From waterspouts to Serbian sisters' soap

Unusual journey from a scientist's castle to a monastery: the history of the Bois-Salair monastery

In France, it is rather common to find a Catholic monastery, but an Orthodox monastery... ? And yes, they exist! Although few in number, there is for example one in Mayenne, in Bois-Salair. Serbian Orthodox nuns have settled there since 2014, after having been in the Vosges since 2002! But this place is unusual to say the least for a monastery...

Follow the guide, we tell you all that in 3 minutes top chrono!

 

A castle offered to monks, then to Serbian sisters!

It all began in 1843, when two nuns founded the convent of Godoncourt in the Vosges. Their goal was to welcome and educate poor young girls. But only a few years later, the community would diminish and then disappear because of the poor condition of the monastery buildings.

It was not until 2002 that a community of sisters came to Godoncourt, sent by the Orthodox Church of Serbia! The sisters had their work cut out for them, as they had to renovate everything. But they soon realized that they lacked the human and financial resources to renovate everything, and that the roof did not look very good.

At the same time, the owners of the Bois-Salair castle offered the property to a Russian Orthodox monastery located in Provence. This beautiful castle was previously owned by the researcher Charles Weyher, who had it built at the very end of the 19th century. At the time, this famous French scientist carried out numerous experiments to understand waterspouts (a kind of marine whirlpool)!

But let's get back to our subject. The monks offered Bois-Salair to the sisters of Godoncourt, who settled there in 2014. There, the welcome of the inhabitants is very warm, and the sisters are fulfilled in the castle that they convert into a monastery!

 

The balance between work and prayer... and soaps!

Today, there are seven Orthodox sisters at the Bois-Salair monastery. They share their days between prayer (first service at 6 a.m.) and the manual work of monastic crafts, following the principles of Saint Basil.

As soon as they arrived, the sisters decided to take advantage of the greenhouses and agricultural tools already on site to start farming. Thus, a "garden of the simple" (garden where one cultivates especially plants with medicinal virtues) is created by the sisters to cultivate aromatic plants, and thus to use them partly to make incredible cosmetic products. Today, they make many plant-based products, such as soaps and candles! In 2010, they even met a soap maker who taught them "cold saponification". Simply put, this process means that the sisters do not "heat" the oils that go into the soap, which allows them to keep their properties. The process is much longer because it is manual and artisanal, but in the end, you get really soft and nourishing soaps.

Click here to buy online the products of the monastery of Bois-Salair (including their famous donkey milk soap!)

 

Finally, for all the curious, the sisters offer "woofing" to the general public. These are small stays at the monastery, to discover the cultivation of plants, help the sisters in their work and discover their monastic life! Notice to all amateurs!

 

---

Monastery of Bois Salair

53100 Saint-Georges-Buttavent

Tel : 02 43 04 68 35

 

https://www.monasteredeboissalair.com

 

 

https://divinebox.fr/categorie-produit/producteurs/monastere-bois-

salair/

 

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

(free version)

 

Also to be seen in the department

Cabaret Le Live Azé Chateau-Gontier

Cabaret, the madness in Mayenne!

placeAzé – Mayenne 
label Tourism, sports and cultural activities Gastronomy[to eat] Gastronomy[to drink] Hotels, restaurants, bars Festivities & festivals, brotherhoods  

Le calme bucolique de Chailland

placeChailland - Mayenne 
label cities and villages  

L’arche de Noé des animaux perdus ou blessés

placeSaint-Fort - Mayenne 
label Recreation and animal parks Animals  

Ecomuseum unusual of the Ferme du Chemin

placeMadre – Mayenne 
label Small trades People from here Gardens, discovery and leisure activities Hotels, restaurants, bars Museums & Collections Huts, houses, igloos, cottages and co  

Discover the regions of the Great West