BEC-HELLOUIN ABBEY

Set in a bucolic landscape, Notre-Dame-du-Bec is definitely one of Normandy’s most beautiful abbeys. The arrival at the site, with its high ^15th-century Saint-Nicolas bell-tower overlooking the Bec valley, is magnificent. The abbey was founded in 1034 under the rule of St. Benedict by Blessed Herluin, knight to the Count of Brionne. In 1045, the monastery reached its apogee with Lanfranc de Pavie, who created the school of Le Bec, and Anselm, a young student from Aosta, the most influential religious thinker of his century and advisor to William the Conqueror. Such was the abbey’s growth that, around 1060, plans were made to move it to its present location and build a new monastery. In 1077, a new church was also consecrated by Lanfranc, who seven years earlier had become Archbishop of Canterbury and had begun the reform of the Anglo-Saxon church. Leather and fabric work is attested as early as this period, when Roger de Beaumont granted the monks of the Abbey of Le Bec free access to everything they needed for their shoes and clothes, which were made in Pont-Audemer. In the 12th^century, the school at Le Bec continued to grow. Robert de Thorigny, future abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel, was its prior. The abbey was ruined during the French Revolution, but rose from the ashes in 1948 with the arrival of the monks of Mont-Olivet, from the communities of Mesnil-Saint-Loup and Cormeilles-en-Parisis. In the same year, the Friends of Belloc association was formed to help restore the abbey, which has now regained much of its international renown.

The abbey is open to the public every day except Tuesday, with the exception of the park and the abbey church, which are open daily. Because the abbey is still in operation, it can only be visited at set times as part of a guided tour, so as not to disturb the monks’ meditation. The tour, which lasts between 45 and 60 minutes, takes in the monastery buildings, the abbot’s dwelling, the ^17th-century cloister and the chapter house. The monks’ library, whose original buildings and many of the original manuscripts were lost during the French Revolution, is also open to the public. The reading room is an ideal place to discover the volumes (almost 100,000 works!) it contains. If the idea of a retreat at Notre-Dame-du-Bec appeals to you, you should know that the brothers’ guesthouse is open to all who wish to pray, reflect, catch their breath, find a listening ear and dialogue, and take a peaceful break. This is the tradition in all Benedictine monasteries, where the rule is to welcome everyone as you would welcome Christ. For those interested, the abbey includes a guest house, open all year round except January. It welcomes both individuals and groups: families, friends, young people, couples, etc. It comprises two floors with a dining room, library, oratory, two single-sex bathrooms and single or double rooms. Guests can share in community prayer and ask a brother for spiritual guidance if they wish. Manual work is carried out in silence, the better to achieve continuous prayer. Retreatants can opt for shorter or longer stays (contact [email protected] to find out more). Today, monks devote most of their time to prayer and work. Manual labour, practised in religious silence, is one of the fundamental values of Benedictine life. Among the manual activities practised by the monks, the production of handmade earthenware, established since the community’s return in 1946, is undoubtedly the most important. In their workshops, set up in 1957, the monks take charge of every stage of the manufacturing process, from creating the moulds to casting the pieces, including the various firings, glazing and decorating the earthenware. The pieces produced are then sold in the store alongside craft products made by other monastic communities in the region (candles, preserves, wine, essential oils, etc.). The rest of the day at the monastery is marked by community life and tasks linked to the upkeep and smooth running of the monastery: cooking, cleaning, mending, gardening, ironing, DIY... Reading is also a common activity within the monastery. On a spiritual level, the abbey’s brothers are also deeply involved in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. Sustained relations with Orthodox Christians have been developed through spiritual sharing. Steps have also been taken with the Anglican Church to deepen mutual understanding and spiritual traditions. The last four archbishops have visited Le Bec Abbey. With Reformed Christians from the Normandy region, joint Bible studies and reflection on pastoral issues such as mixed marriages, as well as meetings within the framework of the charismatic renewal, have deepened fraternal relations. More recently, Le Bec Abbey has decided to open up to monastic inter-religious dialogue, inviting Buddhist monks and nuns for times of exchange and encounter.