Foyer de Charité de Baye
The Foyer de Charité de Baye, a retreat in Champagne for heart and spirit. The community welcomes you for 6-day fundamental and deepening retreats, weekend recollections, and special programs for young professionals or couples.
Retreats organized by the community
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In the heart of Champagne, the Foyer de Charité de Baye
According to tradition, Saint Alpin was born in Baye in 409. A disciple of Saint Loup of Troyes, he became bishop of Châlons in 433 and distinguished himself in 451 against Attila. A preacher and miracle worker, he strengthened the faith of his diocese before dying in Baye on September 7, 480. Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, presided over his funeral.
In the 12th century, Hugues III de Broyes, baron of Baye, expanded the castle, and his successor Simon de Chateauvillain had the Saint-Alpin chapel built (1205–1220), one of the oldest in France. Its stained glass windows, from the Valois school, illustrate biblical scenes of great artistic quality. In the 18th century, Baron François II Berthelot modernized the castle while preserving the chapel.
During World War I, Yolande, daughter of Joseph Berthelot de Baye, created with her mother several ambulances and care centers for wounded soldiers. In a military capacity she was a knight of the Legion of Honor and twice decorated with the Croix de Guerre. In 1960, she donated her property to the Association of the Foyer de Charité de Baye founded by retreatants from Reims. She was buried in 1970 in the family crypt of the Saint-Roch chapel.
The association, heir to the place, still watches over today the maintenance of the chapel, the worship of Saint-Roch and the annual procession.
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A living, joyful and welcoming community
The Foyers de Charité, founded in 1936 by Marthe Robin and Father Georges Finet, are international Catholic communities. They offer spiritual retreats accessible to all, focused on silence, prayer and Christian formation. Led by consecrated laypeople in collaboration with a priest, these Foyers have as their mission to live and transmit their faith in a spirit of charity and communion.
Baptized and committed to following Christ, the community members share a simple and fraternal family life, and attend to the daily tasks of the hospitality mission (building and garden maintenance, facilitation, service to retreatants...).
The community brings together men and women, single or married, but also priests, united by their faith.
Common prayer life, shared mission and moments of relaxation constitute the essential elements of the community life of the Foyers de Charité. This dynamic allows welcoming retreatants with joy, sharing prayer times, services and fraternity. This is the intuition developed by Marthe Robin, which continues to adapt to the needs and realities of today's world.
Community members are trained to accompany visitors in their quest for meaning.
What to expect during your stay
The Foyer de Charité de Baye: an ideal setting for a spiritual retreat
The Foyer de Charité de Baye leads Catholic spiritual retreats that welcome everyone, from age 18, whatever your background, human, catechetical, close to or distant from the Church.
At Baye, you are welcomed in the heart of the castle that houses the Foyer, in a setting of nature and beauty, conducive to rest of body and soul. The retreatant experiences a form of personal journey, conducive to recentering and renewal. This time both intense and peaceful, in a calm, simple and caring setting, allows everyone to take a break, to reconnect with what is essential, whatever their spiritual sensitivity or approach.
During a spiritual retreat, baptized and non-baptized, regular, occasional or non-practicing churchgoers, Catholic or not, from very diverse backgrounds and milieus, you are welcomed into the Foyer's "family."
Tailored hospitality for your renewal
You are welcomed at the Baye castle. In addition to "castle life," in a setting of nature and beauty renovated for your welcome, you will enjoy a simple and warm reception.
The community can accommodate up to 50 retreatants in 38 single rooms including 20 double rooms, with complete bathroom facilities (sink, shower, toilet).
The Foyer has on the ground floor a room accessible to people with disabilities with adapted bathroom facilities, as well as a room for an accompanying person.
Exceptionally, we may offer you accommodation in a double room.
Besides the chapel, the Foyer has:
- a conference room
- two offices for individual meetings
- two lounges
- a spacious and bright dining room
- another conference or summer exhibition room.
Meals are carefully prepared, including organic spelt bread at breakfast, according to Saint Hildegard's recommendations. During retreats and recollections, meals are taken in silence, and a few community members share meals with you.
Upon request and according to agreed terms, we also welcome groups, families, scout patrols, cub scouts or students, particularly for exam revision.
We have a family vacation house, an annex of the Foyer located 300 m away, which can accommodate youth ministry groups, associations or families. It includes 22 single, double or triple rooms (55 beds), most of which have a sink. The bathrooms are shared, except for five rooms equipped with complete bathroom facilities. Most often, groups are self-catering, but we can also provide meals. The house is equipped with a complete kitchen (stove, refrigerators, freezer, dishes, cookware).
Geography and activities
Activities around the Foyer de Charité de Baye, immersion in the Champagne vineyards
During your stay with us you can:
- Visit the magnificent cathedrals Notre-Dame de Reims and Saint-Etienne de Châlons-en-Champagne, the basilicas Saint Remi in Reims and Notre-Dame de l'Épine (Marian sanctuary of the diocese of Châlons)
- Discover the "Hillsides, Houses and Cellars of Champagne" inscribed on the World Heritage List including the impressive "crayères" (chalk cellars) of the Saint-Nicaise hill in Reims where millions of bottles of champagne mature, the grand houses of Épernay, the "Montagne de Reims" and the "Côte des blancs."
- During your walks in Baye, its 50 hectares of vineyards among woods, plains and meadows will lead you to the former abbey of Andecis. Two independent winegrowers can welcome you to introduce you to their "bubbles."
- Travel the GR trails of the Marne including the "Via Campaniensis" to Vézelay (GR654), between Reims and Troyes.
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Practical information
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