Traditionalist Benedictines Save Dying French Abbey As Liberal Cistercians Admit Defeat

Even if we had said ‘no’ to the arrival of our brothers from the Barroux to Bellefountaine, they would have had no trouble finding other places. We cannot go against this “traditional” movement. There is a loss of reference points today! It seems to me that after the Council, there was an emphasis on interiority by relativizing the rites, which was right and good… but perhaps we have gone too far in this direction, and besides, not all are able to do without external forms. I believe that, today, the men of this time are in dire need of it.” Father Samuel Gonçalves, Monastic Commissioner, Bellefontaine Abbey Twelve monks from the famous abbey in Vaucluse are taking on a residence this Saturday at Bellefontaine Abbey, near Cholet, which was slated for closure. A very significant handover for the Church in France. Before the cicadas awoke at dawn, two vans loaded twelve monks from the Abbey of Le Barroux in the Vaucluse region. They were likely leaving forever peaceful their haven, …