Carmel of the Holy Curé of Ars and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus

In the Ain department, in the heart of the small village of Ars-sur-Formans, the Carmel of Ars stands apart, 5 minutes on foot from the basilica of the holy Curé. A community of Carmelite nuns has lived here since 1939, with a mission that gives the place its distinctive character: praying for all priests. This is no coincidence, as Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, the famous Curé of Ars, is the patron of all parish priests in the world.

Here, the welcome is open to young women for individual retreats. It is intended for those who are asking themselves about a vocation to monastic religious life and wish to gain greater clarity. During their stay, they are welcomed outside the enclosure, in the company of the extern sisters, and experience a true time of silence, recollection, and discernment.

The Carmel of Ars also receives a steady flow of prayer intentions, left by priests who have come from around the world on pilgrimage to the sanctuary. The sisters like to say that this energizes them and opens them to the realities of the universal Church.

At the Carmel of Ars, the Carmelite nuns

The history of Carmel begins long before Ars. As early as the 12th century, hermits settled in the caves of Mount Carmel, in the Holy Land, in search of God. They took as their model the prophet Elijah and his famous words: "The Lord lives, before whom I stand." In the 16th century, Saint Teresa of Ávila returned to the original inspiration of the Order and founded many Carmels: small communities where one lives for God alone, in solitude and silence, but also in an intense fraternal life.

At the center of this life is mental prayer, silent prayer: a movement of the heart that continually places one in the presence of God and deepens friendship with Christ. The Virgin Mary, in the silence and simplicity of Nazareth, is its model.

The Carmel of Ars was founded in 1939 at the initiative of a Carmelite from the Carmel of Reims, Mother Marie-Louise de l'Immaculée Conception. She carried the desire to found a Carmel in Ars in order to extend the intercessory power of the holy Curé on behalf of priests. The monastery was blessed on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, under the dual protection of the holy Curé of Ars and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, whose motto the community has made its own: "In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I will be Love."

A retreat at the Carmel of Ars

You may participate in the Divine Office and the various prayer times of the sisters. The chapel is accessible at any hour of the day, to continue this heart-to-heart with God on your own.

If you wish, a nun can offer you spiritual guidance to help you discern your vocation. The sisters also lend books to help you discover the Carmelite charism and nourish your spiritual life, according to your needs.

At the Carmel, the day is shaped by prayer, times of fraternal recreation, and manual work. The sisters make hosts, sew liturgical vestments (chasubles, albs), and tend their vegetable garden and orchard. "The more I am a host, the more they will be priests," their foundress loved to repeat. During your retreat, you are welcome to lend a hand:

• in the garden;
• sorting hosts;
• with other small tasks, depending on the needs of the moment.

A simple and warm welcome

The sisters say it themselves with simplicity: their guest facilities are very modest. But that is precisely what gives the place its charm.

The retreatant is welcomed in a simple room overlooking a garden. With only one room available, the welcome is as personal as it can be. Meals, prepared by the nuns, are taken in solitude, in a small refectory, a time well suited to prolonging recollection.

The monastery is situated in a secluded location, conducive to prayer. The retreat is a time of deep silence to come face to face with God. For this reason, the chapel is open at any hour of the day.

Activities around the Carmel of Ars, in the Ain department

In Ars, everything is done on foot, and almost everything speaks of the holy Curé:

• The basilica of Ars, 5 minutes on foot from the Carmel, where many pilgrims, and especially priests, come to pray to Saint Jean-Marie Vianney.
• The house of the holy Curé, where he lived, to be discovered in the village.
• The wax museum, which traces his life.
• The Monument of the Encounter, at the entrance to the village. It commemorates the meeting of the Curé with a young shepherd boy who showed him the way. The saint is said to have replied: "You have shown me the road to Ars; I will show you the road to Heaven." The young boy died a few days after the saint.