Journées Européennes du Patrimoine au Val Benoît

The Prieuré du Val Saint Benoit is a historic monastic site dating back to the 13th century.
It was founded at the request of Lord Gauthier de Sully, who donated the site to the monks of Val des Choux and built the church, which he named "Eglise Sainte Marie". Gauthier de Sully was also buried here.
Val Saint Benoît therefore retains a special historical link with the Château de Sully, which is an integral part of its history. This link was further strengthened in the 20th century when the Duke of Magenta, Philippe de Mac Mahon, whose family had owned the Château de Sully since the 18th century, repeated Gauthier's gesture by donating Val Saint Benoît to the Bethlehem monastic family, thus enabling it to return to its original monastic vocation.
The Prieuré du Val Saint Benoît also has a historical link with the Château de Morlet, originally built by the Lords of Loges, who were great friends of the monks. It was the Lords de Loges who built the splendid chapel that still bears their name at the Prieuré du Val Saint Benoît. Several generations of the de Loges family are buried at Val Saint Benoît.
Today, a community of contemplative nuns lives on the site of the former Priory.
The Priory's listed monuments: the 13th-century church and the Loges chapel, a 15th-century jewel, are open to the public every day of the year, from 7am to 7pm.
Every year in September, on the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the community of nuns offers exceptional access to the Priory, with the following events:
The history of the Prieuré du Val Saint Benoît right up to the present day, starting with the glorious monks who founded the Val des Choux order in the 13th century - an order that originated in Burgundy but has now disappeared. This history, which is inextricably linked with the history of France, is particularly alive in this corner of the forest in Burgundy.
Guided tours of the listed monuments - the 13th-century church and the 15th-century chapel, the most remarkable jewel of flamboyant Gothic art in the whole region - bring to life the heroic past of this place, with its splendours and devastations, its abandonment and its unexpected resurrection in the 20th century, when it rediscovered its original vocation.
An audio-visual montage retraces this spiritual epic from the 13th century to the present day.

Very exceptionally, on the occasion of the Heritage Days, the nuns of Val Saint Benoît are opening the enclosed community living quarters to visitors. This is how monastic life, in continuity with the life of the first monks, keeps this heritage alive. After visiting the church and chapel, it is possible to walk through the small cloister traditionally used by the monks to reach the nuns' refectory, the library and the weekly Chapter House.
At the end of the visit, if you still have questions, you can ask one of the nuns, who will be happy to answer them.
If you wish, you can visit the craft workshops of the nuns of Val Saint Benoît and admire the splendid earthenware hand-painted by the nuns, or the bas-reliefs and statues made by them in the pure monastic tradition.

Finally, if you wish, you can buy the incomparable monastic handicrafts of the monks and nuns of Bethlehem: earthenware, carved wooden statues of all sizes and exceptional moulded works, incense, leather objects, handmade stoneware, icons, medals, amber objects from Lithuania, medals, cots, herbal teas, creams, etc., all in a good-natured atmosphere and a friendly welcome from a team of volunteers from the region.
Hot and cold drinks are provided by the nuns.

Because this place has been entirely restored since 1982 by the nuns, with the help of the local inhabitants and the support of the Drac, the Burgundy Franche Comté Region and the Saône et Loire Department, the nuns wanted visits to this place, including for the Heritage Days, to be free and open to everyone, every day of the year.
However, if you wish, you can help the nuns to restore and maintain the site by making a donation. They are very precious to the nuns who live in poverty.

Show less