Scourmont Abbey
Encyclopedia
- For other religious houses based in Chimay, see Chimay AbbeyChimay AbbeyChimay Abbey has been the name of two or three different religious houses in Chimay in Hainaut, Belgium.-Benedictines:The oldest foundation here, in the 9th century, was a Benedictine monastery, Chimay Abbey or St. Monegonde's Abbey . This later became a collegiate foundation dedicated to Saints...
Scourmont Abbey (Abbaye Notre-Dame de Scourmont) is a Trappist
TRAPPIST
TRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
on the Scourmont plateau, in the village of Forges
Forges, Belgium
Forges is a village and a former municipality in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It became part of the new municipality of Chimay on January 1, 1977. The Trappist abbey Notre-Dame de Scourmont and the source of the river Oise are located near Forges....
which is part of Chimay
Chimay
Chimay a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Chimay had a total population of 9,774. The total area is 197.10 km² which gives a population density of 50 inhabitants per km²...
in the province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of Hainaut, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
). The abbey is famous for its spiritual life, and the Chimay Brewery which it runs, one of the few Trappist breweries.
Life in the abbey is characterised by prayer, reading and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life.
History
In 1844, Jean-Baptiste Jourdain, the priest of VirellesChimay
Chimay a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Chimay had a total population of 9,774. The total area is 197.10 km² which gives a population density of 50 inhabitants per km²...
, suggested that the wild plateau of Scourmont was a suitable place for a monastery. However, all previous attempts to cultivate the barren plateau had failed. Fr. Jourdain obtained support for the proposed foundation from Prince Joseph II de Chimay, the abbot of Westmalle Abbey
Westmalle Abbey
The Trappist Abbey of Westmalle or Abdij van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart , which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Westmalle , in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp .The abbey was founded in 1794, but the community was not elevated to the rank of...
and Westvleteren Abbey
Westvleteren Abbey
Westvleteren Abbey or St. Sixtus' Abbey, Westvleteren, which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, or Trappists, is located in Westvleteren, West Flanders, in Belgium...
. Six years later, on 25 July 1850, a small group of monks from Westvleteren settled on Scourmont and founded a priory.
A lot of hard work was required to transform the barren soil of Scourmont into fertile farmland. A farm was created around the monastery, as well as a cheese-making factory and a brewery. On 24 February 1871, Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
granted the priory the status of abbey and it was inaugurated on 7 July 1871. Since then other monasteries have been founded by Scourmont, such as Caldey Abbey on Caldey Island
Caldey Island
Caldey Island lies south of Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales.The island is home to a small village, but is best known for its monastery. Caldey Island is separated from the mainland by the Caldey Sound which is 1 km to 2 km wide between Caldey Island and the coast of Pembrokeshire...
in Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, which was taken over from the Benedictines who moved to Prinknash Abbey
Prinknash Abbey
Prinknash Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery situated in the Vale of Gloucester in the Diocese of Clifton, near the village of Cranham....
(December 1928) and Notre Dame de Mokotoin near Goma
Goma
Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the western branch of the Great Rift Valley, and Goma lies only 13 to 18 km due south of the crater of the active...
(Kivu
Kivu
Kivu was the name for a large "Region" in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered Lake Kivu. It included three "Sub-Regions" : Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema, corresponding to the three current provinces created in 1986...
, former Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
) (February 1954).
The present church of the abbey dates from 1950.