The Capuchin Friary in

Crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings * The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York * "The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York * Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Sw ...

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, is a Capuchin convent. The

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

was established in 1609 in the former

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

of Crest. A small community of twelve

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

s lived there, following the

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life which that branch of the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

had developed to revive. They followed a routine of prayer and study, as well as conducting

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

missions to the people of the surrounding towns and villages. The friars nursed the sick during a plague which struck the town in 1628, and carried off one-third of the townsfolk. A school for boys was established by the friars in 1682, which they maintained till 1712. The community of friars was suppressed during the French Revolution and the friary was confiscated by the town in 1791 and sold off two years later. The building was returned to the order in 1820. The friars were expelled once again in 1903 under the anticlerical laws in France, then in force under the Third Republic, but they were able to return in 1920. At that point, they established it as a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

dedicated to the special preparation for their overseas mission fields in

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and

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Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel (1 December 1802 – 29 March 1891) was the Roman Catholic Archbishops of Toronto, Bishop of Toronto from 1847 to 1860 and the only French and non-English priest to hold the post. Early years Born in Ch� ...

, OFMCap, (1802-1891), a former Bishop of Toronto,

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, lived here in his retirement and is buried in the friary church. Currently (2010), it is occupied by a small community of retired friars.

Sources

* The Capuchin community in Crest, in history and toda

Buildings and structures in Drôme Capuchin friaries Benedictine monasteries in France Franciscan monasteries in France {{France-Christian-monastery-stub