Between the Cloister and the World: The Successful Compromise of the Ursulines of Toulouse, 1604-1616

International audienceIn 1609 the Ursuline congrégées of Toulouse sent a representative to Rome, requesting the elevation of their lay congregation into an enclosed convent. This decision may initially seem paradoxical, since the establishment had been founded specifically in order to educate and catechize the female population of the city across a wide social spectrum. Since congrégées, unlike traditional nuns, were not subject to monastic enclosure, they could teach day pupils and local women as well as wealthier boarders. So why did they wish to become enclosed nuns, when it would obviously curtail their vocational teaching? Surprisingly, monastic enclosure proved to be the key to the success of their teaching establishment. Between 1609 and 1616 the Toulousain Ursulines tactfully negotiated their status with Rome and reached a highly successful compromise when, while promising to observe perpetual enclosure, they obtained a papal brief ordering them specifically to teach pupils daily within the convent walls