Monastery of Martigné-Briand: the church is in the barn
It is quite unusual to find a church built in a barn, but this is nevertheless the case at the Monastery of Martigné-Briand. When the community moved to the "Château de la Barre" in 1961, major work was carried out there, to build a real and beautiful church, but the framework was preserved, and you can still admire its beautiful woodwork. But, before reaching this point, there was a long history, since the oldest parts of the castle date back to the sixteenth century. It was successively an advanced defence of the castle of Martigné-Briand, then a clinic, and then a prevention centre for young people .
The Benedictine nuns... a bit of history...
It all began in 1911 with a lay and Protestant woman, Marguerite Delmas. At the age of 41, she lost her husband and found herself alone with five young children. A somewhat complicated situation, but one that did not prevent her from gradually turning to God, to the point of wanting to devote her whole life to Him! She then took the name of Sister Benedict and, with the help of a priest, founded the congregation of the Benedictine nuns of Vanves.
This congregation grew very quickly, and vocations poured in! The sisters thus founded new monasteries: in Madagascar in 1934, then in Vietnam in 1954, and again in Madagascar in 1955! One year later, in 1956, a small group of sisters left for Chemillé, in Anjou, to help the sisters of Fontevraud. In fact, this is where the story of Martigné-Briand really begins!
In Chemillé, the two communities merge and everything goes well! But quickly, the place is quite old and the repairs are costly... Hop, here they are, moving in 1961, already in the village of Martigné-Briand! They find an old manor house with outbuildings, but which needs renovations. So they put their hand to the work, and after 12 years of work, the cloister is finished, and there is now a hotel and a church!
Today, prayer, work, and jams!
Today, the monastery of Martigné-Briand has twelve Benedictine nuns. They live according to the rule of Saint Benedict, based mainly on prayer and work.
Thus, the sisters of Martigné gather seven times a day in the church to pray community services, and their day begins with vigils at 5.25 am!
What does not interfere with work: the sisters live from their handicrafts. They make icons, pottery, jams and chutneys by hand! 10,000 jars of jams leave the workshop every year, which is relatively little, but we love the handcrafted side of the sisters' work, especially the old-fashioned firing in a copper cauldron!
An artisanal and natural production!
The fruits which are the basis of the jams are almost exclusively from the garden! The garden extends over 2000 m2, and includes an orchard, a vegetable garden and a small wood. The sisters do everything in permaculture, a technique that allows them to reproduce in their garden the organisation of nature in the wild! In this way, the plants help each other in their growth. It's a lot of work for the sisters, but it's a beautiful way to highlight Creation! Notice to amateurs if you want to put your agricultural skills to good use!
You want to taste it?
The products of the monastery (jams & chutneys) are available on site, or on the Divine Box online shop: category page: https://divinebox.fr/categorie-produit/producteurs/monastere-de-martigne-briand/
Monastery of Our Lady of Compassion
1 place Robert d'Arbrissel
La Barre Villeneuve
49540 Martigné-Briand
Tèl :02 41 59 42 85
www.benedictines-ste-bathilde.fr/
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