Solesmes Congregation

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Solesmes Congregation
AbbreviationO.S.B.
Formationc. AD 1837;186 years ago (1837)
Founder Pope Gregory XVI
Type Catholic religious order
Superior General
Abbot Geoffrey Kemlin, O.S.B. [1]
Website solesmes.com

The Solesmes Congregation is an association of monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation headed by the Abbey of Solesmes.

Contents

History

The congregation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation, with the then newly reopened Solesmes Abbey, founded by Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B., who wished to re-establish France's ancient and rich presence of monastic life, which had been wiped out by the French Revolution. The first foundation of the new congregation in 1853 was Ligugé Abbey, founded by St. Martin of Tours in 361. In course of time other daughterhouses were founded from Solesmes: in 1880 the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain, Glanfeuil in 1892, and Fontenelle in 1893. These four were old monasteries restored. [2] The congregation's first monastery of women was St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes, founded in 1866 by Guéranger and Cécile Bruyère.

Some of the monasteries of the congregation, especially in France, use the pre-conciliar Latin liturgy, and most of them focus on Gregorian chant. One of its abbeys, Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey, became internationally famous when an album its monks recorded in 1973, Chant , became a huge hit when re-released in 1994, peaking at #3 on the U.S. album charts.

List of houses

Santo Domingo de Silos Monasterio Santo Domingo de Silos Monasterio 2115.jpg
Santo Domingo de Silos Monasterio

(with dates of establishment within the congregation)

Monks

Keur Moussa Abbey, near Thies, Senegal. KeurMoussa.jpg
Keur Moussa Abbey, near Thiès, Senegal.

Nuns

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Abbaye de Keur Moussa or simply Keur Mousa, near Dakar, the capital city of the Western African nation of Senegal, is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation. Founded in 1961 by French monks, the monastery became an abbey in 1984. As of 2000 the monastery was home to 26 monks under the leadership of Abbot Fr Philippe Champetier de Ribes Christofle. Recordings done by Sacred Spirit Music demonstrate the monks playing the kora harp and singing, and have reached Western audiences. Their music blends African rhythms and instruments with Western liturgical chant.

Abadía de San Benito, Luján, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, is a Benedictine monastery of the Cono-Sur Congregation. Originally established in Buenos Aires, the monastery became an abbey in 1950 and later transferred to the outskirts of Luján. As of 2020, the monastery was home to 13 monks, under the leadership of Abbot P. Jorge Moran.

Dom Paul Ambroise Marie Jausions was a French forerunner in the field of the restoration of the Gregorian chant since the middle of the nineteenth century, as well as the author of some religious books.

The Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a Benedictine abbey located in Westfield, Vermont.

References

  1. Henning, Christophe (20 May 2022). "Benedictines of Solesmes elect 43-year-old prior as their new abbot". La Croix International. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  2. Alston, George Cyprian. "Abbey of St. Solesmes." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 23 March 2015

Sources