Saint-Laurent-les-Bains - Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Neiges - 15

Saint-Laurent-les-Bains - Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Neiges - 13

The Abbey of Notre-Dame des Neiges or Our Lady of the Snows () 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 ...

monastery in the

Ardèche Ardèche (; , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche (river), Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of south-central

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 ...

. The former

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 ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

has been resettled by Cistercian

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s in 2022.''The Guardian'', "Prayers and soap production: French nuns sell cleaning products to pay abbey bills"
16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024. The abbey was built in 1850, located on the territory of the commune of

Saint-Laurent-les-Bains Saint-Laurent-les-Bains (; Auvergnat: ''Sant Laurenç daus Banhs'') is a former commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Saint-Laurent-les-Bains-Laval-d'Aurelle.

, about one and a half miles east of the village of

La Bastide-Puylaurent La Bastide-Puylaurent (; ) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. The Trappist monastery Notre-Dame-des-Neiges (Our Lady of the Snows), visited by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1878 and described in his book ''Travels with a Do ...

(

Lozère Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...

History

Prior to the French Revolution, there were several

monasteries in the region, namely Mazan Abbey, Les Chambons Abbey, and Mercoire Abbey. These were however destroyed and sold off during the French Revolution. In 1791, Jean Chalbos purchased a former barn of Les Chambons. His descendants offered to return the land back to monastic use and offered it to

Aiguebelle Abbey Aiguebelle Abbey () is a Trappist monastery situated in the communes of Montjoyer and Réauville in the ''département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the natio ...

, who initially declined the offer, but eventually accepted the second time, having received encouragement from the bishops of Valence and Viviers. The monastery was officially founded on 5 August 1850, the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

of Our Lady of the Snows. The priory was elevated to an abbey in 1874, with the election of their first abbot, Polycarpe Marthoud. At the time, there were some 90 members of the abbey.

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

visited in 1878 while on a hiking trip he described in ''

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes ''Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes'' (1879) is one of Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest published works and is considered a pioneering classic of outdoor literature. Background Stevenson was in his late 20s and still dependent on his par ...

''. The

French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...

initially planned to expel the monks again in November 1880, however a sudden snowfall prevented this from being executed. With the threat of persecution, the abbot made a foundation in Akbes,

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, so as to ensure that a refuge was available for the monks should they be expelled again. In January 1890,

Charles de Foucauld Charles Eugène, vicomte de Foucauld de Pontbriand, (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916), commonly known as Charles de Foucauld, was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuare ...

entered the monastery as a

novice 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 ...

, and was given the religious name "Marie-Albéric". Due to his plea, after some months he was sent to the Syrian abbey of La Trappe at Akbès. The monastery was burned down in a fire in 1912 and was rebuilt. In January 2022, the Vatican announced that Notre-Dame des Neiges has to be closed due to the lack of novices and the death of two brothers in 2021. According to the newspaper '' La Croix'', the remaining ten brothers made the decision together on Christmas Eve 2021. The abbey was resettled in December 2022 by eight

Cistercian nuns Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order of the Catholic Church. History The Cistercian Order was initially a male order. Cistercian female monasteries began to appear by 1125. The first Cistercian monastery ...

from St Mary's Abbey in Boulaur, whose number had grown to twelve by 2024. The sisters' revenue-generating activities include the sale of spring water, essential oils, soap and other cleaning products.

References

External links

Official website (in French)
*Hiking trails:

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notre Dame Des Neiges Buildings and structures in Ardèche Christian monasteries established in the 19th century 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Catholic organizations established in the 19th century Religious organizations established in 1850 1850 establishments in France Trappist monasteries in France Cistercian nunneries