Monastère Notre-Dame de la Sainte-Espérance

Mesnil-Saint-Loup

The story of this Champagne village is one of a collective conversion, unique in France. In 1849, a young priest of twenty-three, the abbé Emmanuel André, was appointed parish priest of Mesnil-Saint-Loup, a religiously lukewarm parish. In 1852, received in audience by Pius IX, he asked the pope to grant his church a Marian title never used before: Our Lady of Holy Hope (Notre-Dame de la Sainte-Espérance). Pius IX authorised it and enriched with indulgences the invocation the priest had his parishioners repeat: "Our Lady of Holy Hope, convert us!" Local tradition tells that the whole village was transformed within a few years, to the point that witnesses spoke of a restored "Christendom". In 1864, Father Emmanuel established a Benedictine community in the presbytery, became a monk and then abbot in 1892, and affiliated his monastery to the Olivetan congregation in 1880. Dispersed by the expulsions of 1903 — the very year of the founder's death —, the community returned in 1926, sent out a colony to the abbey of Le Bec-Hellouin in 1948, and since 1976 monks have once more been living at Mesnil-Saint-Loup, in prayer and work. The pilgrimage to Our Lady of Holy Hope, held every year for more than a century and a half, still gathers the faithful around the crowned statue of the Virgin, making this little village one of the living spiritual centres of southern Champagne.

Getting there : Village of Mesnil-Saint-Loup, 25 km west of Troyes, near Estissac. Parish church and monastery in the village; services open to all, monastic guesthouse.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound