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Origin and history

The Saint-Michel de Frigolet Abbey, located near Tarascon in the Bouches-du-Rhône, is an abbey of pre-monstrated canons founded in the 12th century. Isolated in a wild valley of La Montagnette, it derives its name from the Provençal Ferigoulo (thym). The first traces of construction date back to the seventh century, but it was in 1133 that the priory was mentioned for the first time, with a community of regular canons of St Augustine. Pope Adrien IV confirmed this installation in 1155, marking the beginning of the first constructions: cloister, Romanesque church and Notre Dame chapel. In the 14th century, the abbey was attached to the cathedral of Avignon, leading to the departure of many canons.

In the 17th century, Augustines and Hieronymite religious revived the priory until the Revolution. In 1788 a fire destroyed the library, and in 1791 the last four canons were dispersed. In the 19th century, the site became a college frequented by Frédéric Mistral. In 1858, Father Edmond Boulbon, pre-demonstrated, bought the buildings and restored order, building a large neo-Gothic abbey dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. In 1869, the priory was elevated to the rank of abbey by Pope Pius IX, and the statues of Our Lady of Good Remedy and Saint Joseph were crowned.

In 1880, the religious were forcibly expelled by the army, resisted by 3,000 laymen, including Frédéric Mistral. The pre-shows left in exile in England and then in Belgium, returning only to the 20th century. In 1926 Bishop Jean-Baptiste Penon withdrew there. In 1984 he became a basilica thanks to John Paul II. Between 2010 and 2014, important works restored the buildings, and since 2016, the abbey houses a Catholic school. In 2022, a fire in the Montagnette threatened the abbey, saved by firefighters.

The architecture of the abbey combines a 12th century Romanesque church, enlarged in the 19th century, and a neo-Gothic basilica with wall paintings inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle. The cloister, in Romanesque style, was redesigned in the 17th century. The 12th century Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Remede Chapel is decorated with woodwork and baroque paintings. The abbey was classified as a Historic Monument in 1921, 1995 and 2015, covering the cloister, facades, roofs, and the abbey church in its entirety.

The abbey played a major spiritual and cultural role, welcoming personalities like Frédéric Mistral and resisting religious persecution. Today, it remains a place of pilgrimage, teaching and preservation of heritage, while being a witness to the struggles between the Church and the State in France.

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