Sablonceaux Abbey () is a former Augustinian monastery located in

Sablonceaux Sablonceaux () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Population See also * Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 462 communes of the Charente-Maritime department ...

in the

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

department of south-western France. It is now occupied by members of the

Chemin Neuf Community The Chemin Neuf Community () is a Catholic community with an ecumenical vocation. Formed from a charismatic prayer group in 1973, it has 2,000 permanent members in 30 countries, and 12,000 people serving in the community missions. Its main founde ...

History

Creation

The abbey was established in 1136 by

William X, Duke of Aquitaine William X ( Occitan: ''Guillém X''; 1099 – 9 April 1137), called the Saint, was Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, and Count of Poitou (as William VIII) from 1126 to 1137. Early life William was the son of William IX by his second wif ...

, who initially supported

antipope An antipope () is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to the officially elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church its ...

Anacletus II Anacletus II (died January 25, 1138), born Pietro Pierleoni, was an antipope who ruled in opposition to Pope Innocent II from 1130 until his death in 1138. After the death of Pope Honorius II, the college of cardinals was divided over his su ...

against

Pope Innocent II Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...

during the

papal schism of 1130 The 1130 papal election (held February 14) was convoked after the death of Pope Honorius II and resulted in a double election. Part of the cardinals, led by Cardinal-Chancellor Aymery de la Châtre, elected Gregorio Papareschi as Pope Innocent ...

, but changed his mind after the intervention of

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

, and tried to demonstrate his good faith by offering to the Church two valuable monastic foundations, Fontenay-le-Comte Abbey in

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442. Construction began before 1160, and the abbey was already powerful by the late 12th century, strengthened by the constant support of the

archbishop of Bordeaux The Archdiocese of Bordeaux (–Bazas) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Burdigalensis (–Bazensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Bordeaux (–Bazas)''; Occitan: ''Archidiocèsi de Bordèu (–Vasats)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or a ...

. The original church was Romanesque and containing a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with three

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

Late Middle Ages and Renaissance

During 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 ...

, the abbey was threatened with destruction. The

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

was damaged, and rebuilt in the Gothic style, as it is still to be seen today. 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 ...

, there were further battles around the abbey, which supported the Catholic side. From this time onwards the moral standards of the community began to decline, and the behaviour of the monks eventually became scandalous. In 1633, the abbey came under the control of

Chancelade Abbey Chancelade Abbey () is an Augustinian monastery in Chancelade in the Dordogne. It was founded in 1129. The abbey was damaged by English troops in the 14th century during the Hundred Years' War and again by Protestants in the 16th century durin ...

Commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot () is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, however, ...

s took over at this time, the first of whom, Henri d'Escoubleau de Sourdis,

, went to great lengths to reverse the moral and spiritual decline of the community.

Dissolution

During the French Revolution, the abbey was sold off as a "national asset" (''bien national'') and the limestone buildings were quarried. Two of the church's cupolas were destroyed. In the 19th century, the abbey again became a place of prayer, but the bishop of La Rochelle closed it down because of the dangerous state of the buildings. It was afterwards sold repeatedly, and fell increasingly into ruin. In 1907, the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

tried to protect the church at least by giving it the status of ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

''. The decay of the other buildings continued, however. They became an orphanage during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and finally a

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

Restoration

In 1962

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( ; ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (''Man's Fate'') (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed ...

, Minister of Culture, ordered the restoration of the sanctuary, which took twenty years. In 1986, the

diocese of La Rochelle The Diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the département of Charente-Maritime and the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The bishop is ...

decided to buy the abbey, in order to make of it a spiritual centre, a house of spiritual retreat (and hospitality to tourists), and also an artistic establishment. It gave this triple mission to the

References

External links

Abbey website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sablonceaux Abbey Augustinian monasteries in France 1136 establishments in Europe 1130s establishments in France Buildings and structures in Charente-Maritime Christian monasteries established in the 1130s Chemin Neuf Community