Brecht Abbey

Brecht Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth, is an abbey of Trappistine nuns located in Brecht, in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). Life in the abbey is characterized by prayer, reading and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life.

Early history

In 1236 the monastery of Our Lady of Nazareth at Lier (Duchy of Brabant) was accepted into the Cistercian Order. Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth (1200-1268) was its first prioress.

For five centuries the abbey flourished, until 1797, when it was closed in the aftermath of the French Revolution, when the French Revolutionary Army occupied the Austrian Netherlands. The abbey did not recover from the closure even after the Belgian Revolution in 1830, when Belgium gained independence from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Modern history

In the early 20th century several attempts were made to re-establish the abbey at different locations. During World War II in 1943, Henri van Ostayen was in favor of locating the new abbey in Brecht, of which he was burgomaster, but was killed in Antwerp by a V-1 flying bomb before the end of the war. His proposal was however taken up by Dom Robertus (Edward Jozef Modest) Eyckmans, Abbot of the nearby Trappist Westmalle Abbey. He was able to obtain the agreement of Soleilmont Abbey to provide the 12 nuns necessary to settle a new foundation. On 12 October 1945 the organization for founding a new abbey was established, and in 1946 about 16 hectares of land were acquired in Brecht for the new building, as the old site in Lier was no longer available. The monks of Westmalle Abbey prepared the site of the nuns' monastery, which was ready by the end of 1949.

Thirteen Trappistine nuns left Soleilmont and headed for Brecht on 23 June 1950: Abbess Agnes Swevers with Sisters Lucia Delaere, Heleen Steylaers, Humbelina Roelandts, Idesbalda van Soest, Lutgard Smeets, Maria Marlier, Petra Belet, Juliana Rutten, Harlindis Gerits, Roberta Koeken, Alberica Hauchecorne, and novice Roza van den Bosch. The monastery was formally opened on 25 June 1950, and on 3 February 1951 it was raised to the status of an independent abbey. The church was dedicated on 22 October 1954.

Brecht Abbey went on to found Our Lady of the Redwoods Abbey in 1962 in Whitethorn, California, the United States,[1] then in 1970 the Priory of Our Lady of Klaarland in Bocholt, Belgium.

Products

The nuns in the abbey produce several products under the International Trappist Association seal, such as cosmetics, cleaning products, liturgical objects, as well as hand-crafted banners and flags.[2]

Burials
gollark: For example, "the yellowing of the library was widely considered uncool by observers".
gollark: Documentation.
gollark: Well, something something anthropic principle.
gollark: Awesome is maintained, right? Arch has a list.
gollark: I'm also using a Wayland-based one, so I have slightly more power efficiency and no screen tearing.

References
  1. Redwoods Abbey website
  2. "Monasteries - Abdij Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Nazareth - Brecht (B)".

Sources
  • Van Remoortere, J., 1990: Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie (pp. 72–75). Lannoo
  • Cassianus, J., 1985: Brecht, Abdij Nazareth

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