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Origin and history

The Abbey of Grace-God was founded in 1135 by the monks of Clairvaux, with the support of Alienor of Aquitaine and Louis VII. Sixteenth abbey-daughter of Clairvaux, it prospered thanks to the drying up of the marshes of Andilly and founded itself the abbey of Charon as well as the priories of the Nevoire and Rioux. His economic and religious influence declined after 1574 with the establishment of the commende regime, where outside abbots managed his property without investing in monastic life.

Destroyed in part during the wars of Religion (especially during the siege of La Rochelle), the abbey was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries under the impulse of Abbés Hugues Morisset and Élie Chevrauld. In 1723 only four monks remained there. Sold as national property in 1791 to Thomas-Jean Main, it then passed into the hands of the Godet family (linked to the cognac), then the Red Motte. Today, it belongs to the family of Villeneuve, which provides restoration and opens to events (marriages, seminars).

The abbey was famous for its medieval abbey church (41 m long) and a miraculous fountain, an annual pilgrimage site on 14 and 15 August. After the Revolution, the new church (built from 1773) was demolished. Today there remains a large house of the seventeenth century, remains of the capitular hall, a dovecote of 1720 and an abbey house of 1663. The site combines architectural heritage and Cistercian memory.

In 2025, the Abbey hosted the first edition of La Nuit du bien commun, co-founded by Pierre-Édouard Stérin. This place, marked by centuries of monastic history and reconstruction, illustrates the religious, political and social changes of France, from the medieval era to the present day.

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