Saint-Benoît Abbey in En Calcat

The En Calcat Monastery was founded in 1890 by Dom Romain Banquet. The abbey church is open to anyone who wishes to come and reflect or participate in monastic prayer (liturgy in French and Gregorian chant).
Louis Banquet was born in the hamlet of En Calcat in 1840. At the age of 24, he entered the monastery of La Pierre-qui-Vire, founded by Father Muard in 1850 in the Yonne department. There he became Dom Romain. In 1874, he began providing spiritual guidance to a 17-year-old girl, Marie Cronier, who was completing her studies at the Abbey of Jouarre and who was the recipient of special graces. What followed was an increasingly deep spiritual intimacy between them that would last until death parted them.

On January 29, 1883, Marie Cronier received a revelation of the plan for a work to which the Lord was calling them both: “a spiritual ark that will be His own dwelling place, where souls will live in Him, where He will be the Beloved. “This will be His chosen place, if the souls He has called are blessed enough to understand it.”
It was this revelation that, after many difficulties, led to the construction of our two monasteries—Saint Benedict of En Calcat and Saint Scholastica of Dourgne—founded together in 1890 and elevated to the status of abbeys in 1896.

The two monasteries in Dourgne were founded together in 1890: Dom Romain BANQUET (born in the hamlet of En Calcat in 1840) established the Abbey of Saint Benedict of En Calcat for the monks, and Mother Marie CRONIER established the Abbey of Saint Scholastica for the nuns.
The two communities, independent of one another, live according to the Rule written by Saint Benedict in the 6th century. Their churches are open to anyone who wishes to come and reflect or participate in monastic prayer (liturgy in French and Gregorian chant).
Their guesthouses welcome visitors for a few days of spiritual renewal. Pilgrims on the Way of St. James are also accommodated by reservation.
En Calcat Abbeywww.encalcat.com
Siloe-Saint-Benoît Bookstore (wide selection of religious and secular books, recordings of the monks’ chants, reproductions of Dom Robert’s tapestries); publisher of religious images and greeting cards; zither workshop (not open to visitors).