Venière Abbey
Venière Abbey, officially named Notre-Dame de Venière Abbey, is a Benedictine abbey established in 1963 in Boyer near Tournus, in Saône-et-Loire.
It belongs to the French province of the Subiaco-Monte Cassino congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.
A privileged place for parish group gatherings that allow the sisters to listen and pray for their diocese and the Church, hospitality is open to all.
Those wishing to take a spiritual break and experience fraternal time for renewal can make a retreat there.
Retreats organized by the community
The Benedictine community of Venière Abbey
Venière Abbey is home to 28 sisters living under the Rule of Benedict. For 50 years, the community has specialized in creating, for each first name, a representation of the patron saint on wood.
The sisters of Venière Abbey have Benedictine oblates. The Benedictine Oblature is a way of living, in the heart of lay life, the light of the Gospel and the Rule of Saint Benedict. The term comes from the Latin oblatus and means offered.
The Benedictine rule to structure the sisters' life at the monastery
The Rule of Saint Benedict was written 15 centuries ago for monks. Yet its wisdom and balance extend beyond the boundaries of the monastic world.
This monastic Rule provides people today with a path to interior life and valuable principles for living in community. It offers tools for discernment to "bring into one's life" the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in a dynamic of ongoing conversion.
Work and prayer at the center of daily life at the abbey
Work and prayer structure the sisters' days. Guests are invited to share in their prayer and, if they wish, to help with small tasks. The atmosphere of the guest house is warm and family-like, all in simplicity.
But the sisters' hospitality doesn't stop there. They also welcome people in distress, often homeless, in a specially dedicated space.
What to expect during your stay
For a retreat at Venière Abbey, you will have the opportunity to enter into a spiritual journey of renewal, prayer, and silence.
Experience a retreat at Venière Abbey
The community welcomes you and warmly invites you to freely participate in certain divine offices and communal prayer times. Here are the schedules for the different offices:
- 5:50 AM: Vigils
- 7:30 AM: Lauds
- 9:30 AM: Terce and Eucharist
- 12:45 PM: Sext
- 1:00 PM: Lunch
- 2:45 PM: None
- 5:30 PM: Vespers
- 7:00 PM: Dinner
- 8:15 PM: Compline
Geography and activities
In Saône-et-Loire, visit Tournus, a true treasure of heritage
The town has a large number of historic monuments, including Saint-Philibert de Tournus Abbey, a former Benedictine monastery, and the Hôtel-Dieu, a former hospital built in the 17th century that houses the Greuze Museum, dedicated to the French painter and draftsman Jean-Baptiste Greuze, a native of Tournus.
Practical information
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