The abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux also known as Le Barroux Abbey is a traditionalist

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 ...

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

Le Barroux Le Barroux (; ) is a village and commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It had a population of 629 in 2017. History Its current name derives from the Latin ''Albaruffum''. Its ca ...

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

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 ...

. It was founded in 1978 by Dom

Gérard Calvet Dom Gérard Calvet (18 November 1927 – 28 February 2008) was a French Catholic abbot and founder of the Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux Monastery, Sainte Madeleine du Barroux abbey in Le Barroux, France. He was considered to be an important figure i ...

while the current abbot is Dom Louis-Marie de Geyer d’Orth. The liturgy is celebrated according to the pre-1970 Roman Missal (

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or ''usus antiquior'' (), Vetus Ordo or the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) or the Traditional Rite, is the liturgy in the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church codified in ...

). The

Divine Office Divine Office may refer to: * Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church * Canonical hours, the recitation of such prayers in Christianity more generall ...

of the monastery is streamed daily.

History

Before the current abbey was consecrated, a group of men, led by Dom Gérard Calvet, founded a small community of Benedictine monks in the Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene in the

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

region of south-east France. Shaken by the changes brought on by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, he founded the abbey as a way to continue the traditional practice and life of the Benedictine Monks and the traditional liturgy of the Catholic Church. In 1979 a female branch was founded, the . In 1986 the community numbered 53 monks. Initially supportive of the Lefebvrist movement, they made a break with it in the aftermath of the

Écône consecrations Écône is an area in the municipality of Riddes, district of Martigny, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by ...

and the subsequent excommunications of Archbishop

Marcel Lefebvre Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre (29 November 1905 – 25 March 1991) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar, Archbishop of Dakar from 1955 to 1962. He was a major inf ...

and the consecrated bishops. On July 25, 1988 after a period of negotiations the monks were relieved of their sanctions and reconciled with the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, while still being authorized to use the pre-concillar liturgy in accordance with the ''

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

'' ''

Ecclesia Dei ''Ecclesia Dei'' is the document Pope John Paul II issued on 2 July 1988 in reaction to the Ecône consecrations, in which four priests of the Society of Saint Pius X were ordained as bishops despite an express prohibition by the Holy See. The co ...

'' issued by Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

the day after the excommunications. On June 18, 1989 the monastery was accorded canonical status and on July 2 it was elevated to the rank of Abbey, with Dom Gerard Calvet as its first Abbot. The Abbey was consecrated on October 2, 1989 by Cardinal

Édouard Gagnon Édouard Gagnon, PSS, OC (15 January 1918 – 25 August 2007) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family for 7 years, from 1983 to 1990. He became a cardinal on 25 May 1985. Biography Édouar ...

. On September 24, 1995,

Cardinal Ratzinger 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 his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as po ...

, then prefect for the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

, visited the monastery and celebrated Mass. On November 21, 2002 eight of the almost 70 monks left the Abbey to found the in

Saint-Pierre-de-Clairac Saint-Pierre-de-Clairac (; Languedocien: ''Sent Pèir de Clairac'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. Geography The Séoune forms part of the commune's eastern border, flows westward through the middle of t ...

. Dom Gerard resigned as Abbot on November 25, 2003 and Dom Louis-Marie was chosen to replace him. On February 28, 2008 Dom Gerard died due to

brain stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop ...

. On September 25, 2008, the Abbey became part 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 ...

of the Order of St Benedict. In 2008 several monks left Le Barroux and make an independent foundation in Villatalla, Imperia Province,

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. As of May 2014 the Abbey had 57 members, including 26

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

, 1

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

, 21 brothers, 1 student, 1 temporarily professed and 5

novices A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

, with 44 being the average age.

Community

The monastery has its own mill, which is used to produce olive oil. The monks also produce lavender, wine and bread in their own bakery. The Abbey produces wine jointly with local winemakers in a traditional manner. The monks offer spiritual retreats, as well as individual spiritual guidance. The Abbey has a hotel to accommodate the guests. In order to enable

oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...

s and other faithful to connect to the liturgical life of the monastery more closely, the monks began broadcasting their daily round of the

online. The recordings are available on the Abbey’s website and via a phone app.

Gallery

File:Sainte madelaine du Barroux - arrivée, by JM Rosier.jpg, Another view of the Abbey File:Sainte madelaine du Barroux - cloitre privé, by JM Rosier.jpg, The

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

File:Sainte madelaine du Barroux - refectoire, by JM Rosier.jpg, The

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

Resources

Official site of the Abbey
* The Divine Office is streamed daily o
iTunes
an

** Previous recordings are archived at https://archive.org/details/barroux *Documentary
Watchmen of the Night
' about the daily life of the monks at Le Barroux Abbey (French with English subtitles) *

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Vaucluse Benedictine monasteries in France Communities using the Tridentine Mass Christian organizations established in 1980 1980 establishments in France