Jean-Baptiste Chautard

OCSO 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 Catholic religious order of cloistered monasti ...

(12 March 1858, in

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

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– 29 September 1935, at

Sept-Fons Abbey Sept-Fons Abbey, Notre-Dame de Sept-Fons or Notre-Dame de Saint-Lieu Sept-Fons is a Trappist monastery at Diou, Allier, Diou in Bourbonnais in the diocese of Moulins in France. Around ninety monks currently live in the monastery, many of whom a ...

) was a French

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 ...

abbot and religious writer.

Biography

Gustave Chautard became a novice in the Trappist abbey of Aiguebelle on May 6, 1877. After theological studies he was ordained a priest on 3 June 1884. Among his early duties was the care of the abbey's chocolate factory. In 1897, he was elected abbot in the monastery Chambarand near

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and then, only two years later, he became abbot of the monastery that had founded Chambarand, Sept-Fons. Thus, he became responsible for several foundations that Sept-Fons had made in the 19th century. Chautard became one of the leading figures in the Trappist Order. He continued the expansion for which the Order was known at that time, even achieving in 1898/99 the purchase of the famous Cîteaux Abbey, in which the Cistercian Order began around 1100 (the monastery had been lost during the French Revolution). Monks from La Trappe and Sept-Fons were sent there to reestablish Cistercian life. Jean-Baptiste Chautard suffered a fatal heart attack while returning home from the Trappist General Chapter in 1935.

Writings

Dom Chautard was also responsible for foundations in Belgium (

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) and Latin America, yet his reputation as the author of religious books made him even more well known among European and American Catholics. His '' Soul of the Apostolate'' has been translated into several languages and is still in print. Chautard's books were the fruit of his daily spiritual conferences in the abbeys under his care; he was also an active letter writer. The book seeks to underline the basic and indispensable importance of prayer and Marian devotions, all the more so for people engaged in an active life of apostolic works. Several popes cited Chautard's book and recommended it to wide audiences.

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

was said to have it on his night stand,

Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

wrote a foreword for it, and

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

cited it during his visit to

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a ...

in 2008.Pope Benedict XVI homily in Lourdes 15 September 2008.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chautard, JeanBaptiste 1858 births French abbots Trappists French male writers 1935 deaths