Monastère Notre Dame du Val d'Adoration

The Prieuré du Val Saint Benoit is a historic site dating back to the 13th century.
It was founded at the behest of Lord Gauthier de Sully, who donated the site to the monks of Val des Choux and built the church 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, allowing 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.

The European Heritage Days at Val Saint Benoît:
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, or rather the epic of the Priory of Val Saint Benoît 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 and has now disappeared. This history, which is inextricably linked with the history of France, is particularly alive in this little corner of Burgundy's forest.
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 up their enclosure community living quarters to visitors. This is how monastic life, in continuity with the life of the first monks, makes this heritage a living heritage. After a visit to the church and chapel, you can walk through the traditional monks' cloister to the nuns' refectory, the library and the weekly Chapter House. The nuns will tell you all about monastic life here.
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.
Afterwards, if you wish, you can visit the nuns' craft workshops and admire, and even buy, the magnificent earthenware hand-painted by the nuns, or the bas-reliefs and statues made at Val Saint Benoît in the pure monastic tradition.

Finally, you can contemplate and even buy, if you wish, the incomparable monastic crafts 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, cots, herbal teas, creams, etc., all in a friendly atmosphere with a very welcoming team.
Hot and cold drinks are provided by the nuns.

Because this place has been entirely restored since 1982 for 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 it to be free and open to everyone, every day of the year, including during the Heritage Days.
However, if you wish, you can help the nuns to restore, maintain and bring this place to life by making donations. They are very precious to the nuns who live in poverty and have no financial means.

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