Mont-Saint-Éloi (; ) is a
commune in the
Pas-de-Calais
The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...
department in the Hauts-de-France
region of France
France is Administrative divisions of France, divided into eighteen administrative regions (, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are Overseas departments and regions of France, ove ...
northwest of
Arras
Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
, on the banks of the river
Scarpe.
Population
Mont Saint-Éloi Abbey
The monastery was founded in the 7th century by
Vindicianus
Saint Vindicianus (''Vindician'') () ( 632 – 712) was a bishop of Cambrai-Arras. His Calendar of saints, feast day is 11 March. He is called a spiritual follower of Saint Eligius (Saint Eloi).
Life
Traditionally, his birthplace is given as ...
, bishop of Arras and devotee of
Saint Eligius
Eligius (; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660), venerated as Saint Eligius, was a Frankish goldsmith, courtier, and bishop who was chief counsellor to Dagobert I and later Bishop of Noyon–Tournai. His deeds were recorded in ''Vita Sancti Eligii' ...
. The bishop was buried in the nearby Bois d'Ecoives, but his relics were subsequently removed to the Abbey Church of St. Joseph, which was enlarged in the 11th century. The abbey adopted the
Rule of Saint Augustine
The Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church.
The rule, develop ...
, and was the motherhouse of
St. Botolph's Priory in
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
. The medieval buildings were demolished in 1750 to make way for a church and convent, necessitated by the aging and shallow foundations of the old abbey.
During the
French Revolution, the monks left and the abbey was converted into a quarry and pillaged for the stone. What remained of the towers and facade serving as a military observation point during the First World War. In 1915 heavy shelling damaged the towers. It is a protected monument.
"Ancienne église abbatiale à Mont-Saint-Eloi", Monumentum, Carte des Monuments Historiques français
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Image:Demoiselles.jpg, The menhirs
Image:montsteloi.jpg, Menhirs
Image:ecoivres01.jpg, Écoivres village
Image:ecoivres02.jpg, Features on the church spire
Image:Mont-Saint-Eloi-Aerien-VueSE.jpg, Aerial view of the countryside
Image:Mont-Saint-Eloi-Aerien-Rue-du-General-Barbot.jpg, Aerial view
Image:Mont-Saint-Eloi-Aerien-Abbaye.jpg, Aerial view of the abbey
Image:steloi1.jpg, Towers of the abbey of Mont Saint-Éloi
See also
*Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
The following is a list of the 887 communes of the Pas-de-Calais department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
External links
The CWGC cemetery at Écoivres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mont-Saint-Eloi
Montsainteloi