Monastery of Sainte-Scholastique at Urt

Posted in Benedictines, Diocese of Bayonne, Ecclesiastical province of Bordeaux

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The History of our Monastery

Near the Abbey of Belloc and closely associated with its history, the Monastery of Sainte-Scholastique at Urt was erected in 1875 in the Diocese of Bayonne., It had humble beginnings in May 1883 with only a few young ladies, some of whom had been trained in the Benedictine way of life at the Benedictine convent of St-Jean-d’Angely (Maumont). Following the expulsion of the monks in 1903, they maintained their way of life under the patronage of the Bishops of Bayonne. They were later associated to the French Province of the Congregation of Subiaco.

The Monastery Today

The Monastery of Sainte-Scholastique at Urt – around twenty nuns – still lives where the monastery was first founded, striving to be faithful to the Benedictine rule Ora and Labora: pray and work. Daily Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours are sung, mainly in French, with some parts in Gregorian chant for Mass.

The monastery has an important guesthouse, makes candles and has a small workshop for liturgical vestments.

Special Features of our Monastery

Since 1993 at the request of the local Church, the Easter Vigil has been celebrated with the monks of the Abbey of Notre-Dame of Belloc in their church; for about the last ten years Sunday Mass is celebrated alternately in the two locations.

The two congregations maintain twinned communities of oblates, lay people who commit themselves to live following the Benedictine rule; they also share a common website www.belloceturt.org.