(cont.)
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In 1892 the Quebec Government and the ecclesiastical
authorities persuaded Dom Antoine, Abbot of Oka, to send three
Trappists to Lac-Saint-Jean. The foundation began slowly and
painfully; eight years later the situation remained difficult.
With the arrival
of Dom Pacôme Gaboury, in1901, the circumstances of the foundation
began to change: its financial situation strengthened, its spiritual
life improved. On January 1st 1904 the foundation received
the happy news that its status was elevated to a Priory.
In 1906, Dom Pacôme began assembling the material and funds necessary for the
building of the monastery, which opened on July 10, 1911.
In 1935, the
priory of Mistassini gained Abbatial status.
At Mistassini
today, Cistercian life has evolved. Fifteen years ago the monks took
possession of a new monastery building better suited to their needs.
The Father Abbot of Mistassini is the Father Immediate of the Abbey of
Our Lady of Calvary in New Brunswick.
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Abbaye N.-D. de Mistassini
100,
Route des Trappistes
Mistassini, Qc, G8M 3B2
CANADA
Foundation : 1892
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Molesme
Moreau, Dom
Yvon o.c.s.o
On the 22nd of October, 1990, the community of Oka
elected its fourth Abbot, successor to Dom Fidèle Sauvageau who had
resigned on the 1st of October.
A native of Saint-Pascal of
Kamouraska, Dom Yvon is the son of the late Joseph Moreau and of Dame
Adéla Langelier. He completed his classical studies at the College of
Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, studied Theology at Laval University and
was ordained priest for the diocese of Saint-Anne-de-la-Pocatiere on
the 8th of June 1968.
His parish ministry was
interrupted by periods of study in Social Sciences at Laval
University, Philosophy at the University of Ottawa and two years of
mission in Nicaragua.
He entered the Cistercian
Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Lac (Oka) on the 18th of September
1984 and made his solemn profession on the 24th of June
1989. At the time of his election he was chaplain to the Cistercian
nuns of the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Bon Conseil in Saint- Romuald.
On the 17th of
November 1990, Dom Yvon Moreau received the Abbatial blessing at the
hands of Monsignor Charles Valois, bishop of the Diocese of St.
Jerome. |
None
The
third of the ‘little hours’, None is chanted in mid-afternoon. It is a
time to pray for the strength to persevere with the demands of the day and
the responsibilities of life.
Oger,
Dom Antoine, O.C.S.O.
First Abbot of Oka
In
1886, Dom Jean-Marie Chouteau needed to find a successor to Father Guillaume
who had resigned. He sent
Father Antoine Oger to Oka. Born on the 7th of June 1852 at la
Jumelliere (Maine-et-Loire), Pierre Oger completed his classical studies at
the minor seminary of Mongazon and theology at the major seminary of Angers.
Ordained priest in 1877, he was named prefect of discipline and professor of
Sciences at the College St.-Louis de Saumur. Four years later, on the 14th
of September 1881, he entered the Abbey of Bellefontaine.
Dom Jean-Marie Chouteau, having appraised Fr. Oger’s formation,
named him Master of Lay Brothers shortly after his profession. Thus at the
age of 34, Fr. Oger found himself named Prior of the monastery of Oka, which
had been founded on the eve of his entry to Bellefontaine.
This gentle and energetic man, ever the hard worker (his motto: in
sweat and patience) needed all his strength to take on the responsibilities
that awaited him. He arrived at Oka as delegated superior, but the next year
the monastery was elevated to the status of Priory and on the 10th
of May 1887, the community unanimously elected him as their Prior.
Dom
Antoine Returns to the Father
The
unfolding of events brings us to 1913, the end of Dom Antoine’s life. His
trip to the General Chapter of 1912 used up what remained of his energy and
health. He spent the winter of 1912 in Spain, hoping to restore his health.
With renewed energy he returned to Canada in 1913, anxious to rejoin his
spiritual sons. He arrived at
the monastery on the 13th of June. He died on August 1st, 1913.
With
the death of Dom Antoine the most significant chapter in the history of the
Cistercian Abbey of Oka comes to an end.
Having arrived so soon after the founders, one can say without
falsity that Dom Antoine is the founder of Notre-Dame-du-Lac. Dom Antoine
endowed the monastery with most of the industries that were to become the
livelihood of the community. He
also was the builder of the first and second stone monasteries, the
organizer of the School of Agriculture, and the founder of the monastery of
Mistassini. Having arrived in 1886 to head a foundation so well underway
that it became a Priory the very next year, upon his death the left an Abbey
whose fraternal life had been unified and cemented by its trials (such as
the fires, especially the fire of 1902), its labours and its communal life.
Oka Agricultural Institute
E
Realizing
that there was no English-speaking male Catholic contemplative community in
Canada, the Oka community decided to introduce Cistercian life in Ontario.
In 1977, monks were sent to find a suitable site. They settled temporarily
in Georgetown until 1980. A new site was subsequently chosen at Hockley
Heights, near Orangeville, where the Cistercian Monastery of Notre Dame was
built.
This
house closed on September 1st, 1998 for a variety of reasons, but
mainly because of a lack of recruitment.
During
the last decades of the 19th century, many religious communities
in France were threatened with expulsion, so turbulent was the political
climate of the day. Several communities chose to go into exile.
Dom
Jean-Marie Chouteau, abbot of the Trappist monastery of Bellefontaine, in
the diocese of Angers, set his sights on Canada. In 1881, he founded the
Monastery of Our Lady of the Lake (Oka); in 1892, at the invitation of
Bishop Ritchot, he sent a group of monks to St. Norbert, in Manitoba, to
found Our Lady of the Prairies.
Today,
this community is located in Holland, Manitoba, a further distance from the
city of Winnipeg. Its daily life is punctuated by the rhythms of the Divine
Office, caring for a dairy herd, cultivation of grain and cheese-making.
Though
founded by Bellefontaine, the abbot of Notre Dame du Lac (Oka) is the Father
Immediate of their community.
De Rancé was
born in Paris. By 1637 he was canon of Notre Dame at Paris and commendatory
abbot of five benefices, including the abbey of La Trappe.
His conversion began in 1657, and by 1664 he made his profession as a
Cistercian. Following this he returned to La Trappe as a regular abbot.
De Rancé's
contribution to the spirituality of the Cistercian Order
is unique. It is best
summed up as : La Trappe. De Rancé handed down his heritage through the
life of this community. A coherent Trappist life, joining clear and solid
principles with a simple and prudent austerity.
It reflected his character: only asceticism of the heart must
motivate asceticism of the body.
Without de
Rancé's remarkable personality, the Trappist experience would have failed.
But what is most astonishing is the continuation, after his death, of his
creation, without interruption or weakening, under the guidance of effective
though by no means exceptional superiors.
Dom
Augustin de Lestrange reclaimed this spirit of de Rancé when he led his
brothers into exile in 1792. He returned in 1815 to take possession of the
ruins of La Trappe.
Sauvageau, Dom Fidèle : Third
Abbot of Oka
Joseph-Gérard-Arthur
Sauvageau, was born in Saint Thuribe de Portneuf, the 3rd of
January, 1922, son of Alphonse Sauvageau, blacksmith and of Marie-Ange
Hamelin, teacher. He studied at Chambly-Bassin and the Scholasticate
Saint-Joseph of Ottawa, and completed the license in Philosophy of the
University of Ottawa in 1945.
He
entered the Trappists of Oka on the 19th of June 1946, made his
solemn profession the 1st of November 1951 and took the name of
Brother Fidèle. On the 24th
of February 1952, he was ordained priest at the Abbey of Notre-Dame-du-Lac
by His Eminence the Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger, Archbishop of Montreal.
Elected
third abbot of Oka on the 6th of July 1964 he led this community
for 26 years.
Sext
:
The
second of the ‘little hours’, it is prayed at midday. Sext is a Latin
term for sixth hour. It is prayed at a time of day when one can feel
weary, perhaps even overwhelmed by the demands of life. It is a time to
pray earnestly for the strength to resist temptation and for deep
conversion, uniting oneself to Christ who was crucified at the sixth hour.
Sulpicians
:
Dedicated
to Jesus Christ the Sovereign Priest, the Company of the Fathers of Saint
Sulpice is a society of diocesan priests whose vocation is to serve those
who are ordained to the priesthood.
On
the 8th of April 1881, the arrival of the two Trappists, Dom
J.-M.
and Father J.-B. Gaudin
in Montreal, Quebec, was the crowning of the numerous steps of a priest of
Saint-Sulpice, Father M. Victor Rousselot, in the hope of establishing a
Trappist Monastery in the Diocese.
Father Robert Thomas
O.C.S.O.
Born
the 22nd of April, 1911, in Paris, he entered Sept-Fons in 1928
and studied at the Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained priest in
1937. From 1940, he gave lectures on Cistercian authors. He has been prior,
professor of theology and scripture, and chaplain to our Cistercian nuns.
Several of his books have been published.
Terce
Terce
is the first of what are commonly called “the little hours”. Terce is a
latin term for third hour. It is prayed at mid-morning. One prays for guidance
and strength as the work of the day begins.
Thibirine
During the night from March
27 to 28, 1996, seven monks of the Cistercian Monastery of O.L. of Atlas, in
Algeria were abducted by Islamic fundamentalists. Their abduction was
claimed by a radical faction of the GIA (Groupe Islamique Armé) in a
communiqué dated April 18, 1996 and published on April 27. In a second
communiqué, dated May 23, the GIA announced that they had been executed on
May 21. The funeral Mass for them was celebrated at Algiers on Sunday, June
2, and they were buried at the Atlas Monastery, at Thibirine, on Tuesday,
June 4, 1996.
Global
term for the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, and for several
monasteries of the Order. Also Cistercian abbey in Soligny by the name of la
Grande Trappe.
The
swampy area, commonly called “La Trappe”, was originally part of the
domaine of Rotrou III, count of Perche (1070-1144). There the count erected
a chapel which, in 1140, the Benedictines were called to serve; and in 1047
they incorporated themselves to the Order of Cîteaux.
Following
this, La Trappe became prosperous. But the miseries of war and pillaging in
the 14th and 15th centuries dealt harsh consequences
for monastic life. And in 1532, further decadence ensued as the monastery
was held in commendam. With such
material and spiritual ruin, La Trappe would have foundered if it hadn’t
been taken in hand by the abbot de Rancé. De Rancé,
godson of Richelieu, led a joyous and refined life, and held La
Trappe in commendam.
He underwent a profound conversion in 1657 and then made his profession as a
Cistercian in 1664. He returned to La Trappe and under his vigorous
leadership, the community grew and became one of the most fervent and
austere in the French kingdom.
One
the eve of the French revolution, Dom de Lestranges succeeded in taking away
24 monks from persecution, and journeyed with them through Europe, during
which time this family grew in size to 600 monks. This development in the
heart of trial allowed, when the turmoil ended, for the reestablishment of
the order in France and Belgium. Dom de Lestranges recuperated La Trappe
when he returned to France in 1815. The abbey was in ruins. Spacious
buildings in neo-gothic style were erected, and it is these that we see
today. The new monastic buildings and church were solemnly consecrated on
the 30th of August 1895.
The
Father Abbot of Notre-Dame de Cîteaux is the Father Immediate of Notre-Dame
de la Trappe.
Abbaye N.D. de la Trappe
61380 Soligny-la-Trappe
France
Fondation :
(1140) 1814
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Trappists, Trappistines :
The
reforms of la Trappe (see de Rancé,
Trappe) led to the designation of the members of the Cistercian order as
Trappists and Trappistines.
Today,
‘Trappists’ and ‘Trappistines’ are monks and nuns of the Order of
Cistercians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.).
Vespers
:
Vespers
is celebrated at the day’s end, with hymns, psalms, readings and
canticles. It is the time to reflect on the day’s struggles, successes and
failures, offering them to God
in thanksgiving and humility.
Vigils :
Vigils
is prayed in the middle of the night. The office of Vigils consists of a
hymn, psalms, readings, and canticles. Vigils takes on the spirit of
vigilance, of waiting for the Bridegroom. It is also a time of earnest
prayer for those tempted to sin in the darkest hours of the day. This
vigilance continues after the conclusion of Vigils, in silence, meditation,
lectio divina, and prayer, until the celebration of Lauds.
William of St. Thierry :
see Fathers
(between 1070 and
1080 -1148)
1 2
3 4
On the 22nd of October, 1990, the community of Oka
elected its fourth Abbot, successor to Dom Fidèle Sauvageau who had
resigned on the 1st of October.
