Castagniers Abbey ()Abbey of Our Lady of Peace is a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

nery, in

Castagniers Castagniers (; ; ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. Population Tourism Castagniers is one of sixteen villages grouped together by the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur tourist department as the ''Route des ...

, 12 km from

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

departement In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...

'' in southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1865, Dom Marie-Bernard Barnouin, restorer of

Sénanque Abbey Sénanque Abbey ( Occitan: ''abadiá de Senhanca'', French: ''Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque'') is a Cistercian abbey near the village of Gordes in the ''département'' of the Vaucluse in Provence, France. First foundation It was founded in 1 ...

, founded a Cistercian community for women in Mane in the

diocese of Digne The Diocese of Digne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Diniensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Digne'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Digne, the diocese has bee ...

, and in 1869, another in Reillanne, the ''Abbaye de Notre-Dame des Prés''. In 1872 the two communities were united in Reillanne. In 1930 the community left Reillanne to settle in Castagniers. The community was elevated to the rank of an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in 1962. The first abbess, Mother Marguerite de la Trinité, saw to it that the place became a

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

factory, which is still working today. The nuns have a guest house and they welcome guests wishing to make a retreat. Image:Statue de Notre-Dame de la Paix, Abbaye Notre-Dame de la Paix de Castagniers (12-05-2008).jpg, Our Lady of Peace (''Notre Dame de la Paix'') Image:The_monastery.jpg, The Abbey File:Clocher, Abbaye Notre-Dame de la Paix de Castagniers (03-08-2008).jpg, The bell tower

Notes

Cistercian nunneries in France Buildings and structures in Alpes-Maritimes Christian monasteries established in the 19th century 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France {{France-Christian-monastery-stub