Abbey of Regina Laudis
Overview
Bethlehem, Connecticut
Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,422 at the 2000 census. The town center was designated in the 2000 census as a census-designated place ....
. This monastic foundation was one of the first houses of contemplative Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
nuns in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Mother Benedict and Mother Mary were both nuns of the Benedictine Abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of Notre Dame de Jouarre
Jouarre
Jouarre is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Jouarre Abbey:It is the site of the Jouarre Abbey a Merovingian foundation of Abbess Theodochilde or Telchilde, traditionally in 630, inspired by the visit of Columban, the travelling Irish...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Until the monastery of Regina Laudis gained abbatial status, it was a dependent priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of Notre Dame de Jouarre, a 7th century abbey northeast of Paris.
The Abbey is home to an "exquisite museum quality, 18th century Neapolitan Crèche," according to the Web site of the Town of Bethlehem.
Near the main entrance, the "Monastic Art Shop" of the Abbey is a store open to the public year round.
