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Cistercian Abbey of SENANQUE in Gordes, Luberon

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Cistercian Abbey of SENANQUE in Gordes, Luberon

SENANQUE ABBEY

Nestled in a narrow valley where a stream called the Sénancole flows, the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of Sénanque was founded in 1148, later to become an abbey in 1150.

Like it’s two Provencal sisters, the Abbey of Silvacane and the Abbey of Thoronet, this edifice, built in the commune of Gordes by monks from Mazan in the Ardèche, reflects the major influence at the time of the Cistercian order in Provence.
 
The Abbey of Sénanqueflourishedfairly quickly.As the communitygrew, the monks decided tobuilda new abbeyinVivaraisin 1152, thanks to the numerous donationsfromthe prosperous families andLords fromaroundGordes.Duringthis expansion, the monks createda network ofoutbuildingsto the abbey,farms orhostelsmainlyadapted foragriculture.
 
However, after years of successful harvests, from the fourteenth century the abbey started to experience a decline. In 1544, during the religious wars, monks were hanged and the monastery was razed to the ground by the Vaudois. Some of the buildings were destroyed and the Abbey struggled to recover until in  1791 it was inhabited by two valiant monks, and it was sold and partially renovated. In 1857 it was the Abbot of Lerins, Dom Barnouin who became the owner and gave the Abbey back its old stature by installing 72 monks and building an extension. Unfortunately in 1903 the monks were expelled from the monastery following the laws on religious congregations.
 
In 1926, the abbey becamea prioryof the Abbey ofLérins,and could haveresumed its activities, but without much successbecause at the endthe 1960sthere were onlyfive monks left, and theydidnot evenmanageto provide for the upkeep to themonastery.The place was abandoned after a mutual agreement for a duration of thirty years with the industrialist Paul Berliet who wanted to develop a cultural centre via his company.The purpose ofthis agreement was torenovate and maintain the buildingsand especially to allowthe return ofmonks before theagreement expired. The restorationwould prove to be spectacular andthe use of the highest quality materials andtraditional techniquespreservedthe authenticity of theabbey.
 
Cistercian monks of Lérins retuned in 1988 and it is this same community who inhabits, maintains and operates the Abbey of Sénanque today. The communal and brotherly life is lived in obedience to the Abbot who is the Father of the monastery, both in spirit and in body. He takes the place of Christ in the care of the community. Living conditions of the Cistercians, inspired by Saint Bernard of Citeaux, are still very hard: official duties, prayer and devotional readings alternating with manual labour, rest time not exceeding seven hours (the first service taking place at two o’clock in the morning, the second at dawn). Their frugal meals are taken in silence, the food coming mainly from their own gardens. The monks sleep fully clothed in a common dormitory devoid of any comfort.
 
Their main sources of income are from visitors to the abbey, the religious bookstore, selling the honey and lavender essence they produce, or the sale of various products from other abbeys. The community also has a hotel and plsys host to those wishing to participate in the life of community prayer at their own pace, but always in silence and meditation.
 
Guided tours allow you to discover the main part of the construction from the twelfth century; the abbey church, the cloisters, the dormitory, the chapter house and ‘the cooker’.
 
In a very sombre Roman style, the abbey church was built in stone and covered with slate (dry stones assembled without a framework). It’s orientation is uncommon, the apse points towards the northeast and the principal façade, with no main front door (which is very rare) to the southwest. The small square bell- tower is completed by a stone cross.
 
Inside, the church is built in the shape of a cross in a very clean and simple architectural style so as not to disturb the monks’ prayers and meditation. Only light, the symbol of God, tempers the space.
 
Leaving the church to the west we find the cloister. It is the centre of the abbey and connects different parts of the monastery, but it is above all a place of meditation and reading. The cloister is an interior courtyard bordered by four galleried arcades that open onto the garden. Here too, the austerity is apparent.
 
The monks' dormitory originally accommodated thirty monks, sleeping fully clothed on straw mattresses laid on the floor. It measures about thirty metres long and is covered by a magnificent barrel-shaped vaulted ceiling. The plan of the Abbey was organised to accomodate the continual prayer of the monks and the communal liturgy, which explains why the dormitory is built as a direct extension of the transept of the church. As early as two o'clock in the morning, the monks leave the dormitory for their first service in the church. Similarly, in the evening, they go to bed immediately after the last service.
 
The chapter house, also known as the chapter room, is the room where the monastic community gathered around the Abbot to listen to a chapter from the Rules of St. Benedict. It is in this room that the monks took all the decisions concerning the community and the conduct of the taking of the habit, the monastic professions or the election of the Abbot. The monks sat on the stone steps and the Abbot was placed in the center, facing the Tarasque (the figure of the demon that is carved in the cloister). The main feature of this room is its fine acoustics, allowing the Abbot to be heard without effort, thanks to the six arched intersecting ribs. This is the only room where the Abbot was allowed to speak.
 
The room used by the monks to copy manuscripts and work was called ‘the cooker’. This small vaulted room was the only room in the monastery that could be heated, with a beautiful conical fireplace that allowed burning logs to be placed vertically.
 
A typical day in the life of a Sénanque monk
 
4.10 am: rise
4.30 am: service of Vigils
5.30 am: the monks are in their cells or in the church for ‘Lectio Divina-Oraison’ (Bible prayer reading)
7:45 am: service of Laudes
8.30 am: work
10.00 am: service of Tierce
10.10 am: work
11.45 am: mass with service of Sixte, followed by Grace
 1.00 pm: meal and readings
 1.45 pm: free time
 2.30 pm: service of None
 2.45 pm : work
 5.00 pm : study, spitual reading
 6.00 pm : service of Vespers
 6.45 pm : Adoration of Saint Sacrement
 7.15 pm : meal and readings
 8.00 pm : communal meeting
 8.15 pm : service of Complies                      
 
"They are truly monks when they live by the labour of their hands" (Rule of St. Benedict)
 
If you want to help the monastic community of Our Lady of Sénanque by participating in their project to restore the interior of the abbey church, you can send tax-free donation by check payable to the "Foundation of Monasteries" to the following address: Father Prior, Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque, F-84220 Gordes.
Please contact them for further information.
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