Port-du-Salut Abbey, also the Abbey of Notre-Dame du Port du Salut (french: Abbaye du Port-du-Salut, ''Abbaye Notre-Dame du Port-du-Salut'' or ''Abbaye du Port-Ringeard'') is a
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
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
located in
Entrammes
Entrammes () is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France. It is located about west of Parné-sur-Roc and about south of Laval Entrammes Airport in Laval.
History
Entrammes owes its location to a major ford across the ri ...
,
Mayenne
Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...
,
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 ...
. The main monastery building dates from around the 13th century.
History
The Trappist abbey was founded in the early nineteenth century. In 1815, after twenty years of exile due to the suppression of religious orders by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, the Trappists returned to work in France. More precisely, on February 21, 1815, a Trappist community under Dom Bernard de Girmont, later their first abbot, settled in the empty buildings of a former priory occupied by a community of
canons, dissolved 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
The new community was formally recognised as an abbey on December 10, 1816, by
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
.
Present day
Today, in addition to the conventual buildings, the abbey church and the beautiful chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the abbey has a house for
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
s with about 30 rooms and a small shop at the entrance selling religious books and the produce of the monks:
jam
Jam is a type of fruit preserve.
Jam or Jammed may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* A firearm malfunction
* Block signals
** Radio jamming
** Radar jamming and deception
** Mobile phone jammer
** Echolocation jamming
Arts and entertai ...
, honey, biscuits, cakes. There is also at the abbey entrance a small external house for pilgrims, in case of emergency arrivals at night.
At the beginning of the 20th century at least 100
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s lived here, but today there are only 12.
Notre Dame du Triomphe
Behind the abbey is a little hill with a beautiful wild garden. A path leads to the column of ''Notre Dame du Triomphe'' (Our Lady of Triumph), a column on which there is a statue of the
Virgin Mary
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 o ...
overlooking the landscape. According to a plaque, all those who recite three
Hail Mary
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
s are granted 100 days of
indulgence
In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...
, as determined by
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...
.
Gallery
Image:Port-du-salut-dom-bernard-de-girmont.JPG, Dom Bernard de Girmont, first abbot, 1815.
Image:Port-du-salut-entrance-and-shop.JPG, The entrance, with the little shop to the left.
Image:N.D.PortduSalut-France.JPG, The abbey church
Bibliography
* ''Abbaye du Port-du-Salut'', in ''Dictionnaire historique, topographique et biographique de la Mayenne'' by Alphonse-Victor Angot, Ferdinand Gaugain. Goupil, 1900-1910, vol. III, pp. 335–337; vol. IV, p. 748.
* ''Notre-dame-du-Triomphe. La Terreur des Démons. Historique de l'origine de la Construction et de la Bénédiction du Monument érigé dans l'Enclos de l'Abbaye du Port-du-Salut. Près Laval (Mayenne).'' Fare de Religiulo-Pastro de la Monahxejo. Laval, Impr. Eugène Jamin, 1875;
* Louis-Julien Morin de la Beauluère, ''Notice sur Entrammes'';
* Charles Meignan, ''L'abbaye de la Trappe'';
* ''Mémorial de la Mayenne'', t. IV, p. 245;
* ''Revue du Maine'', t. XLVIII, p. 124;
* ''Affiches'', 1815;
* ''Annonces'', November 1822;
* ''Vie du baron de Géramb'', manuscript;
* ''La Mayenne'', 1845;
* ''Écho'', 1854;
* ''Indépendant'', 1856;
* ''Ami de la Religion'', 1812;
* E. Sauvage, ''Une visite à la Trappe'';
* ''Guide pittoresque en France'';
References
External links
Official website of Port-du-Salut Abbey
{{coord, 48, 00, N, 0, 00, W, region:BE_type:landmark_source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title
Trappist monasteries in France
Religious organizations established in 1816
1816 establishments in France
18th-century disestablishments in France