Better still, the country seems to be giving birth to a gradual return of monk-builders, to the point of reviving nostalgic memories of the days of King St. Louis.
After the resurrection of the historic Cistercian barn at Boulaur (southwest France), and the expansion of La Lucerne Abbey in Normandy, it is now the turn of the Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Marie de la Garde, daughter community of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, located in the Diocese of Agen, in southwest France, to embark on a vast and audacious enlargement project.
This initiative undertaken by the Benedictine monks is part of a civilizational reconstruction effort, following a classical architectural model of Romanesque and Cluniac inspiration, destined to stand the test of time.
The first phase of this “Great Hope Project,” launched in May 2023, includes the construction of a cloister, bell tower and living quarters for the monks. It will then extend to the construction of an abbey church and crypt, a hotel complex, a conference hall and an infirmary. This particularly ambitious project for a new “abbey for the 21st century” nevertheless represents a major financial challenge.
Growing Number of Faithful and Vocations
Unlike many communities in the rest of Europe, the monks of Le Barroux and their affiliated community of Sainte-Marie de la Garde seem to be weathering the storm of de-Christianization.
Back in 2001, the growing number of monks at Le Barroux Abbey (in the Var region, in southeast France) prompted part of the community to move to the Diocese of Agen to accommodate new vocations and the growing number of faithful.
Founded in 1970 by Dom Gérard Calvet, the Abbey of Saint-Madeleine du Barroux celebrates the traditional Latin Mass. The liturgical services, sung entirely in Gregorian, have recently been made accessible to the general public via the Neumz app.
“There were around 65 of us at Le Barroux at the time, and just as when the bees in a hive are too numerous, and the queen flies off to found a new hive, eight brothers were sent to establish a new foundation elsewhere,” Brother Ambroise, prior of the Saint-Marie de la Garde community, told the Register.
The move came about providentially, in his view, as the shepherd of Agen at the time, Bishop Jean-Charles Descubes, was keen to enrich it with the presence of a contemplative community and did everything in his power to facilitate their arrival. With no old abbey or priory available in the region, the brothers had to acquire a classic property, restoring the preexisting outbuildings and transforming an old sheepfold into a chapel.
The priory became an abbey in 2021, the year in which the community elected its first abbot, Dom Marc Guillot.
The structure, which until now could accommodate around 20 to 25 monks, will soon be too small, as the community already has 19 members, whose average age is 47, and vocations are progressing at a steady rate of one or two a year.
“But our first priority is to welcome the faithful to Mass, as the chapel can only hold a little under a hundred, which is insufficient on Sundays and feast days, especially during the summer months, when we are obliged to install a screen outside so that everyone can follow,” Brother Ambroise continued. “We knew from the outset that we would one day have to build our own abbey, but we didn’t see that as an obstacle.”
$6 Million Needed by End of 2027
The work, which began in May 2023, currently concerns the three main wings of the large cloister, the refectory, bell tower, library, the chapter house and cells. A fourth wing will be built in the second phase, due to start in 2027, which will also include an abbey church and crypt. Then, in the 2030s, will come the hotel, kitchen, visiting rooms, porter’s lodge and, finally, the infirmary.
The whole project, which relies entirely on private sponsorship — France’s 1905 secular law prohibits public funding of religious projects — is currently estimated to cost some 25 million euros. The community now estimates that it is just under $6 million short of the almost $10 million needed to complete phase one.
While various fundraising platforms already mobilized to support their initiative, the monks are relying on the expertise and international network of their patronage director, Gen. Stéphane Abrial, former chief of staff of the French Air Force and previous commander of Allied Command Transformation in the U.S. and one of the two NATO strategic commands.
“It is certainly an ambitious project, but one that remains reasonable,” Brother Ambroise commented, “because we know that monasteries will be called upon to play an ever-greater role in future times, and it is up to us to show a thoroughly Christian boldness to rekindle hope in hearts. … We have no pretensions but immense conviction!”
Rebuilding a Civilization
For him, the fundamental aspect of this building project is his community’s desire to remind the world of God’s primacy over all the ephemeral dimensions of human life, by anchoring it in a timeless heritage.
And to ensure that this heritage is passed on to future generations, as a silent witness to God’s greatness and beauty, the entire complex will be built in the millennia-old spirit of European monastic architecture, in freestone with granite foundations, in a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach.
At the same time, the community is considering developing a number of social activities and initiatives, particularly in the field of training, to support local populations who, far from major urban centers, suffer from precarious economic conditions and struggle to provide a sustainable future for their families.
This is the perfect recipe for turning the site into a “spiritual oasis,” according to Benedict XVI’s famous expression. In fact, families are already flocking to buy houses in the surrounding area, confident that the abbey’s outreach will be felt throughout the neighborhood. It is also an opportunity for them to reach out to all those far away from the faith, touched by this initiative that bears witness to the long French tradition of monk-builders — that culminated with Cluny, the most powerful abbey in medieval Christendom — and to a great confidence in the future.
As to whether the moral collapse of the West could give birth to a return to the monastic golden age once initiated by St. Benedict, and which counterbalanced the decay of the Roman Empire, Brother Ambroise posited that Christians must already act as if this were the case.
“At a time when everything is crumbling, when everything is being called into question, when we are giving in to pessimism by settling for a poor liturgy on the pretext of not putting ourselves forward, an abbey coming out of the ground sends the strong message that everything is still possible,” he concluded. “In this sense, our project is part of a profoundly civilizational approach.”