Cistercian Abbey Le Vivier (Marche-les-Dames)
The Cistercian Abbey of Le Vivier (Marche-les-Dames) was 1236-1796 a monastery of Cistercian nuns in Marche-les-Dames, Namur , Namur in Belgium . It should not be confused with the Cistercian Abbey of Le Vivier in Arras .
history
In 1236 the Notre-Dame du Vivier monastery (after vivier "fish pond") was donated by the Gelbressée brook and rebuilt in the 18th century (restored from 1875). In the course of the advance of the French Revolution , it was dissolved in 1796, but the nuns were able to stay on site; the last died in 1856 at the age of 87. Then the abbey was consecutively inhabited by Vincentians (until 1875), by Cologne Ursulines (until 1914), by French Carmelites (1919-1965), by an old people's home and a boarding school (until 1981), by the Monastic Family of Bethlehem Mary in Heaven and Saint Bruno (until 2000), through the Canadian lay apostolate Madonna House (until 2008) and since 2014 through the priestly community Fraternité des Saints Apôtres . Several films have been shot in the facility, which has been a listed building since 1969, including the film Sœur Sourire - The Singing Nun .
literature
- François Toussaint: Histoire de l'abbaye de Marche-les-Dames . Douxfils, Namur 1888 (122 pages).
- Réginald-Ferdinand Poswick and Christiane Soliamont: Le patrimoine de l'abbaye Notre-Dame du Vivier à Marche-les-Dames . Institut du Patrimoine wallon, Namur 2011 (64 pages).
- Monasticon Belge . I, 1. Maredsous 1928, pp. 97-100.
- Bernard Peugniez : Le Guide Routier de l'Europe Cistercienne . Editions du Signe, Strasbourg 2012, p. 408.