Castagniers Abbey is a Cistercian nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

nery, in Castagniers

Castagniers

Castagniers is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in southeastern France.-Population:-Tourism:Castagniers is one of thirteen villages grouped together by the Communauté d'agglomération de Nice-Côte d'Azur tourist department as the Route des Villages Perchés...

, 12 km from Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 in the Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes

Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...

 departement in southwestern 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...

.

In 1865, Dom Marie-Bernard Barnouin, restorer of Sénanque Abbey

Sénanque Abbey

Sénanque Abbey is a Cistercian abbey near the village of Gordes in the département of the Vaucluse in Provence, France.-First foundation:...

, founded a Cistercian community for women in Mane

Mane

- Biology :* mane of a horse, the line of hair along the spine of the neck* mane of a lion, found around the male mammal's neck- Places :* Mane Department, a department in the Sanmatenga Province of Burkina Faso* French communes:...

 in the diocese of Digne, and in 1869, another in Reillanne

Reillanne

Reillanne is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.It is due north of Toulon and west of Nice.-History:...

, the Abbaye de Notre-Dame des Prés. In 1872 the two communities were united in Reillanne.

In 1930 the community left Reillanne to settle in Castagniers. The community was elevated to the rank of an 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,...

 in 1962.

The first abbess, Mother Marguerite de la Trinité, saw to it that the place became a chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 factory, which is still working today. The nuns have a guest house and they welcome guests wishing to make a retreat.