The Abbey of St. Mary of Lagrasse (French: ''Abbaye Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse'' or ''Abbaye Sainte-Marie-d'Orbieu'') is a Romanesque abbey in

Lagrasse Lagrasse (; oc, La Grassa) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2016, it had a population of 560. Lagrasse is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France" ...

, southern

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 ...

, whose origins date to the 7th century. It is located in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, near the Corbières Massif, about 35 km from

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...

. It was originally 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, but since 2004 has been home to a community of

canons regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

History

The monastic community was founded in the 7th century by the abbot of Narbonne, Nimphridius, who adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict. It was elevated to the rank of abbey in 779 and enriched quickly thanks to donations from lords from the neighbourhood and the

county of Barcelona The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, here ...

, acquiring lands, castles, priories and other assets. During the 12th century it ruled over a large territory encompassing the dioceses of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

and Béziers and the

county of Urgell The County of Urgell ( ca, Comtat d'Urgell, ; la, Comitatus Urgellensis) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former sectio ...

. During the 13th to 15th centuries, it was reinforced and fortified due to the numerous wars, and there was a decline in religious life. In the 16th century, Philippe de Lévis, the first commendatory abbot of the monastery, initiated the construction of a great bell tower, which was left unfinished after his death in 1537. A revival of its religious life took place in the 17th century, when the monastery joined the

Congregation of Saint Maur The Congregation of St. Maur, often known as the Maurists, were a congregation of French Benedictines, established in 1621, and known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation and its members were named after Saint Maurus (died 565), a ...

in 1663. In the 18th century, it benefited from the architectural undertakings of its commendatory abbot, Bishop Armand Bazin de Bezons (1701–1778), enriching it with a ceremonial

cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes w ...

and a cloister in classical style. In 1789, with the beginning 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 ...

, the abbey was confiscated by the state and sold in two lots. The smaller lot, comprising the medieval part of the abbey, belongs to the Council of the Department of Aude In 2004, the Canons Regular of the Mother of God, a community of

, moved into Lagrasse Abbey, occupying the larger lot comprising about three quarters of the building. The community, the majority of whom are priests, live in common under the Rule of St. Augustine, and dedicate their lives to the liturgy, which they celebrate in the pre-

Vatican II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

form, and to evangelization. Common life, contemplative life, and apostolic life form the three facets of their charism.

Architecture

The part of the abbey in public ownership comprises the 13th-century abbot's house with a small cloister, the abbot's chapel, the monks' dormitory, the north transept of the church and a lapidary museum. The Romanesque church was built in the 11th century, with a single nave ending in a presbytery, with a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

and three small

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

s. There are a new church and a new abbot palace (18th century). Restoration works in the cloister (also from the 18th century) have found remains of an ancient Romanesque portal with a marble sculpted arch, attributed to the Master of Cabestany. The octagonal bell tower is 40 meters high. The monk’s dormitory features an ogival vault in timber framework. On-going restoration work, sponsored by the Association for Safeguarding and Enhancing Lagrasse Abbey and the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

, won in 2014 the annual award for such work.Le Grand Trophée de la plus belle restauration, 2014
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References

External links

Official site of the Abbey

Page at General Council of Aude’s website
{{Authority control Romanesque architecture in France Christian monasteries in Aude Benedictine monasteries in France Christian monasteries established in the 7th century Tourist attractions in Aude Monuments historiques of Aude Communities using the Tridentine Mass