Fraternity of Saint Peter Loses Bid For Cistercian Abbey

Local authorities decided on December 11 to sell the beautiful Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny, France, to the Fondation Schneider which plans to turn the place into a hotel complex, a museum, and an exhibition areas.

The foundation will pay 1,8 million for the place. Another bidder, the French district of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), had offered to pay €300,000 more. It wanted to move the French-speaking seminary from Wigratzbad, Germany, to Pontigny.

The FSSP called the decision in a statement a “great disappointment” noticing that the region argued “erroneously” that it would be “very difficult” for the FSSP to receive the Vatican’s authorisation for the project which furthermore could only start in two to four years.

“This is inaccurate,” the FSSP statement writes. It considers appealing the decision.

Picture: Abbey of Pontigny, Copyright: Wikicommons, CC-BY-SA