Westvleteren Abbey
Encyclopedia
Trappists
The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , or Trappists, is a Roman Catholic religious order of cloistered contemplative monks who follow the Rule of St. Benedict...
, or Trappists, is located in Westvleteren
Westvleteren
Westvleteren is a village in the province of West Flanders, Belgium. It is a section of the municipality of Vleteren.Westvleteren is primarily known for the Westvleteren Brewery , a brewery founded in 1838 inside the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren. Its beers have often been rated...
, West Flanders, in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. The abbey is famous for its spiritual life, characterised by prayer, reading, and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life.
It has also a reputation for its brewery
Westvleteren Brewery
The Westvleteren Brewery is a Belgian brewery founded in 1838 inside the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren in the Belgian municipality of Vleteren, not far from the hops-producing town of Poperinge and the medieval city of Ypres. The brewery and its beers are usually referred to as...
, one of the several breweries of Trappist beer
Trappist beer
A Trappist beer is a beer brewed by or under control of Trappist monks. There are a total of 174 Trappist monasteries worldwide ; only seven produce Trappist beer and are authorized to label their beers with the Authentic Trappist Product logo that indicates a compliance to the various rules of...
in Belgium.
History
9th to 18th centuries
The earliest traces of a monastic presence at the location of the present day abbey date back to 1260, although the Cella Beborna, which is mentioned in a deed of 806 (from the abbey of Saint-OmerSaint-Omer
Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....
), was probably located in the same area (known at that time as Fletrinio). From 1260 to 1355 there was a small community of nuns on the side of the Catsberg. That site was abandoned, but between 1610 and 1784 a monastery of the Bridgettines
Bridgettines
The Bridgettine or Birgittine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta of Sweden in approximately 1350, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370...
(the Order of the Most Holy Saviour) was located on what is called "Fathers' Corner".
19th century
In 1831 the hermitHermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
Jan-Baptist Victoor was joined by a prior and a few monks in the woods of Saint Sixtus, and this group developed into the later Trappist abbey of Saint Sixtus in Westvleteren. In 1838 the Westvleteren Brewery
Westvleteren Brewery
The Westvleteren Brewery is a Belgian brewery founded in 1838 inside the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren in the Belgian municipality of Vleteren, not far from the hops-producing town of Poperinge and the medieval city of Ypres. The brewery and its beers are usually referred to as...
was founded inside the abbey precinct. In 1839 a primary school was established and in 1840 the old church of the priory was built. In 1850, a group of monks from Westvleteren founded Scourmont Abbey
Scourmont Abbey
Scourmont Abbey is a Trappist monastery on the Scourmont plateau, in the village of Forges which is part of Chimay in the province of Hainaut, Belgium)...
on the barren plateau of Scourmont near Chimay
Chimay
Chimay a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Chimay had a total population of 9,774. The total area is 197.10 km² which gives a population density of 50 inhabitants per km²...
. In 1871 the priory was granted the status of abbey by Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
. Between 1875 and 1878 a model farm was developed as an example for the region.
20th century
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the abbey provided shelter to many refugees from the region and in addition almost 400,000 allied soldiers lived in and around the abbey. World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
was a difficult time for the monastery in several respects. After the war, in 1945, the abbot decided to reduce the capacity of the brewery to produce only 4,800 hectolitres a year. In 1964 the guesthouse was built, and a new abbey church was added in 1968.
Sources
- Monks of Westmalle Abbey, 1904: Geschiedenis der Abdij van het Heilig Hart van Jezus te Westmalle (p.135). Westmalle
- Van Remoortere, J., 1990: Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie (pp.418-420). Lannoo