About Fontgomault Abbey:
The Notre-Dame de Fontgombault Abbey is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes congregation, and was founded by Pierre de l’Étoile in 1091. Over the years it has , experienced many vicissitudes throughout its history. Benedictine life resumed there in 1948 thanks to the arrival of Monks from the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes .
As of 2024, the community now has around sixty monks. Its Father Abbot is Dom Jean Pateau, was elected on August 18, 2011 and solemnly blessed on October 7 of that year.
With the agreement of the ecclesiastical superiors, the books of 1962 are in use for the celebration of the liturgy, with the adjustments promulgated in 1965 in application of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council.
Fontgombault went on to found other abbeys, including the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Randol in the Diocese of Clermont in 1971, the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Triors in the Diocese of Valence in 1984, the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Donezan in the Diocese of Carcassonne in 1994 (first located in Gaussan near Narbonne), the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Clear-Creek in the Diocese of Tulsa (Oklahoma) in 1999, and took over the Abbey of Saint-Paul de Wisques in the Diocese of Arras in 2013.
The Abbey offers the work of its iconographers for sale to the public:
Buying an icon is not a commonplace gesture. One must first discover the image that leads us to prayer and draws us towards the invisible. A true icon is not an inexpensive object. It has required many hours of patient and very meticulous work. Its price varies according to the size of the icon, the number of its characters, the amount of gold that has been used.
You must see these images in person, see the colors and be able to appreciate the whole of it as well as its details. That is why their site does not allow you to buy icons online as you could buy any other item. If one of the icons featured there appeals to you, they invite you to come and see it, so that you can make an informed purchase.
The Abbey Chapel:
The chapel of the former priory of Décené, in the parish of Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, on the edge of the Brenne, was in a state of neglect and on the verge of collapse when the monks came returned. It was bought back in 1954, then dismantled stone by stone in 1965, and finally reassembled in 1970 in front of the abbey church, where it was consecrated again on August 12, 1971.
Traveling to Fontgomault Abbey:
The Abbey welcomes, to the extent of its capacities, people who seek a place of meditation and spiritual renewal, as well as families and friends of the monks.
The Abbey is not a hotel; the monks welcome you into their home, within their walls and at their table, as a family receives its relatives and acquaintances. They do their best to receive guests as Christ himself does, as Saint Benedict asks, but everyone is invited to be content with the austerity they find, and can participate freely, to the extent of their means and according to their desires, in the costs of their stay, for which there is no fixed rate. See the contact information below.
Fontgombault is situated in the Indre department and Centre-Loire Valley region of France. The nearest airport to Fontgombault is Poitiers–Biard Airport, about 40 miles away. From there you can take a bus or taxi.
Address: 1, The Abbey F-36220 FONTGOMBAULT
Tel : +33 02 54 37 12 03 (Abbey) +33 02 54 37 30 98 (Father Hotelier)
Email: contact@abbaye-fontgomault.fr
Click here for the official website of Fontgomault Abbey