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Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy Convent in Elgin

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Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy Convent
St. Sylvester Church and the monastery, Elgin
Monastery information
Other namesMercy Convent
OrderFranciscans,
laterSisters of Mercy
Established1479, 1898
Disestablished1559
Dedicated toSaint Sylvester
DioceseAberdeen
People
Founder(s)Alexander II of Scotland
Site
LocationElgin,Moray

Greyfriars Sisters of Mercy ConventinElgin, Morayis one of the fewCatholicmonasteries,founded inScotlandafter theReformationin 1560.

History

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On the site of the current convent, aFranciscanmonastery was founded in 1479 on the site of an older Franciscan monastery, founded byBishopJohn Innes of Innes.TheOrder of Friars Minor Conventual(Greyfriars) was introduced in Scotland byking Alexander IIin the 13th century, and settled in Elgin in the 15th century. This Franciscan monastery wassecularizedin 1559 during theScottish Reformation.[1]

In the 16th century, the buildings of the former monastery housed a court and the Chamber of Commerce. In 1648 the monastery was converted into a residence of the King family and remained as such for 120 years. At that time, the abbey church became theepiscopalchurch. In 1818 this residence was bought by the Stewart family.[2]

TheSisters of Mercybought the ruined buildings of the monastery and the St. Sylvester Church in 1891, which were then restored from 1896 to 1908, thanks to the financial support ofJohn Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquis of Buteand his sonColum Crichton-Stuart,according to a project made by thearchitectJohn Kinross.On 4 October 1898 in the church of the monastery the firstCatholic Masssince the Reformation was celebrated. Until the early 2000s, the Sisters of Mercy ran akindergartenand aprimary school.[2]The monastery is now occupied by theDominican Sisters of St. Cecilia.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Greyfriars Church and Convent, Elgin".Archived fromthe originalon 13 January 2017.Retrieved12 January2017.
  2. ^ab"GREYFRIARS CONVENT AND CHURCH, ELGIN".Retrieved12 January2017.
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