Carmel of La Fontaine Olive at Aubigny-les-Pothées

Posted in Carmelites, Diocese of Reims, Ecclesiastical province of Reims

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The History of our Monastery

This area of the Ardennes where we live was in the past a monastic area with the Cistercian Abbey of Signy, the Charterhouse of Mont Dieu (cf. The Golden Letter of Guillaume de St Thierry), Élan Abbey, The Seven Fountains, etc. After the French Revolution in 1789, there were no more monasteries.

In 1973, The Auxiliary Bishop of Reims wanting a contemplative community in the Ardennes invited the Boulogne-Billancourt Carmelite Nuns to come. They were wondering how to live the deep roots of the Carmelite tradition in the modern world. The Monastery was blessed in 1977. As the years went by the sisters forged many friendly links.

“Surely tradition is something other than just what the centuries pass on to each other ?
Not a fixed treasure but a seed that grows”.
M. Sangnier.

The monastery today

Located in the middle of the Ardennes, the Carmel of La Fontaine Olive at Aubigny-les-Pothées offers to those who want it a place close to nature where each can pause to take a break from everyday life, to let the silence of nature speak, to listen to the Word of God, to share in the sisters prayer and to meet other people searching for God.

Two kinds of accommodation are available, a small house for people to have a Quiet day or a longer solitary retreat, or for a group retreat for up to 6 – 8 people, and two large separate rooms for groups of up to 20 people for the day.

Special features of our monastery

We work in several different workshops : embroidery, weaving (scarves and shawls), dressmaking (for baptisms and special occasions), cane-seating, candles, information technology (making transcriptions of audio files MP3, MP44), printing (leaflets, small posters, pamphlets).