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Liturgical Organizations Materials, Ade Bethune Papers

 Collection
Identifier: ABC-10-LO

Contents

These materials reflect Ade Bethune’s involvement, both formally and informally, with liturgical organizations at local, regional, and national levels, especially during the review, revision, and reorganization of liturgical organizations and commissions after the Second Vatican Council. The materials include: early exhibit designs from her participation in the Liturgical Weeks conference; research materials, correspondence, agenda and meeting minutes, and drafts of what eventually became Environment & Art in Catholic Worship (1978), completed by Rev. Robert Hovda and published by the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions; correspondence relating to her participation on the search committee for the New England Liturgical Commission's Maurice Lavanoux award for 1979; and correspondence relating to Bethune receiving the Frederick R. McManus Award in 1998.

Dates

  • 1940 - 1997
  • Majority of material found within 1974 - 1995

About Ade Bethune

Marie Adélaïde de Bethune (1914-2002), known as Ade Bethune, was born in Brussels, Belgium. She and her family immigrated to the United States and settled in New York in 1928. There, she attended Cathedral High School, the National Academy of Design, and Cooper Union. Newport, Rhode Island became her permanent home in 1938.

Her early years as a young artist in 1930s New York were spent with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, and her designs of Biblical scenes and common, working class individuals were often published in the Catholic Worker newspaper. This early work helped lead to her first church commission in 1936. Also about this time Bethune was persuaded by Day to take a 2-week course on the liturgy taught by Father Gerald Ellard, S.J. Based on her enthusiasm for the course, she became involved in the Liturgical Movement. In the mid-1950s she began writing about church architecture and how it could support and enhance the liturgy.

A strong proponent of Vatican II and its architectural and procedural changes within the Catholic Church, Ade Bethune worked to design and renovate churches to meet these new, open guidelines; she consulted for other church architects as well. Beginning in the 1970s, Bethune's expertise was called upon by many liturgical organizations and commissions, such as the Diocese of Providence (Rhode Island. Bethune was active during a transition period in which the Diocese's Liturgical Commission was reorganized and renamed to the Office for Worship. Regionally, Bethune was involved with both the New England Liturgical Committee (NELC) and Region 1 (New England) of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. She attended meetings through the early 1990s, also assisting with liturgical workshops and serving on the search committee for the NELC's Maurice Lavanoux Award in 1979.

Ade Bethune was involved on a national level with the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (FDLC) as well, beginning in 1974 when she was asked to join its Art & Architecture Commission. A major task of the commission was to write a booklet of art and architecture guidelines for member churches. The booklet was never completed, but became the basis for Rev. Robert Hovda's "Environment & Art in Catholic Worship," published by the FDLC.

As a “major twentieth-century liturgical pioneer,” Ade Bethune received the Frederick R. McManus Award from the FDLC in 1998 for her “significant contribution to pastoral liturgy on the national level.” She died in her Newport home on May 1, 2002.

Extent

2.5 Linear Feet (6 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection contains materials relating to Ade Bethune’s involvement in various regional and national liturgical organizations, both formally and informally. Organizations include the Diocese of Providence, New England Liturgical Committee, Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, and Liturgical Conference. Materials in the collection consist of correspondence, meeting minutes and agendas, and drafts of publications.

Organization

This collection is arranged in 5 groups.

Missing Title

Missing Title

1.1
Liturgical Commission
1.2
Office for Worship

Missing Title

2.1
National Meetings
2.2
Art and Architecture Commission
2.3
Region 1 (New England)
2.4
Miscellaneous Documents

Missing Title

Missing Title

4.1
Correspondence
4.2
Liturgical Weeks

Acquisition

Ade Bethune donated her personal and business papers, sketches, artwork, books, and artifacts to the College of St Catherine (now St. Catherine University) over the period from 1984-2002.

Related Materials

Correspondence and other documents related to Bethune's ideas regarding the design and renovation of specific churches can be found in the Liturgical Design and Consulting Files.

Processing Information

The collection was processed and the finding aid written by JoAnna Klein, October-December 2011.

Title
Guide to Liturgical Organizations Materials Ade Bethune Papers
Status
Completed
Author
JoAnna Klein, MLIS graduate assistant
Date
December 2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English
Sponsor
Processing of the collection and production of this finding aid made possible by a CLIR "Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives" grant with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Repository Details

Part of the St. Catherine University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
St. Catherine University
Archives and Special Collections
2004 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul MN 55105 U.S.A.
651-690-6423