Archduchess Magdalena of Austria
Magdalena of Austria was a co-founder and first abbess of the Ladies' Convent of Hall '', born an archduchess of Austria from the House of Habsburg as the daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. She is a Venerable in the Catholic Church.
Life
Early life
Archduchess Magdalena of Austria was born on 14 August 1531 as the sixth child and fourth daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife, born Princess Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. She had a strict, religious upbringing with a heavy influence from Jesuits.Life as an abbess
Archduchess Magdalena and her younger sister [Archduchess Archduchess Margaret of Austria (nun)|Margaret of Austria (nun)|Margaret] had long expressed a desire to remain unmarried and create a community of pious women, which their father had a difficult time accepting. After his death in 1564, Magdalena took a vow of celibacy and founded the Ladies' Convent of Hall ' in Hall in Tirol, County of Tyrol, a place for like-minded women to lead a reclusive, pious and God-fearing lives under the supervision of the Society of Jesus.She became the first abbess of the new convent where she was joined by her younger sisters Archduchesses Margaret and Archduchess Helena of Austria (1543–1574). Magdalena died on 10 September 1590 at the age of 58 after a short sickness. She was buried in the Jesuit Church ' in Hall in Tirol. In 1706, her remains were transferred to the church of the convent.