Randol Abbey (''Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Randol'') 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 Randol near the village of Saint-Saturnin,

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

mountains of

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 ...

History

It was founded in 1971 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 ...

and was raised to the status of an independent abbey on 21 March 1981. The monastery building was constructed at the time of foundation in a striking contemporary style in a spectacular mountainside location. 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 then ...

of the

Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Confœderatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti) is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monasti ...

and as such focusses on

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

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 ...

Sources

Randol Abbey official website (includes many images)
Benedictine monasteries in France Communities using the Tridentine Mass Buildings and structures in Puy-de-Dôme Christian organizations established in 1971 20th-century Christian monasteries {{France-Christian-monastery-stub