Monastery Notre-Dame du Val d’Adoration at Epinac

Posted in Diocese of Autun, Ecclesiastical province of Dijon, Nuns of Bethlehem

Monastery Notre-Dame du Val

Locate

The History of our Monastery

17 kilometres from Autun in the direction of Beaune, in the heart of the Battées forest, lies the former 13th-century Prieuré du Val Saint Benoît.

In 1236, Seigneur Gauthier de Sully, following a vow to Notre Dame, called upon the monks of Val Croissant, who belonged to the Val des Choux order, to found Val Saint Benoît. This humble priory enjoyed 3 centuries of fervour and prosperity. However, in the 16th century, the priors imposed by the king soon brought about the ruin of the priory, followed by the disappearance of the monks at the end of the 17th century.

The monastery today

Val Saint Benoît was restored when the monastery of Notre-Dame d’Adoration was founded in 1982 by the nuns of Bethlehem. This community of 16 nuns currently lives in a place particularly suited to monastic life, where joyful liturgical praise and silent adoration characterise their lives.

It is always possible to take part in the community’s liturgy.
The 13th-century church and the Gothic chapel, both listed Historic Monuments, are open to the public every day of the year.

The nuns make a living from their earthenware crafts and their sacred art in reconstituted stone. You can visit the monastic craft shop at the entrance to the monastery.