A community of lay women that arose in Liège in the twelfth century, perhaps in the milieu of the priest and reformer Lambert le Begue (the stutterer), who cared for the most needy, also devoting themselves to contemplation and manual work, perhaps in contact with the mendicant orders independent of the Church and other authorities. in full autonomy. A current novel "The Mirror of Souls" speaks of the beguines.
It is a community of Christian women who are dedicated to charity and serve underprivileged persons (sick, needy, abandoned children, elderly). It has origin in the Netherlands and when is a community composed of men is called beghards. The origin of the name is a recognition the priest Lambert le Begue, Liege gave the first steps in that direction in 1180.
