Carmel of Nevers

Carmel of Nevers

Posted in Carmelites, Diocese of Nevers, Ecclesiastical province of Dijon

carmel de nevers

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The History of our Monastery

The Carmelite Order drives its roots into the mountain of Carmel, in Palestine, following the steps of the prophet Elijah. At the beginning of the 13th century, a small group of crusaders coming from Europe settled there in order to embrace the hermit and contemplative life style. The political context of the Holy Land caused the hermits of Mount Carmel to migrate to Europe in 1238. In the 15th century, while Spain was torn apart by religious wars, a Carmelite of Avila, Teresa of Jesus founded what she called “the small dovecots of the Virgin” in the service of the Church of her time. Like prayer “strongholds”, they were reformed monasteries which lived according to the Order original Rule. As soon as 1604, six Spanish Carmelites who had known Teresa of Avila came to France. They had been invited by some renowned people: Madame Acarie, Francis of Sales and the Cardinal of Bérulle, in order to found a first “theresian” monastery in Paris. From that time, foundations succeeded one another.

The Carmel of Nevers was founded on December 8th 1619, by Carmelites from Paris, Amiens and Orléans, thanks to a generous benefactress who gave the house. Later, the largesse of Princess Catherine and Princess Marie of Gonzague allowed them to settle on a large land close to St-Trohé Church. They occupied that place until the French Revolution when they eventually got expelled. From that moment on, they started living individually. In 1820, they could buy back the former convent of Carmelite brothers and reassemble a community. This latest community is the one we descend from…

The monastery today

We are 13 sisters today, from 34 to 92 years old. We enjoy being just a humble and hidden presence in the heart of our diocese confronted with serious challenges on a spiritual, pastoral, economic, and human level. In solitude and fraternal communion, our daily life offers a balance of prayer and work. Continual prayer is our first fight, while the works of our hands are praise to our Creator for the life of the world… Our work does not mobilise the whole community but we rather have various activities: binding, iconography, sewing, stencil imaging, restoring and making wax Baby Jesus using an old tradition from one of our carmels.

Special features of our monastery

Our monastery is located in the heart of a residential district, in the outskirts of Nevers. With the nearby Visitation Convent, we are the only contemplative presence in our diocese, where, every year, apostolic communities of men and women are closing. Therefore our prayer life is the humble expression of the Presence of God in the heart of our world and tries to give the testimony of his love for each person. As we come from various backgrounds (6 different carmels), we are building daily our fraternal unity, taking advantage of the diversity of our sources, our educations, our talents. We should not forget either that Saint Bernadette Soubirous is lying in St Gildard’s Convent in Nevers, where she spent the thirteen last years of her life. Though she is not in our Carmel, obviously, she is like a presence given to the whole diocese.