Monastery St Clare in Poligny

Posted in Diocese of Saint-Claude, Ecclesiastical province of Besançon, Poor Clairs

clarisses poligny - Monastery St Clare in Poligny

Locate

History of monastery

The monastery was founded by Saint Colette of Corbie in 1415 as her reform took on momentum.
It was built above the cellars donated by John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. During the Ten Years War in 1638, Poligny and the monastery were burnt to the ground and the Poor Clares went into exile until 1648. At the Revolution the sisters were dispersed and the chapel demolished. However, the community was reconstituted and the chapel, where the reliquary casket of Saint Colette is to be found, was rebuilt in 1838. The chapel has just been renovated to commemorate in 2015 the six hundredth anniversary of the monastery’s foundation.

The monastery today

Nuns of different nationalities tread together the gospel path for today’s world through lives of poverty and joy, sisterly communion, and prayers of praise and intercession. The liturgical offices are sung and are open to all. The Eucharist is celebrated every day at 8.30 a.m. Rooms are available for retreats.

Special features of our monastery

Saint Colette’s discreet yet very real aura draws pilgrims from the whole world and among them couples hoping to be blessed with a child. (There is an annual pilgrimage the first weekend of July.) The large chapel fresco is as much a source of fascination for the believer as for the tourist. Our monastery is on the signposted route of the historical buildings of Poligny.