Petronille de Chemillé

Petronilla of Chemillé
Died	24 April 1149
Nationality	French
Occupation	Superior General of the Order of Fontevrault
Known for	First abbess of the double monastery of Fontevrault

Petronilla of Chemillé (died 24 April 1149) was the first abbess of the double monastery of Fontevrault in western France, which she headed from 1115 to 1149 following her second widowhood. She is honored as Venerable by the Catholic Church.

Biography[edit]

Born Petronilla of Craon, she became a follower of Robert of Arbrissel. After Philippa of Toulouse persuaded her husband, William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, to grant Robert land for the foundation of an abbey, Robert left both Hersende de Champagne and Petronilla in charge of monitoring the construction and organization. A year before Robert's death, he named Petronilla (by then a widow) as the first abbess of his monastery. Petronilla commissioned the first biography of Robert of Arbrissel from his friend Baldric of Dol.

The Order of Fontevrault celebrates the feast day of Petronilla on April 24. The Bollandists remark: "Her existence was marked by many contradictions, but she had the courage to pass beyond the judgment of human beings and to walk without deviating on the path to heaven."^[1]

References[edit]

• Guérin, Paul (ed.) - Vie des Saints, Vol. 5, p. 2. (Paris, 1876, 7th ed.).
• Laffont, Robert - L'Abbaye De Fontevraud p. 61. (Paris 2001)

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1908). "Order and Abbey of Fontevrault". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.