Benedictine monks and the Abbaye de Solignac
“Benedictine monks return to historic Solignac Abbey for first time since French Revolution”
Given my ongoing research on Christendom it was unsurprising that my eye was pleasantly caught by the foregoing headline.
In an uplifting story carried by the Catholic News Agency [CNA], correspondent Solène Tadié recounts that, on the 1st of August 2021 Benedictine monks moved into the emblematic Solignac Abbey in west-central France after a 230-year absence. It is the first time since the French Revolution that the Benedictines have returned to this historic Christian site, established by St. Eligius in the 7th century. [1]
At a time when, across Europe and Australia, so many religious buildings are left to decay, demolished or sold off for secular purposes, I found it truly heartening to read of one religious complex with a strong and fascinating heritage being given a new lease of life.
The monks’ return was announced in a joint communique issued by the Diocese of Limoges co-signed by local Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo and Dom Jean-Bernard Marie Bories, the Abbot of the Benedictine St. Joseph de Clairval Abbey in France’s Burgundy region. The latter bought the historic abbey to establish a priory. So keen were the good monks of St Joseph De Clairval to re-establish a Benedictine presence in the region they approved the foundation project by a two-thirds majority.
Solignac Abbey is some 10 km south of the historic city of Limoges, situated on the western foothills of the Massif Central. Christianity was established in the district in 3 AD by St. Martial, sometimes known as the Apostle to the Gauls. St. Martial was the first Bishop of Limoges. From a personal perspective, Limoges is home to one of my favourite cathedrals, construction of which began in 1273 and completed in 1888! Accordingly, it features a wonderful blend of Gothic, Renaissance and Romanesque architectural styles. I was hardly surprised that it was considered to be a National Monument.
But to return to Solignac, which itself has an interesting history. It was founded in 631 at the request of St. Eligius [c.588-659], Bishop of Noyon in northern France and trusted advisor to the Merovingian Kings, Clotaire II and Dagobert.
A goldsmith by trade, Eligius was renowned for his integrity and artistry. His work and his virtue elevated him to cult status throughout Europe, wherein he is represented in several churches either as a bishop holding a horseshoe or as a working goldsmith. One legend surrounding him particularly appeals: It is said that he was interrupted in his work by the Devil in the guise of a young woman, so he extracted the hot tongs from the forge and seized the Devil by the nose!
In 639 he became a priest and, as Bishop of Noyon, was active in establishing monasteries throughout France. He is the patron saint of all metal workers, including garage mechanics and farriers.[2]
Established as the Benedictine monastery on the Briance River, the first monks came from Luxeuil in north-east France from the Abbaye Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul. The Benedictine missionary bishop St. Remaclus became Solignac's first Abbot (632–642). The abbey soon grew to 150 monks. In 675 they, in turn, founded Brageac Abbey in the Diocese of Clermont-Ferrand. Their dependent priories included Arton (Haute-Vienne) and Agumont (Corrèze).
Sadly, and somewhat unusual for the Medieval Period, Solignac was plundered several times and had to be restored in 840 and 1100. Moreover, it suffered during the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) and, in 1571, it was ravaged by the Calvinists.
It was however, in 1619, incorporated into the Congregation of Saint-Maur. Commonly known as Maurists, these were a congregation of French Benedictines known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation was named after Saint Maurus, a disciple of Saint Benedict himself. The congregation was suppressed and its Superior-General executed during the French Revolution.
By the mid 18th century the fortunes of the Abbey had diminished to the point that in 1768 it had only nine monks. After the anti-clerical revolutionaries expelled the Benedictines in 1790, the abbey was used successively as a prison, a boarding school for girls, and, until 1930, as a porcelain factory.
It served as a refuge for Catholic teachers during World War II, before welcoming the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1945. The community stayed until the 1990s, finally transferring the property to the diocese in 2011. The abbey remained unoccupied for the following seventeen years.
Nonetheless, although the Benedictine Order and its monks were suppressed during the French Revolution, the buildings were preserved and, because of usage, maintained to some degree. The Abbey Church is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque art and has been elevated as a national historical monument.
Bishop Bozo told CNA that the Benedictines’ return was the fruit of a long ‘discernment period’, during which he met with the Abbot several times.
“I give thanks for this amazing news, because we’ve been searching for different solutions for this place for many years and eventually, the project that succeeded is the one that is the most consistent with the original purpose of this abbey built by St. Eligius -- that is, to welcome communities of monks, especially Benedictine monks,” he said.[3]
Dom Jean-Bernard Marie Bories told the local diocesan newspaper that, in addition to restoring the Benedictine Rule, his main goal is to make the abbey a spiritual centre dedicated to prayer and retreats, built around the cloister and accommodating larger numbers of people than at St. Joseph de Clairval Abbey.
There are also plans to house young people preparing for confirmation and other events, offering them the opportunity for a retreat.
Bories said: “In this place, generations of praying people have followed one another, forming a monastic breeding ground on which a new resurgence of the old Benedictine trunk will ‘grow’: more than 1,150 years of monastic presence link us to a great tradition, thus renewing a chain of prayer.”
But these plans will require several years of work inside the abbey’s various buildings, which extend over a considerable area. As the good Abbot observed, ‘the process is expected to be long, arduous, and costly’.
Below I have included links to images and video clips highlighting the beautiful setting of the Abbey and the scale of works to be undertaken. Given the tempestuous times in which we live, I consider these challenges, undertaken purely for the benefit of the spirit and the aesthete, to be joyous news indeed.
The End
Abbaye de Solignac - Diocèse de Limoges (diocese-limoges.fr
https://www.diocese-limoges.fr/projets-diocesains/abbaye-de-solignac/travaux/
[1] Tadié, Solène. “Benedictine monks return to historic Solignac Abbey for first time since French Revolution”. Aug 5 2021. Catholic News Agency. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/248593/benedictine-monks-return-to-historic-solignac-abbey-for-first-time-since-french-revolution?utm_
[2] Murray, P.& M. The Oxford Companion to Christian Art and Architecture. OUP. London. 1996. Pp.159-60.