Crisóstomo Henríquez

Crisóstomo Henríquez (1594 – 23 December 1632) was a Spanish Cistercian monk and scholar of church history, who belonged to the Spanish Congregation of that Order, and who worked in the Spanish Netherlands.

Henríquez was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1594. At the age of 13, after having finished his humanities, he entered the Cistercian Abbey of Huerta, Spain, where he received the religious habit, and in 1612 was admitted to monastic profession. He was then sent by his superiors to various monasteries of the Order, where he studied successively philosophy and theology under the most eminent professors. During his studies he manifested a marked aptitude and taste for historical research; while yet a student, he published his first work, the History of the Monastery of Meyra.

Having completed his studies, he returned to Huerta. During this time his parents had left Spain to take up their residence at the court of the Archduke Albert, Habsburg Governor of Flanders, and at their request this prince wrote to the Abbot General of the Cistercian Congregation of Spain to ask that Henríquez be sent to the Low Countries. The abbot acceded to this petition, and Henríquez left Spain, never to see it again.

He now received from his superiors the command to write the history of the Cistercian Order. With this end in view, he visited the various Belgian monasteries, especially those of Aulne, Villers, and Our Lady of the Dunes Abbey — all then the most flourishing in all Europe — consulting their libraries, studying their archives, and seeking all the information obtainable for the realization of his great project; everywhere he received cordial cooperation, his amiable character having won the sympathy and goodwill of all.

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