Abbaye of Notre-Dame at Wisques

Posted in Benedictines, Diocese of Arras, Ecclesiastical province of Lille

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The history of our Monastery

The first nuns arrived at Wisques in 1889. First daughter house of St Cecilia’s, Solesmes, which had been founded by Madame Cécile Bruyère under the impetus of Dom Guéranger, we are committed to keeping alive and making fruitful the heritage that we have received. For the last 120 years, despite the events of history – which led us to Holland at the beginning of the 20th Century – the nuns have assured the continuation of their office of praise in Gregorian chant. Prayer, work, fraternal life, silence, lectio divina, form the framework of our days; our enclosed life is completely directed to the search for God.

The Monastery today

The Community of the Abbey of Notre Dame at Wisques is made up of about twenty sisters of all ages, happy to live together fraternally according to the Rule of St Benedict. The liturgical life marks the rhythm of our time, throughout the day and throughout the year.

Work in the kitchen garden, orchard, the workshop for decorating ceramics, knitting, book-binding, upkeep of the building and housework, welcoming others to our guest house keep us busy.

Some special features of our monastery

Close to the Abbey, a former hunting lodge accommodates our guest house where families, couples, groups, and young people come for a time of retreat, of silence, study, and to share the prayer of the community. It is also one of the halts for the “Via francigena”, historical route which linked the North of Europe to Rome in the Middle Ages.