Our community

Having come to the monastery in search of God, the monk commits himself, through his profession, to following the path of Christ more closely, and to live out the demands of the Gospel in all its radicality.

At the monastery, we encounter God first and foremost in prayer, liturgical and personal, in the Abbot, in the brothers; we also encounter Him in our guests, in our work. In this way, our whole life is under God’s gaze, preparing us for life in Heaven.

The monk commits himself “until death” by 3 vows:
– Stability: fixes the monk forever to his monastery. This fidelity makes him attentive to the depths of things, to the offering of each moment.
– Conversion of life: commits the monk to always strive for the most perfect. It includes the vows of poverty and chastity. By the first, the monk ensures that he has Jesus Christ as his only wealth, and by the second, that he has him as his only love.
– Obedience: by freeing himself from the slavery of his passions and his own will, the monk opens up to fraternal life, acquires humility and enters into the obedience of Christ.

The men God has called to the monastery all come from very different backgrounds, with their own histories and temperaments. And it’s in respecting each other’s differences and originality that true communion can take place.

Living under the authority of a father who takes the place of Christ, the abbot, teaches us the freedom that comes from obedience. The presence of the brothers provides example, support and comfort, enabling us to experience the joy of self-denial every day, in order to follow Christ and honor all mankind. Community life is a school of charity: love of God and love of neighbor.

We are heirs to a tradition that goes back more than a thousand years, and we must pass it on. We are also men of our time, living the ideal of monastic life while making good use of the novelties of our time.

Born around 480 in the Nursia region north of Rome, Benedict interrupted his studies to please God alone. He headed south to Subiaco, 70 kilometers from Rome, and began a hermit’s life in an inaccessible cave. A monk supplies him with reading material and food by means of a rope.
Les moines du monastère voisin de Vicovaro lui demandent de devenir leur supérieur. Benedict agreed, and set about reforming the community, which had fallen prey to slackness. But to no avail: his actions disturbed, his demands annoyed, so much so that attempts were made to poison him.
He returned to the cave, but his fame grew. The influx of disciples led him to found twelve monasteries in Subiaco, all living under his direction.
Once again, his actions and virtue put him in danger. A victim of jealousy, he moved south of Rome. In 529, Benedict and a group of monks settled in an ancient fortress, which they transformed into a monastery on Mount Cassin, 529 meters above sea level.
It was for this community that Benedict wrote a Rule around 540. It still governs the lives of thousands of monks today.
It was on this rocky promontory of Mount Cassin that Benedict ended his life in 547. In 703, his relics were transferred to Fleury Abbey in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (Loiret). They are still venerated there.

The Rule of St. Benedict defines the spiritual and material life of monks and the organization of the monastery, in order to create conditions conducive to a perfect search for God. The rule imposes respect for silence; a lifelong bond between the monk and his monastery; obedience to the abbot elected by the community; humility, poverty and charity.
It organizes in detail the monastic liturgy, which Saint Benedict calls the Opus Dei, the work of God. It is the heart of the monk’s life.
As early as the 6th century, the Rule of Saint Benedict outlined a necessary hierarchy, defining the abbot’s duties and responsibilities: the abbot takes the place of Christ in the monastery. He is the shepherd of the souls entrusted to him, lavishing on them the severity of a master and the tenderness of a father. He chooses a prior to assist him during his abbatiate. Finally, the cellarer is the bursar, the steward, the general administrator, who assists him in all temporal organization.
As part of this organization, St. Benedict provides for a daily gathering of all monks, during which a chapter of the Rule is read, but also during which all material matters relating to the daily life of the monastery are discussed. At Saint-Wandrille, this is the chapter that takes place every day after vespers.
Important decisions, such as the election of the abbot, are voted on by all the monks.

The prayer life of a monastery is expressed above all in common prayer in church.
The Liturgy of the Hours brings the community together at different times of the day: sung prayers (psalms from the Bible, ancient hymns) and readings. This liturgical prayer culminates in the celebration of the Eucharist, the true center of the monastic day.
Liturgical community prayer is followed by personal, spontaneous and free prayer. The monk, alone in his cell, devotes hours to lectio divina (reading the things of God).

In addition to the time spent in church, private prayer and reading, the monk devotes a good part of his time to work, whether it be study, specialized work, or simply the services required for community life (kitchen and refectory, housekeeping, infirmary, sacristy, vegetable garden and orchard…).

The monks also work to earn a living, providing for the needs of the community and maintaining the heritage of which they are custodians. The first economic activities at Saint-Wandrille began in 1935.

Today, at Saint-Wandrille, a painting restoration workshop, a store and a brewery help the monastery to support itself.

Under the guidance of the Abbot, the monastery is a family where “everyone seeks to honor his brothers, choosing their interests rather than his own”. For God makes himself present through our brothers, especially through those who suffer. We want our elderly or sick monks to be able to remain in the community to the end of their lives, and it’s the brothers who take care of them on a daily basis.

Relaxation, recreation and walks are very important moments in our lives. It’s not always easy to live in community, with brothers we haven’t chosen, and whom we’ll have to put up with, or better still, love for the rest of our lives. But above all, it’s an ineffable source of joy and comfort.