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Origin and history

Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil Abbey, located in Thureil in the department of Maine-et-Loire, finds its origins in a legend of the 6th century. According to this tradition, Saint Benedict sent his disciple Maurus, monk of Mount Cassin, to Gaul to found the first Benedictine abbey in Anjou. Maurus ruled the monastic community there for nearly forty years. This site, occupied since the Gallo-Roman era, was deeply marked by Norman invasions in the 9th century, then rebuilt during the reign of Louis the Begue.

The abbey experienced tumultuous periods, especially during the Hundred Years War, when the English, expelled from Maine by Bertrand Du Guesclin, took refuge there. Ruined several times, it was rebuilt between 1680 and 1685 by the Maurists, with an abbey house added in 1768. In the 20th century, the abbey changed hands several times: first owned by the Assumptionists until the 1980s, it was then sold to the Apprentis d'Auteuil, then to the departmental council of Maine-et-Loire. Today, it is run by the association O.V.A.L., which has made it an animation and reception centre.

Saint-Maur Abbey has been classified and protected as historic monuments since 1958, with protection extensions in 1979 and 1996. Among the remarkable elements are a Gallo-Roman nymph (or medieval sink), the gable adorned with a cross of the ancient abbey church, as well as the convent buildings and the abbey house. These remains illustrate the different phases of its history, from Gallo-Roman origins to modern restorations.

In 1166, Father Guillaume took part in a major religious event: the translation of the body of Saint Brieuc into the abbey of Saint-Serge-lès-Angers, accompanied by several dignitaries, including Bishop Geoffroi of Saint Brieuc and King Henry II of England. This episode highlights the importance of the abbey in the monastic and political network of the time.

After the expulsion of Benedictine monks in 1901, Dom Edouard du Coëtlosquet, the last abbot of Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil, became the first abbot of Saint-Maurice-et-Saint-Maur Abbey in Luxembourg. This historical link between the two abbeys testifies to the survival of the Benedictine order despite the political and religious upheavals.

Today, Saint-Maur Abbey of Glanfeuil, although owned by a private company and the department, remains a living place. It hosts discovered classes, holiday settlements and cultural events, thus perpetuating its vocation of welcoming and transmitting, while preserving an exceptional architectural and spiritual heritage.

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