The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict. They are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule.
The Cistercians, officially the Order of Cistercians, are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contributions of the highly-influential Bernard of Clairvaux, known as the Latin Rule. They are also known as Bernardines, after Saint Bernard himself, or as White Monks, in reference to the colour of the "cuculla" or cowl worn by the Cistercians over their habits, as opposed to the black cowl worn by Benedictines.
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. They follow the Rule of Saint Benedict and have communities of both monks and nuns that are known as Trappists and Trappistines, respectively. They are named after La Trappe Abbey, the monastery from which the movement and religious order originated. The movement first began with the reforms that Abbot Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé introduced in 1664, later leading to the creation of Trappist congregations, and eventually the formal constitution as a separate religious order in 1892.
Stephen Harding was an English-born monk and abbot, who was one of the founders of the Cistercian Order. He is honoured as a saint in the Catholic Church.
Gertrude the Great, OSB was a German Benedictine nun and mystic from the monastery of Helfta. She is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church and figures in the General Roman Calendar on November 16 for optional celebration as a memorial throughout the Roman Rite.
Val-Dieu Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery in Wallonia in the Berwinne valley near Aubel in the Pays de Herve.
St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School is an academically selective Roman Catholic state grammar school on Langley Road, Slough. It was previously designated as a Humanities College. The student body is divided into four different houses - Annay, Clairvaux, Cîteaux and La Plaine. The houses are named after various monastic houses, relating to the school's history. The school's motto is "Dieu Mon Abri", which means "God is my Shelter". The crest is a diamond, with three parallel, diagonal, swords on a blue background. The school has been given an "outstanding" by Ofsted and its recent 2017, 2018 and 2019 results place it academically within the top 1% of the country.
Sept-Fons Abbey, Notre-Dame de Sept-Fons or Notre-Dame de Saint-Lieu Sept-Fons is a Trappist monastery at Diou in Bourbonnais in the diocese of Moulins in France. Around ninety monks currently live in the monastery, many of whom are novices sent from monasteries around the world.
Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order belonging to the Roman Catholic branch of the Catholic Church.
Gerald of Sales was a French monastic reformer from Salles, Lot-et-Garonne near Bergerac, Dordogne in the south-west of France. His feast day is on April 20.
The Trappist Abbey of Rochefort or Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in Rochefort in the province of Namur. The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and its brewery, which is one of few Trappist beer breweries in the world. Life in the abbey is characterised by prayer, reading and manual work, the three basic elements of Trappist life. The motto of the abbey is Curvata Resurgo.
La Maigrauge Abbey or Magerau Abbey is a monastery of Cistercian nuns located in Fribourg, Switzerland, and founded in 1255. The abbey is situated on the Sarine River and lies on the border between French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland. The community is bilingual.
The Feuillants were a Catholic congregation originating in the 1570s as a reform group within the Cistercians in its namesake Les Feuillants Abbey in France, which declared itself an independent order.
Molesme Abbey was a well-known Benedictine monastery in Molesme, in Laignes, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, on the border of the Dioceses of Langres and Troyes.
Soleilmont Abbey is an abbey of Trappistine nuns situated in the forest and commune of Fleurus, at Gilly near Charleroi, Belgium, founded, according to tradition, in the 11th century, which became Cistercian in 1237. The nuns were expelled as a consequence of the French Revolution in 1796, but soon re-established themselves in 1802. The community became Bernardine in 1837, and Trappist in 1919.
St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde is an abbey of Benedictine nuns in the Isle of Wight, England.
The Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno – or simply known as Monastic Brothers of Bethlehem and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem – is a Roman Catholic institute of consecrated life that practices the Carthusian spirituality and was founded through the inspiration of a small group of French pilgrims on November 1, 1950, at St. Peter's Square, in the Vatican City, following the promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. The Monastic Sisters were founded in France, soon after, and the Monastic Brothers in 1976.
The Cistercian Hymnal is a compilation of the ancient texts and melodies sung by Cistercian monks and nuns during the Liturgy of the Hours. This collection of hymns influenced the Cistercian Order's identity, since early abbots emphasized the compositions' musical quality. The hymnal developed in the course of the centuries.
Chrysogonus Waddell was an American Roman Catholic convert and theologian. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was an accomplished organist, liturgist, historian, and a scholar of chant and Cistercian liturgy.
