Igny Abbey or Val d'Igny Abbey (; ''Abbaye Notre-Dame du Val d'Igny'') 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 ...

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 ...

located in Arcis-le-Ponsart, Marne, France. It was founded in 1128 for Cistercian monks, dissolved in 1791 during the French Revolution, re-established in 1876 for

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monks, destroyed in 1918, reopened in 1929 for Trappist nuns and modernised in 2008–12 to accommodate three or four pre-existing communities.

History

Origins and Zenith

Igny Abbey was founded by the

Archbishop of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

, Rainaud II de Martigny, who provided land at Igny. In 1128,

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...

sent twelve monks from Clairvaux to Igny to establish it under Humbert, previously prior of Clairvaux, as the first abbot (Igny is thus of the filiation of Clairvaux). The community at Igny prospered sufficiently under Humbert to be able to found a daughter house,

Signy Abbey Signy Abbey (; ) was a Cistercian abbey located in Signy-l'Abbaye, Ardennes, France. It is located about northeast of Reims and about west of Charleville-Mézières on the edge of the Froidmont forest. It was founded on 25 March 1135, the fea ...

, in 1135. He was succeeded in 1138 by Guerric of Igny, best known for his sermons, later

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

. His

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

are still venerated in Igny, and are preserved in the church's

side chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are o ...

. A second daughter house, Valroy Abbey, was founded in 1147. In 1177, Abbot Gerard of Clairvaux, later Blessed Gerard, was murdered at Igny by a certain Hugh of Bazoches, a monk whom he had threatened with disciplinary action, thus becoming the first Cistercian martyr.recorded in

Konrad of Eberbach Conrad of Eberbach (, ) (died 18 September 1221) was a Cistercian monk, and later abbot, of Eberbach Abbey, Germany, and historian of the early Cistercian Order. Life Nothing is known of Conrad's early life. From no later than 1169 he was a Cist ...

's ''Exordium Magnum Cistercense'': Benedicta Ward (translator and editor), Paul Savage (translator), E. Rozanne Elder (editor), 2012: ''The Great Beginning of Citeaux: The Exordium Magnum of Conrad of Eberbach: A Narrative of the Beginning of the Cistercian Order (Cistercian Fathers series No 72)''. Translation of the critical edition by Bruno Griesser, ''Series Scriptorum Sacri Ordinis Cisterciensis'', vol 2: Rome 1961. Cistercian Publications; Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky and
digitised version on Google books
Despite this incident, the abbey flourished and in its heyday housed over 500 monks and owned more than 5,000 hectares of land. As with other Cistercian monasteries, growth at Igny slowed from the later 13th century. In the 14th century the abbey suffered badly from the effects of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

; large gifts from

Gaucher V de Châtillon Gaucher V de Châtillon ( 1249 in Châtillon-sur-Marne – 1329), Lord of Châtillon, Count of Porcien, was constable of Champagne in 1284 and then Constable of France (1302–1329) during the reigns of five different kings. He was also t ...

enabled it to rebuild in 1378. Decline continued, however.

Later Fortunes

In 1545 the abbey was placed under commendatory abbots, at which time the community consisted of 72 monks. Further damage occurred during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

in the later 16th century, during which the monastery was pillaged by

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

. After still more pillaging suffered during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

and the Franco-Spanish War, the number of monks had fallen to seven. In 1733 the church was destroyed and a new one built, which was completed along with other new buildings in 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution. In 1790 all religious houses in France were suppressed; in April 1791 the six monks then living there were turned out and the abbey's assets were declared national property and sold off. The monastic premises passed into private hands but in 1876 were reacquired by the

Archdiocese of Reims The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese was elevated to a ...

for the establishment of a

monastery by a community of monks from the Abbey of Sainte-Marie-du-Désert. The new monastery was at first a priory but was raised to an abbey in 1886. The new community funded themselves mostly by the manufacture of chocolate. In

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

the German army appropriated the premises, wrecking the chocolate factory, and turned them into a hospital for infectious diseases. Just before the Second Battle of the Marne in May 1918 the buildings were evacuated; when retreating on 6 August 1918, the Germans blew them up, destroying the entire abbey with the exception of the small library. The abbey was rebuilt in 1927–1929 and occupied in November 1929 by a community of 32 Trappist nuns from Laval Abbey. In 1955 Igny founded the first house of Cistercian nuns in Africa, the Abbaye Notre-Dame de la Clarté Dieu at Murhesa in

South Kivu South Kivu (; ) is one of Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital city, capital is Bukavu. Located within the East African Rift's western branch Albertine Rift, it is ...

, in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Present Nunnery

In 2007 the structure of Cistercian communities throughout northern France was re-thought, and the order decided that three communities of nuns should be brought together at Igny: Igny's existing community and those of la Grâce-Dieu and Belval (subsequently the small community of Ubexy was also included). A major re-building consequently took place. In 2011 the four existing communities were installed, which almost doubled the size of the previous population of Igny, as the new community of the ''Abbaye Notre-Dame du Val d'Igny''.

Abbots and abbesses

;Cistercian abbots * 1128-1138: Humbert * 1138-1157: Guerric I (Bl Guerric of Igny) * 1157-1162: Geoffrey of Auxerre * 1162-1164: Bernard * 1164-1169: Hugh * 1169-1179: Pierre I Monoculus (Pierre le Borgne) * 1179-1186: Gerard I * 1186-1189: Julien (1) * 1189-1190: Videbatius * 1190-1205: Julien (2) * 1205-1232: Nicolas I * 1232-1234: Jean I * 1234-1237: Gilbert * 1238-1239: Anscher * 1239-1245: Pierre II of Bar * 1245-1254: Thibaud I * 1254-1270: Pierre III * 1270-1284: Gerard II * 1284-1290: Jean II de Pontoise * 1291-1292: Nicolas II * 1292-1300: Alard I * 1301-1307: Guerric II * 1307-1327: John III * 1327-1332: Pons I Wassigny * 1333-1345: Alard II * 1345-1355: Jean IV Cohan * 1356-13??: Jean V Oiselet * 13?? -13??: Pons II * 13?? -13??: Ogier I Bezannes * 13?? -1378: Laurent * 1378-1399: William * 1399-1419: Jacques * 1419-1445: Nicolas III Unchair * 1445-1460: Thibaud II of Luxembourg * 1460-1476: Jean VI de Montigny * 1476-1488: Nicolas IV Suippes * 1488-1498: Ogier II La Grange * 1498-1501: Nicolas V * 1501-1504: Jean Renauld VII * 1504-1506: Denis * 1506-1545: Jean VIII Scépeaux ;Commendatory abbots * 1545-1553: Louis I de Foligny * 1553-1589: Louis II de Breze * 1589-1625: Alexandre de La Marck * 1625-1661: Louis III de La Marck * 1661-1709: Paul Godet des Marais de la Marck * 1709-1746: Charles-François des Moustiers Mérinville * 1746-1759: Francis Jerome de Montigny * 1760-1776: Justinian Boffin Puisigneux * 1777-1790: Jean-Charles de Courcy ;Trappist priors and abbot * 1876-1881: Nivard Fournier, prior * 1881-1886: Augustin Marre, prior * 1886-1922: Augustin Marre, Abbot ;Trappist abbesses * 1933-1936: Mary I Gastineau Alphonse * 1936-1948: Marie Deschamps Lucia II * 1948-1951: Andrée Lavaux (1) * 1951-1956: Lutgarde Lehalle * 1956-1958: Andrée Lavaux (2) * 1958-1969: Marie III Aleth Girondelot * 1970-1999: Marie Denis IV Aelred * 1999-2008: Marie Rose V Flanders * 2008–2014: Inès Gravier, apostolic administrator * 2014–present: Isabelle Valez

References

Sources

Abbaye d'Igny website
{{Authority control Cistercian monasteries in France Christian monasteries in Marne (department) 1128 establishments in Europe 1120s establishments in France Christian monasteries established in the 1120s