Soleilmont Abbey
Hidden in a green haven, the Cistercian abbey of Notre Dame de Soleilmont is located in Fleurus, Belgium.
Founded in the 13th century, a fire ravaged a large part of the monastery in 1963. Ten years later, the sisters settled into a new abbey, a few meters from the old one, to continue their life of prayer, hospitality, simplicity, and joy!
An ideal setting for a renewing spiritual retreat!
Retreats organized by the community
At the gates of Charleroi, an abbey surrounded by nature
The very modern buildings give no hint that this Cistercian community dates back to 1237! It has weathered the vicissitudes of history (wars, plagues, etc.) with few resources but immense trust in providence! During the French Revolution, the nuns were expelled and took refuge in the Farciennes castle. In 1802, they returned to the abbey as simple tenants. Soon, they were down to just 4!
Despite this, in 1837, the buildings were bought back and a boarding school was opened, which continued until the war of 1914-1918. Authorized in 1919 to resume Cistercian life, they were reaffiliated with the Order of Cîteaux in 1922.
In 1950, the community founded Brecht Abbey in Flanders. On Christmas night 1963, a fire destroyed the ancient abbey. The sisters lived for ten years in two small wings that remained intact, singing their offices sometimes in an old bus, sometimes in a caravan, updating their monastic life while preserving the Cistercian spirit in a dynamic of impermanence. In 1973, they settled one kilometer away, on the site of a former coal mine, to continue their life of prayer, seeking God, and simplicity.
In 1987, Soleilmont founded a monastery in Kerala, in southern India: Ananda Matha Ashram. The sisters live from fair trade by packaging products from local agriculture (coffee, black and green teas, cashew nuts, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, cloves, cardamom).
The buildings of the current abbey were built in the 1970s in a modern style. The church with its large bay window offers a beautiful panorama of the nature surrounding the monastery through the four seasons.
The Cistercian sisters of Soleilmont Abbey
Currently, the community is composed of 28 sisters of various ages. Following the Rule of Saint Benedict, they live according to the balanced rhythm of prayer and work. Following Christ in Cistercian spirituality is especially characterized by the values of simplicity, sobriety, and authenticity.
The nuns make hosts, bread (black, white, gray, multi-grain), and cookies. They also create ceramics sold at the small shop at the reception.
What to expect during your stay
Making a spiritual retreat at Soleilmont Abbey
Individual men, individual women, couples, mixed groups, women's groups, students, everyone is welcome at the abbey. The sisters can accommodate up to 20 people during the day and a dozen overnight. The number of places is limited to allow for personalized hospitality.
At the abbey, you can come for a spiritual pause in different forms:
- come discover the abbey for a day
- make a discovery stay of monastic life for young people
- participate in spiritual weekends
- take part in "service" stays (half-day of work on the property and participation in the community's prayer life).
The sisters also organize each year a green week, an intergenerational day each May 1st, ecumenical and interfaith gatherings, as well as "Springboard" stays from one to six months.
Each month, meeting groups gather (lectio group, mothers' prayer, Mess'aje catechesis, etc.).
You can also organize your own retreats or study sessions at the abbey with students or adults, as well as preached retreats.
Your stay with the Cistercians at Soleilmont Abbey
A dozen individual rooms, two meeting rooms, a large wooded property where you can walk, a small library, these are the facilities made available by the sisters.
Meals are self-service in the morning and they are not taken in silence. Retreatants are invited to help with the dishes.
Depending on the type of stay you wish to make, you can participate, if you wish, in the sisters' activities during the day (making hosts, pottery, outdoor work) and/or participate in prayer times with them:
- Vigils: 4:05 a.m.
- Lauds: 7:15 a.m.
- Terce: 9:00 a.m.
- Sext: 12:10 p.m.
- None: 2:15 p.m. (weekdays) or 3:00 p.m. (Sundays and feast days)
- Vespers and integrated Mass (weekdays): 5:10 p.m.
- On Sundays, Mass at 11:00 a.m. and Vespers at 5:30 p.m.
- Compline: 7:25 p.m.
Geography and activities
What to do and visit around Soleilmont Abbey?
The town of Fleurus is located in the Charleroi region, known for its slag heaps (former coal mining sites). The abbey itself is on a former coal mining site and you can discover remnants of that era on the property.
The city of Charleroi has a thousand facets. Both bourgeois and industrial, quirky and good-natured, bohemian and trendy, like its inhabitants. It's the birthplace of the unusual where former industries become settings for artists, where empty walls become gigantic canvases for "street artists", where slag heaps can be climbed and green spaces invite hiking. Add to this the incredible transformation the city is undergoing, and it becomes essential to linger in Charleroi and explore it.
In the Charleroi region you can discover numerous options for marked trails and city discovery circuits. The detailed offering is available on the Charleroi Tourism Board website.
Practical information
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