History Abbey Notre Dame de loyalty
The abbey is located in height on a plateau overlooking the Durance valley, about twenty kilometers fromAix en Provence, and hosts a community of nuns living according to the rule of Saint Benoît.
It was in 1967 that the Notre Dame de loyalty monastery was founded, near the village of Jouques. Sent by Saint Louis of the Temple abbey to Limon Essonne), a small group of nuns settles in the Pey de Durance in farm buildings that surround several hectares of vineyards. of a foundation ...
Near the village of Rosans, in a Hautes-Alpes valley, a farmhouse was renovated to accommodate the first sisters. Thanks to the generosity of their families as well as their friends, they began to build a monastery, which will be completed in 1999. The community takes the name of Notre-Dame de la Miséricorde, making the encyclical of Jean- Paul II Dives in Mericordia (1980).
Mercy Sunday is the first Sunday after Easter and seduces many believers and pilgrims every year.
In 2002, the monastery became an abbey and first convent of the religious community Françoise Mathieu.
Today, the community has around twenty nuns.
It has a large host workshop, a binding workshop and various crafts (liturgical ornaments, hazelnut honey, preserves of fruit, etc.).
Since its creation, the sisters have decided to plant A vineyard which currently covers an area of 6.5 hectares (mainly Grenache, Merlot, Karadok and Syrah).
Over the years, they have also planted a large orchard, lavender and installed hives on the Domaine du Monastery.
Recently, they discovered an old olive grove, which had been suffocated by the pine forest: the olive trees were moved, replanted to now cover nearly 2 hectares.
Under the Provençal sun, the fruits of the orchard (apricot, plum, almond), grapes, olives and lavender, like all their plantations, are cultivated naturally.
