The abbey of Saint Mary of Arles-sur-Tech ( ca, Santa Maria d'Arles; french: Sainte-Marie d'Arles-sur-Tech, ''Notre-Dame d'Arles-sur-Tech'') was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery in

Arles-sur-Tech Arles-sur-Tech (, literally ''Arles on Tech''; ca, Arles de Tec) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Location Arles-sur-Tech is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of C ...

in the

Vallespir Vallespir (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca in Northern Catalonia, part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès ...

between the ninth century and the eighteenth. It was dedicated to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, and belonged to the

diocese of Perpignan The Roman Catholic Diocese of Perpignan–Elne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Elnensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Perpignan–Elne''; Catalan: ''Bisbat de Perpinyà–Elna'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France.

. The abbey was in existence by the early ninth century. As the "monastery of Vallespir", it is listed in the '' Notice of the Service of the Monasteries'', compiled in 819 for Emperor

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

. It is placed in the province of Septimania and is recorded as owing prayers for the imperial family, but not military service or taxes. The independent existence of the monastery came to an end in 1592. At the request of King Philip II of Spain, the abbey of Arles-sur-Tech was united with the by a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

of Pope

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

dated 13 August 1592. At that time the abbey of Sorède had no monks and Arles had only eight. At the start of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

in 1789, the united monastery had only six monks. The building was spared destruction and expropriation, but the abbey was dissolved and the building became the parish church.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{Coord, 42, 27, 20.3, N, 2, 38, 6, E, display=title Christian monasteries established in the 9th century Benedictine monasteries in France Buildings and structures in Pyrénées-Orientales