Medieval Burgundy
Your window to our present.
Welcome to the blog on Medieval Burgundy for parents and friends of SMC students.
We'll post pictures here nearly every day and tell you what we've been up to.
A bit of history:
Pontigny Abbey was founded in 1114 as the second "daughter-abbey" of Cîteaux, and contributed to the rapid growth of the Cistercian Order of monks and nuns across Europe, all living by the Rule of St. Benedict. Hundreds of abbeys were founded, and some of them are still active today. (All Trappist Abbeys are Cistercian, such as St Joseph's in Spencer, MA.) Pontigny has the largest Cistercian church remaining in France, shown above on a spring morning.
At the French Revolution, the monks of Pontigny Abbey were expelled and the church was given to the newly-formed parish in 1790. There was no "town" to speak of at the time; it has grown up since and now has about 750 citizens.
The students will be living in town at the Mission de France, which is run by the diocese, and is located just off the bottom of the photo. Prof. Kinder's house is indicated on the right; students can go there to relax, use her library, study, play volleyball ...
Mission de
France house