Szemlélődő domonkos apácák Szegeden

The Contemplative Dominican Nuns played important role in the cultural history of Hungary in the Middle Ages. St. Margaret of the Árpád-dynasty, Márta Sövényházi and Lea Ráskai lived in the Dominican monastery on the Island of Rabbits. We can find their handwriting in several codexes. In the year of 1540 the nuns had to run away from the conquering Turks. As a result there remained only 18 nuns at the beginning of 1600s who lived by the rules of the Dominican Order. Finally they were taken into the Clarissa Order in Pozsony. The last Dominican nun died there in 1637.In the first half of the 1940s before the canonization of Beatific Margaret of the Árpád-dynasty the idea of reorganisation of the second order in Hungary arose. The Dominican Province and the Catholic Church of Hungary wanted the mon-astery on the Island of Rabbits to be refunded. In 1944 the official negotiations interrupted but the original idea did not die. Some Catholic personages of Szeged urged the establishment in Szeged in their letter dated 27. December 1945. In January 1946 Endre Hamvas, Diocesan of Csanád region also supported the idea and told that he would see Contemplative Dominican Nuns in Szeged. The Dominican Province of Hungary helped the new establishment as well so in September 1948 the Contemplative Dominican life could start in Szeged. There were 7 nuns in the community. They tried to live their prayerful and propitiatory lives. In June 1950 the Hungarian religious orders were disbanded so the nuns of Szeged had to leave their monastery. This study is about the story of this community and their ephemeral life