The Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Dombes) is a former

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

monastery located in Le Plantay in the

Dombes The Dombes (; Arpitan: Domba) is an area in eastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, on the s ...

region, in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is now occupied by members of the

Chemin Neuf The Chemin Neuf Community (french: Communauté du Chemin Neuf) 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 c ...

movement.

History

The monastery was established by 44 monks from

Aiguebelle Abbey Aiguebelle Abbey (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Aiguebelle) is a Trappist monastery situated in the communes of Montjoyer and Réauville in the ''département'' of Drôme, on the borders of the Dauphiné and of Provence, France. History Benedictin ...

in 1863, on the invitation of Mgr Pierre-Henri Gérault de Langalerie, bishop of Belley, with the aim not only of evangelizing the country, but also of

drain Drain may refer to: Objects and processes * Drain (plumbing), a fixture that provides an exit-point for waste water or for water that is to be re-circulated on the side of a road * Drain (surgery), a tube used to remove pus or other fluids from ...

ing the swamps of the Dombes, so as to improve agriculture and fishing and raise the standard of living of the inhabitants. The importance of the abbey grew quickly, and it was successful in its intended purposes. In 1937

Paul Couturier Paul Irénée Couturier (29 July 1881 – 24 March 1953) was a French priest and a promoter of the concept of Christian unity. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Early life and career He was bo ...

launched the

Dombes Group Groupe des Dombes, the Dombes Group, is a gathering of 20 Roman-Catholic and 20 Protestant theologians that has met regularly since 1937 in a small monastery, the Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes near Lyon, France. It was found by Paul Couturier Pau ...

(''Groupe des Dombes''), a francophone

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

group consisting of equal numbers of Roman Catholic and Protestant theologians, which met between 1968 and 1997 in the abbey. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the monks worked with the Resistance and helped many people, especially Jews. There were many visits by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

; on 2 May 1944 two monks were executed, and others arrested. For the community's actions the abbey was awarded in 1946 the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. In 2001, there were very few monks remaining, who asked the Chemin Neuf Community to come and replace them in their mission of prayer and welcoming visitors.

References

Trappist monasteries in France

Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes The Abbey of Notre-Dame des Dombes (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Dombes) is a former Trappist monastery located in Le Plantay in the Dombes region, in the Ain department of eastern France. It is now occupied by members of the Chemin Neuf movem ...

Notre-Dame des Dombes 19th-century Christian monasteries

19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France {{France-Christian-monastery-stub