BRUYÈRE, CÉCILE. - Benedictine abbess, b. in Paris on 2 Oct. 1845, d. in the monastery of Ryde on 18 March 1909.
Having entered the monastery of S. Cecilia at Solesmes in 1866, she became its abbess in 1870, leading it to remarkable flourishing. The French persecution of 1901 forced her into exile on the Isle of Wight.
Her short work La vie spirituelle et l'oraison d'après la Ste Ecriture et la tradition monastique, published in 1899 and subsequently several times, brought B. great renown; it was translated into German, English, and Dutch. The author grounds holiness in prayer, both liturgical and private, offering practical advice that makes her work useful not only to contemplative souls, for whom it was intended, but also to Christians leading an active life. Less well known is her Commentaire du Cantique des cantiques, Worcester (Stanbrook Abbey) 1913.