Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Notre-Dame Abbey of Port-du-Salut, originally named priory of Port-Ringeard, was founded in the 13th century by Thibault III of Mathefelon, lord of Entrammes. The latter erected a chapel dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Nicholas, ceded in 1233 to the Abbey of the Reau (Poitou). Six regular canons settled there, perpetuating the conventual life until the French Revolution. The priory, sold as a national good in 1791, was abandoned after the expulsion of the religious.

In 1815, Trappist monks, returning from exile in Westphalia, bought the buildings with Jean-Baptiste Le Clerc de la Roussière. They founded a community under the name Notre-Dame du Port-du-Salut and developed the production of Port-Salut cheese, now emblematic. The abbey was officially erected by the pope in 1816. Among his notable figures, Baron Ferdinand de Geramb, now Brother Marie-Joseph, played a key role in his architectural and spiritual expansion in the 19th century.

The monastery experienced continuous growth, welcoming pilgrims and beggars thanks to its agricultural and wheat activities. In the 20th century, the monks turned to industrial subcontracting and hydroelectric production (centrality active since 1933). In 2025, for lack of vocations, the Trappists announced their departure, entrusting the site to an endowment fund for a project of conversion combining reception, training in manual trades and cultural activities.

The site, located on the edge of Mayenne near Laval, preserves traces of an ancient past (dolmen, Gallo-Roman and Merovingian ruins). Its heritage includes an outside chapel dedicated to Saint Simeon Stylite (1854) and a monumental statue of Notre-Dame du Triomphe (1874), symbol of local devotion. The abbey thus illustrates nearly 800 years of monastic life, between Cistercian tradition and modern adaptations.

The archives also mention links with other abbeys, such as that of Bricquebec (Normandie), founded with the help of monks from Port-du-Salut in 1825. Father Maur Cocheril (1914–1982), a learned monk, carried out research on the Cistercian order in Spain and Portugal, while being a specialist in Gregorian and heraldic chant.

External links