 she went to Rome to obtain from the pope the authorization of the new order. It was not till 1370 that Pope Urban V approved the rule of her order, but meanwhile Birgitta had made herself beloved in Rome by her kindness and dedicated work. She made some more pilgrimages, including to Jerusalem in 1373. She resided in Rome until her death on July 23, 1373. She was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, and confirmed by the Council of Constance, 1415.

In 1999, Pope John Paul II chose Birgitta as Europe’s co-patron saint. St. Birgitta shares this honour – to be Europe’s co-patron saint – with two other women, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross. Saint Catherine of Siena (born around 1347, died 29/4 1380, canonised 29/6 1461) was an Italian who was a member of the Dominican third order, contemporary with Saint Birgitta and like her, an ardent champion for the return of the pope to Rome from his exile in Avignon. Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, better known as Edith Stein, (12/10 1891- 9/8 1942, canonised 11/10 1998) a German-Jewess who converted, became a Carmelite nun and died in a concentration camp during the Second World War. St. Birgitta feast is celebrated on July 23.

Bridgettine convents led by women to honour Virgin Mary

The Bridgettine order was open to both men and women. It was a ”double order”, each convent having attached to it a small community of canons to act as chaplains, but under the government of the abbess. The order spread widely in Sweden and Norway, and played a remarkable part in promoting culture and literature in Scandinavia. By 1515, with significant royal patronage, there were twenty-seven houses, thirteen of them in Scandinavia. Bridgettine convents were soon opened also in other countries, reaching by some estimations total of 70.

The nuns were strictly enclosed, emphasising scholarship and study, but the monks were also preachers and itinerant missionaries. The individual monasteries were each subject to the local bishop, and, in honour of the Virgin Mary, they were ruled by abbess.

Having attached to it a small community of canons to act as chaplains, but under the government of the abbess. The order spread widely in Sweden and Norway, and played a remarkable part in promoting culture and literature in Scandinavia. By 1515, with significant royal patronage, there were twenty-seven houses, thirteen of them in Scandinavia. Bridgettine convents were soon opened also in other countries, reaching by some estimations total of 70.

The nuns were strictly enclosed, emphasising scholarship and study, but the monks were also preachers and itinerant missionaries. The individual monasteries were each subject to the local bishop, and, in honour of the Virgin Mary, they were ruled by abbess.

St. Mother Elizabeth Hesselblad

During the XX century, another Swedish lady, mother Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad (1870 – 1957) played a remarkable role to promote the survival and expansion of the order.

Elizabeth Hesselblad was born in Sweden and being still a teenager immigrated to New York to seek work in order to get financial support for her family back in homeland. She studied nursing at Manhattan’s Roosevelt Hospital where she worked as a nurse and did home care for the sick and aged. Her work took her into the large Catholic population of New York; her interest in the Church grew, and she came to see it as the place closest to Christ. Before returning back to Europe and leaving New York in 1902 she converted to Catholicism.

In March 1904 she settled at the Carmelite House of Saint Bridget of Sweden and in 1906 got permission from Pope Pius X to take the habit of the Bridgettine order (Order of the Most Holy Saviour of St. Bridget).

She worked hard to restore the order in Sweden and Italy, especially in Rome where in 1931 she finally managed to get the back the control of Bridgettine house and church. In addition to Europe she established Bridgettine convents also in India.

Lutheran convert, Mary Elizabeth Hesselblad was born in Sweden June 4, 1870, the first of thirteen children. She restored the order in Rome in 1911, and in Sweden in 1923, with a special concern for Christian unity that she had evidence throughout her life. Although in poor health herself, she carried out a very active service to the poor, and was particularly welcoming towards the persecuted Jews during World War II. She died in Rome on April 24,1957 at the age 87.

Mother Mary Elisabeth Hesselblad revived the old Bridgettine charisma adapting it to the new times. She strongly felt that this was her mission in life.

In June 2016 she was canonized by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square in Rome.

Bridgettine order in nowadays:

Today St. Bridget order has three branches with several convents throughout the world. The Order of the Most Holy Saviour of Saint Bridget was founded on the 8th September 1911 and fully approved by the Holy See on the 7th July 1940. The Order of the Most Holy Saviour is present in the Scandinavian countries and in Estonia, also in England, Germany, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, Poland, India, Mexico, U.S.A., Palestine and Cuba. The list of St. Bridget convents can be found at www.brigidine.org.

A spirit of trust and cooperation between the various members of the Order and a deep spirit of faith have helped to intensify fraternal charity, contemplation and credence in the growth of the Order. The spreading and consolidation of the Order are the fruits of vocational activity.

The Mother House of the Order is in Piazza Farnese, an old medieval house where Saint Bridget lived when she was in Rome. To this day, it is the heart of all the activities and formation of the Bridgettine sisters in various parts of the world. They intensely live the values of consecrated life, through listening and meditating the Word of God, through contemplation and Adoration of the Eucharist and the solemn celebration of the Office and through an apostolic activity based on the charisma of Saint Bridget and St. Mother Elisabeth.

Evangelical simplicity, centrality of the adoration of the Eucharist, deep respect for guests in houses run by the Bridgettines, a marked sense of beauty and of sacredness that distinguishes the convents and the behavior of the Sisters: these are some signs of the Bridgettine spirituality manifested in the daily giving of self in accordance with the teachings of Saint Bridget and Saint Mother Elisabeth.
Like a strength-giving idea, the old motto, “Amor meus crucifixus est” accompanies the day of the Bridgettine sister, that goes from the welcoming of guests to moments of study, prayer and work.

One particular reason for gratitude to the Lord comes from the moment of intense ecumenical emotion that I was able to experience among you. Precisely because Catholics are a minority in this country, I have appreciated a lot the fraternal relationship enjoyed here with other Christian confessions.
In the meditation on the word of God and in the prayer offered this morning together with our Lutheran, Orthodox, Babtist and Methodist brothers and sisters, and others as well, I see a seed of the authentic ecumenism which is centred on the worship of God and the search for truth. This is the sure road for attaining the much-desired unity of all Christians.
For the Pope, Tallinn will remain a significant moment on the path of ecumenism and a reason for looking to the future with confident hope.
St. John Paul II
Quote from the speech of the Pope,
Farewell Ceremony at Tallinn Airport,
September 10, 1993