Abbey of
Notre Dame
de Veniere
VENIERE
France
Foundation
1933
Abbot
m. Françoise-Emmanuel Vauchot
257 Rue de l’Abbaye
Veniere
71700 Boyer
FRANCE
Official website
Characteristics
Mother Françoise-Emmanuel Vauchot
The Monastery
Our abbey is located in Burgundy, at Venière, a small, peaceful hamlet a few kilometers from the abbey church of Tournus, between Cluny and Cîteaux, not far from Taizé. Here, after the fragility of our beginnings, the insecurity of war, and the instability of successive moves, our community has found true stability and a renewed joy in living the monastic life according to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The community now numbers nearly thirty nuns. The Eucharist and the sung hours of the Divine Office in the church shape our days: prayer, reading, manual work, and fraternal gatherings are woven together in a single movement of seeking God. A guesthouse enables us to live out monastic hospitality. In a world searching for meaning, we wish to offer a space of interiority, peace, and fraternal care. Men and women come here to find renewal through times of prayer, retreat, encounter, or simply for a quiet pause. We also welcome our families.
The History
Our monastery was founded on April 29, 1933, in Oulchy-le-Château, in the Diocese of Soissons, by the Abbey of Jouarre.
Only a few years later, the community was proven by the turmoil of war. The exodus of 1940 set our sisters on the road, first to the Tarn and then to Dordogne, where they were able to survive thanks to the fraternal welcome of the communities of Dourgne and En-Calcat. These years of precariousness, lived in trust and abandonment, profoundly shaped the soul of the community. After the war, supported by our brothers of the Abbey of La Pierre-Qui-Vire, the community settled in Burgundy, at La Loyère, in the Diocese of Autun, in 1948. In 1955, it joined the Congregation of Subiaco. Seeking a more stable foundation, the community settled in 1963 at Venière, in the same diocese. The election of its first abbess in 1971 marked a decisive step: the community then became an abbey.
Today, we belong to the Notre-Dame de la Rencontre Federation, which on March 2, 2022, was associated with the Congregation of Subiaco Mont-Cassin of the Order of Saint Benedict.
The Activities
Beyond hospitality, our community carries out an artisanal activity through the company Travail et Joie, an expression of our creativity and of our desire to pass on the faith. In particular, we create small framed images depicting the patron saints of first names, especially intended for children. Other collections invite reflection on the great mysteries of faith: the Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection, the Way of the Cross, the Mysteries of the Rosary, as well as collections such as Images of Venière, Living Words, and The Sanctuaries. Our religious greeting cards — notably the Moinette and Living Words collections — seek to reach our contemporaries with messages of hope, trust, and joy. This is, humbly, our contribution to the proclamation of the Gospel. A small shop, located at the entrance of the abbey, offers the workshop’s creations, various monastic products, and a small book section. All of these are also available online.