Notre-Dame du Kokoubou Monastery (Benin)
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The Cistercian brothers of Notre-Dame du Kokoubou Monastery welcome you with joy! Manual work and prayer in community structure the days in this Beninese monastery where life is good and where a change of scenery is guaranteed!
Experience a spiritual retreat at Kokoubou, an extraordinary experience with the brothers, contemplating a verdant landscape at the edge of the Ouémé forest!
Retreats organized by the community
Notre-Dame du Kokoubou: a Trappist monastery in Benin
Notre-Dame du Kokoubou Monastery was born in the wake of the Second Vatican Council and its call to establish monastic life in young Churches.
It was through Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, then Archbishop of Cotonou, that this call materialized in the late 1950s, when he requested the Cistercian abbey of Notre-Dame de Bellefontaine to come and found a community in what was then Dahomey (now Benin).
As Bellefontaine was not ready at that time for a foundation, it was the neighboring abbey of Notre-Dame des Gardes that sent, in 1960, the necessary number of sisters to found Étoile Notre-Dame monastery in the diocese of Parakou.
Twelve years later, Bellefontaine was able to send enough founding brothers, who could begin monastic life at Kokoubou, starting on October 13, 1972.
The community has gradually grown stronger through arrivals and some departures. Along the way, young people native to the country began to take an interest in monastic life, until today when only two founding members remain in the community, whose presence is greatly appreciated by the brothers.
A community of the Cistercian Order
The community belongs to the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (OCSO for short), a contemplative order founded in the 12th century. Their main occupation is prayer, lived seven times a day in community. The brothers and sisters work with their hands for 4 to 6 hours a day, in order to provide for their needs and do good around them
The brothers remain open to the world through the ministry of hospitality to all those, men or women, who wish to come to the monastery to seek God in solitude for a few days, to rest or to take advantage of the peaceful setting to carry out their academic or other work.
What to expect during your stay
Living a spiritual retreat at Kokoubou Monastery
Everyone is welcome to stay at the monastery. Guests are freely invited to join the community life and participate in the various daily activities (prayer times, meals, etc.).
The community offers accommodation for individual or guided retreats, according to the retreatant's choice. Individual spiritual guidance is available. Guests who wish to help with manual work on site are welcome!
The monks of Kokoubou's sense of hospitality
The guest house consists of 4 covered buildings housing the rooms and bathrooms. Mainly single rooms, as well as three rooms with two or three beds, are offered. A conference room for about ten people is available to groups who need it!
Meals, which take place in silence, are prepared and served by the monastic community.
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Geography and activities
In Benin, wonders surround Kokoubou Monastery
The monastery is located in the countryside and is surrounded by Fulani or Bariba villages.
For those who want to venture outside the monastery during their stay, the city of Parakou (the country's second-largest city, on the road to Djougou, to the west), as well as the Ouémé River and Ouari Maro Mountain (about forty kilometers away) are accessible by car.
Practical information
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