Gaussan Abbey (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame de Gaussan) is 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 situated at Bizanet in the Aude,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Cistercians

The site was originally established in the 12th century by the Cistercians as a grange of the nearby

Fontfroide Abbey Fontfroide Abbey (french: Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Fontfroide; la, Fons frigidus) is a former Cistercian monastery in France, situated 15 kilometers south-west of Narbonne near to the Spanish border. It was founded in 1093 by Aimery I, Visc ...

. Fontfroide was dissolved and its buildings and assets, including the grange at Gaussan, were sold off in 1791 during 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 ...

Private ownership

During the later 19th and 20th centuries the buildings were refurbished by the proprietor, Charles Lambert de Sainte-Croix, who also developed the land for

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

Benedictines

The property was later acquired by the Benedictines and in 1994 a monastery was founded here as a priory of

Fontgombault Abbey Fontgombault Abbey, otherwise the Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontgombault (french: Abbaye de Fontgombault; Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Fontgombault), is a Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation located in Fontgombault in th ...

. It became an abbey in 2004. It is part of the

Solesmes Congregation The Solesmes Congregation is an association of monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation headed by the Abbey of Solesmes. History The congregation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation, with the the ...

of the Benedictine Confederation and as such focusses on

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...

and the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

. The monks also produce wine.

Sources

Bizanet Village website: page on Gaussan Abbey
Benedictine monasteries in France Christian organizations established in 1984 Christian monasteries in Aude 1984 establishments in France {{France-Christian-monastery-stub