The Abbey of Saint-Cyran-en-Brenne, also known since 1975 as the Abbey of Saint-Michel-en-Brenne, and originally as Saint-Pierre de Longoret, is an abbey in the town of Saint-Michel-en-Brenne in France, previously in the province of Berry and now in the department of Indre.
Sigiran(d) or Sigiramnus, later known as Saint Cyran, founded a monastery at Longoret around 632 CE on land offered to him by Dagobert I for that purpose. Dagobert frequently visited the monastery to hunt. The monastery, originally named Saint-Pierre de Longoret, later became an abbey and a royal foundation named after Saint Cyran. It kept Saint Cyran's relics, as well as those of saints Génitour, Sylvain and Fructueux, all of which were later re-housed in 1860 in a bronze reliquary.
In 1620 Jean Duvergier de Hauranne, who introduced Jansenism into France, became the abbey's commendatory abbot. Opposed to the Jesuits, he fell into disgrace under Cardinal Richelieu and was imprisoned. The abbey suffered from its association with his fall. It was officially suppressed in 1712 and destroyed on the orders of the archbishop of Bourges. The abbey's monks scattered and its goods were sold in 1739. The buildings were sold as state property in 1790, and all that remains of the main abbey buildings is the 15th-century chambre des hôtes. Some of its granges, stables and mills also survive. A few decades after 1790 Moulins de Paris bought it and later turned it into holiday homes for its employees.
The abbey was converted to have a more varied frontage. In June 1975 it was bought by Marcel Lefebvre's sister, who renamed it Saint-Michel Abbey and used it to house the sisters of the Society of St. Pius X. [1] It protected Paul Touvier, fleeing from charges of crimes against humanity, until the police seized his baggage there on May 21, 1989. [2]
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international priestly fraternity founded in 1970 by Marcel Lefebvre, a traditionalist French Archbishop.
The Crown of Charlemagne was a name given to the ancient coronation crown of Kings of the Franks, and later Kings of France after 1237.
The arrondissement of Le Blanc is an arrondissement of France in the Indre department in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It has 57 communes. Its population is 31,714 (2016), and its area is 1,782.3 km2 (688.1 sq mi).
Évariste Vital Luminais was a French painter. He is best known for works depicting early French history and is sometimes called "the painter of the Gauls".
Fontenelle Abbey or the Abbey of St. Wandrille is a Benedictine monastery in the commune of Rives-en-Seine. It was founded in 649 near Caudebec-en-Caux in Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Belley–Ars is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 5th century, the diocese was renamed in 1988 from the former Diocese of Belley to the Diocese of Belley–Ars. Coextensive with the civil department of Ain, in the Region of Rhône-Alpes, the diocese is a suffragan see of the Archdiocese of Lyon. The seat of the bishop is at Belley Cathedral. The current bishop is Guy Claude Bagnard, appointed in 1987.
The Society of Saint Pius X has close links with several religious institutes, chiefly in France. In recent years, the Society has seen a growing recognition of its sacramental and pastoral activities by the Holy See. The Holy See extended, on 20 November 2016, permanent canonical recognition to confessions heard by Society priests and later, on 4 April 2017, also allowed local ordinaries to grant delegation to priests of the Society for officially witnessing marriages.
Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church.
Fontgombault Abbey, otherwise the Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontgombault, is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation located in Fontgombault in the département of Indre, in the province of Berry, France. It was built in the Romanesque architectural style. The monastery, founded in 1091, was dissolved in 1791 and refounded in 1948.
The Parc natural régional de la Brenne is an 1,672 km2 (646 sq mi) large Parc naturel régional located in the Indre département of France. It was founded December 22, 1982. Of old, La Brenne was a region in the old French provinces of Berry and Touraine, west of Châteauroux and east of Tournon-Saint-Martin. The park is cut in two by the Creuse River. Through the southern half flows the Anglin River. Historically, the southern part of the regional park is not really part of La Brenne. This part is called La petite Brenne. Historically, it was part of the Boischaut region.
Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor département of Brittany in northwestern France.
Les Préaux is a commune in the Eure department and Normandy region of France.
Saint-Cyran-du-Jambot is a commune in the Indre department in central France.
Saint Sigiramnus, also known as Saint Cyran, was an abbot and confessor of the 7th century. A nobleman of Berry, he studied at Tours and then joined the royal court of Clothaire II. He served as cup-bearer but always wore a hair-shirt underneath his garments, devoting himself to prayer.
Georges Huber was a Swiss journalist who wrote many publications relating to the Catholic Church.
The canton of Le Blanc is an administrative division of the Indre department, central France. Its borders were modified at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Le Blanc.
The Sisters of the Society of Saint Pius X are a semi-contemplative order of religious sisters founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre on September 22, 1974. The motherhouse is located in Saint-Michel-en-Brenne, France, with additional houses in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. As of 2018, the current Superior General is Mother Maria Jean Bréant.
The Lefebvre family was a family of famous organ builders in 17th and 18th century Normandy, France. The last name has occasionally been written as Lefèvre.
Buzay Abbey, dedicated to Our Lady, was a Cistercian Abbey at Rouans in Pays de la Loire, France, formerly in Brittany, founded in 1135 and dissolved in 1790.