Abbaye Notre-Dame de Ganagobie by Mikani

Ganagobie Abbey () is a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery in Ganagobie in the department of

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (sometimes abbreviated as AHP; ; ; ), formerly until 1970 known as Basses-Alpes (, ), is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France, bordering Alpes-Maritimes and Italy to the east, Var to the sou ...

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. It is part of the

Solesmes Congregation The Solesmes Congregation is an association of monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation headed by the Abbey of Solesmes. History The congregation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation, with the th ...

of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...

and as such focuses on

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...

A Cluniac Priory

The first monastic foundation on this remote and mountainous site appears to date from the 9th or 10th century. Among the first documentary records is a

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Pope Stephen VIII Pope Stephen VIII (; died October 942) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 14 July 939 to his death. His pontificate occurred during the ''Saeculum obscurum'', when the power of popes was diminished by the ambitious ...

in 939 confirming the possessions of

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with t ...

, among them the monastery at Ganagobie. It was suppressed in 1789 under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

and sold off in 1791 during the course of the French Revolution, after which large parts of the buildings were demolished.

Gift to Marseilles Priory

In 1865 the Benedictines of Solesmes under

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founded the Priory of St. Madeleine in Marseilles, or Marseilles Priory. In 1891 the Comte de Malijay, by that time the owner of the priory site at Ganagobie, made a gift of to the Marseilles Priory. In the course of repair and restoration work on the new property, important medieval mosaics were discovered in 1898.

A Dependency of Hautecombe Abbey

In 1901 however the community at Marseilles were forced by the Association Laws to leave France. They took refuge in Italy and did not return until 1922, when they took up residence at Hautecombe Abbey, of which Ganagobie was from then on a priory, of one or two monks only.

A Benedictine Abbey

In 1987, after decades of restoration work, the whole community of Hautecombe decided to move to Ganagobie, which they did in 1992.

Sources

Ganagobie Abbey official website
{{Authority control Benedictine monasteries in France Cluniac monasteries in France Buildings and structures in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Churches in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence