Maredsous Abbey
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Maredsous 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 at Maredsous, in the municipality of Anhée,
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
, Belgium. It is a founding member of the Annunciation Congregation 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 ...
. The abbey was founded as a
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
on 15 November 1872 by Beuron Abbey, with the financial support of the Desclée family, who donated some land and paid for the plans and construction of the buildings which were designed by Jean-Baptiste Bethune. In 1878, the priory was raised to the status of abbey by
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
and became a member of the Congregation of Beuron. The abbey was subsequently affiliated with the Congregation of the Annunciation within the Benedictine confederation, from 1920. By a pontifical letter of
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
dated 12 October 1926, the abbey church was awarded the title of
minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...
. Though various cheeses are products of the abbey's own dairy, Maredsous Beer is no longer brewed there but in the Duvel Moortgat brewery in Flanders, which has been authorised to make and supply it.


History

Maredsous Abbey was founded on 15 November 1872 by Beuron Abbey in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, the founder of many religious houses, at the instigation of Hildebrand de Hemptinne, a Belgian monk at Beuron and later abbot of Maredsous. The foundation was supported financially by the Desclée family, who paid for the design and construction. The Desclée brothers, printers of liturgical publications, were interested in the restoration of Christian art. Like Hemptinne, Jules Desclée had served in the
Papal Zouaves The Papal Zouaves () were an infantry battalion (later regiment) dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his ...
. The brothers chose a picturesque site on an estate of Henri Desclée's in the Province of Namur, for the erection of a monastery in which to establish the monks of Beuron. The buildings are the masterwork of the architect Jean-Baptiste de Béthune (1831–1894), leader of the
neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
style in Belgium. The overall plan is based on the 13th century
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 of Villers at
Villers-la-Ville Villers-la-Ville (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2006, Villers-la-Ville had a total population of 9,572. The total area is 47.45 km2 which gives a population density of 20 ...
in
Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant ( ; ; ) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut. Walloon Br ...
. Construction was finished in 1892. Along the aisles are arranged side chapels.As it is a monastic church, one will not be surprised by the importance of the choir where the stalls of the monks are arranged, and where, several times a day, they sing the Office. By a brief of October 12, 1926,
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
erected it as a Basilica. The frescos however were undertaken by the
art school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...
of the mother-house at Beuron, much against the will of Béthune and Desclée, who dismissed the Beuron style as "Assyrian-Bavarian". The Abbey holds an annual traditional Christmas market, with a popular indoor skating rink.


Abbots

# 1872-1874: Jean Blessing, Supérior # 1874-1876: Placide Wolter, Prior # 1877-1878: Gérard van Caloen, Prior # 1878-1890: Placide Wolter, Abbot # 1890-1909: Hildebrand de Hemptinne, Abbot # 1909-1923: ''Blessed''
Columba Marmion Columba Marmion O.S.B, born Joseph Aloysius Marmion (1 April 1858 – 30 January 1923) was a Benedictine Irish monk and the third Abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium. Beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000, Columba was one of th ...
, Abbot - buried in the abbey church # 1923-1950: Célestin Golenvaux, Abbot # 1950-1968: Godefroid Dayez, Abbot # 1968-1969: Olivier du Roy, Prior # 1969-1972: Olivier du Roy, Abbot # 1972-1978: Nicolas Dayez, Prior # 1978-2002: Nicolas Dayez, Abbot # 2002-2024: Bernard Lorent, Abbot # 2024-current: François Lear, Abbot


Work


Foundations

Maredsous has either founded, or has been instrumental in the foundation of, a number of other Benedictine houses:
Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino () is a complex located on the Piazza Knights Hospitaller, Cavalieri di Malta Square on the Aventine Hill in Rome's Ripa (rione of Rome), Ripa rione and overseen by the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate. The ...
in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
(1893); abbeys in
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(1895); St. Andrew's Abbey, Zevenkerken,
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(1899);
Keizersberg Abbey Keizersberg Abbey, also known as Mont César Abbey (; ) is a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery on the hill ''Keizersberg'' or ''Mont César'' in the north of the university town of Leuven, Belgium. History The site The ''Keizersberg ...
in
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
(1899);
Glenstal Abbey Glenstal Abbey is a Catholic Church, Catholic Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation located in Murroe, County Limerick, Ireland. It is dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Columba. In July 2024, Col ...
in
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(1927); Gihindamuyaga in
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(1958); Quévy Abbey in Hainaut (1969).


School of art

The idea of an art school, inspired by that at the mother house, led to the foundation of the School of Applied Arts and Crafts, also known as the St. Joseph School. There was a difference of opinion as to whether it should serve more as a place for training poor children as carpenters, blacksmiths, plumbers and cobblers, or whether it should function more as a centre of fine arts and crafts. It was the latter view that prevailed when the school opened in 1903 under the leadership of Father Pascal Rox, and in due course the production began of neo-gothic works of high quality (vestments, pieces of silver, bindings and so on) destined mostly for the abbey itself. The school's activities were curtailed by
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and it was almost closed down in 1919, but it survived by widening its remit to undertaking paid work in a more modern style for outside customers. From 1939 onwards, the emphasis changed more explicitly towards the training of artists rather than skilled craftsmen. In 1964, after establishing an international reputation, the school merged with the Namur School of Crafts to form the I.A.T.A. ( Technical Institute of Arts and Crafts).


Publications

*''Le messager des fidèles'' (1884-89); continued as ''
Revue bénédictine The ''Revue Bénédictine'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published since 1884 from Maredsous Abbey by the Order of Saint Benedict and Belgium, Belgian publishing house Brepols. The journal covers church history and church writing (i ...
'' (1890- ) *''Anecdota maredsolana'' (1893- )


Products


Maredsous cheese

Maredsous Abbey is known for the production of Maredsous cheese, a loaf-shaped
cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...
made from
cow's milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutr ...
. In 2016 the Cheesemaking Museum was opened, where visitors can see how milk is transformed into cheese and how the cheese is matured."Maredsous Abbey", Visit Ardenne
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Maredsous beer

The abbey also licenses its name to Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, since 1963 the makers of Maredsous beer.


See also

* Maredret Abbey


References


Sources

*Misonne, Daniel, 2005. ''En parcourant l'histoire de Maredsous''. Editions de Maredsous.


Further reading

*Cottineau, L. H. ''Répertoire topo-bibliographique des abbayes et preurés''. Mâcon, 1929; col. 1744 *A. Pratesi "Maredsous" in ''Enciclopedia cattolica''; vol. 8 (1952), pp. 61 ff.


External links

*
Catholic Forum: Blessed Columba MarmionMaredsous cheese official website360°-panorama van de Maredsous Abbey
{{Authority control Christian monasteries in Namur (province) Benedictine monasteries in Belgium Religious organizations established in 1872 1872 establishments in Belgium Anhée