And if you take advantage of these holidays to recharge your batteries? To take stock of your life, check that it really has a meaning… Or simply soothe your mind… The Benedictine monastery in Saint-Thierry, not far from Reims, will offer you a setting conducive to this kind of meditation. The sisters will not be surprised by your approach, they are used to it. For it’s not just pilgrims sweating the via Francigena (the Canterbury-Rome road) who regularly knock on their door; there are also people tempted by a spiritual break, and this throughout the year. And the monastery does not take a break during the summer.
If you choose to have lunch with the sisters, you must be prepared to hold your tongue, and not try to make conversation
Do not imagine that this involves praying twelve hours a day. “Generally we ask the person to attend one office per day, but this remains optional, informs the superior mother Fabienne. And for those who really aren’t used to it, to come at least once, so they can see what it looks like. »
To know
As for rates, “we are not a hotel, insists the superior of the monastery of Saint-Thierry, so we have no rates, we receive donations, and everyone gives what they can; to help the person get an idea, we still indicate the cost price of this accommodation -meals included- namely between 35 and 45 euros per day. »
For information, you can use the email address: hotellerie.st-thierry1@orange.fr; or telephones 03 26 03 99 37, or 06 71 39 40 25.
The monastery also hosts a training session on the Bible, on the theme of the writings of Saint Paul, from August 16 to 20, at the rate of two hours in the morning and one hour in the evening. You don’t have to spend the night there to participate.
It is true that the offer is varied in this matter (as in monasteries as a general rule) among these sisters in gray robes whose essential function is precisely to pray: one can choose the morning lauds, at ten to eight, or late afternoon vespers at 5:30 p.m., or midday mass; and for those who are not satiated with these foods, they could also taste nun at 2:30 p.m., as well as the compline at 8:30 p.m.; the bravest could even swallow the matins (those of Brother Jacques) from 5:25 a.m. in addition.
Silence and Reading
Nor is one obliged to share the midday meal with the community of sisters; this remains proposed, but not imposed: one can prefer the company of other visitors, in the hotel part of the monastery. On the other hand, if you choose to have lunch with the sisters, you must be prepared to hold your tongue, and not try to make conversation with your neighbours: the nuns eat in silence, while listening to a reading, which may concern a religious subject, but not necessarily: “We often have in-depth articles on society, says our interlocutor, and twice a week, a summary of the news”.
Rooms for families
Regarding accommodation, each room has little more than a bed, a desk, a chair and a sink; in general showers and toilets are shared; these rooms are however not necessarily individual: “We also have rooms with 2, 3, or even 4 places for families” says mother Fabienne.
There is wifi
You don’t even have to part with your laptop or computer! “There is wifi in the hotel,” the superior specifies, but it is obvious that the purpose of such a retreat is rather to encourage people to disconnect from the digital flow, to connect to something else, or rather to someone. someone else…
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Time for yourself: near Reims, the monastery offers you a spiritual break
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