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Origin and history

The Notre-Dame des Gardes Abbey, located in the Maine-et-Loire department on the former commune of Saint-Georges-des-Gardes (now integrated with Chemillé-en-Anjou), finds its origins in the Middle Ages with a chapel erected on the Puy des Gardes. In the 17th century, Augustine canons settled there before being dispersed by the French Revolution, leaving the site in ruins. This place, already marked by a Marian pilgrimage, attracts the attention of Dom Augustin de Lestrange in the early 19th century.

In 1818 Dom Augustin de Lestrange transferred a community of Trappistine nuns, first settled in Forges (Orne) and then in Bégrolles-en-Mauges. These nuns, who came from the foundation of La Valsainte, settled permanently in Saint-Georges-des-Gardes in 1821 to escape the authority of the bishop of Sées, hostile to their monastic rules. The site then became an active Cistercian monastery, marked by events such as the visit of the Duchess of Berry in 1828 or the inauguration of a statue in 1838.

The nineteenth century saw the climax of the sanctuary with the coronation of Our Lady of the Guards in 1875, authorized by Pope Pius IX, and the laying of the first stone of the current sanctuary in 1899. However, anti-clerical laws of the early 20th century struck the abbey: inventory and seizure of property in 1904, auction in 1911, before it was bought by a benefactor. In 1924, the Trappistines of Bellefontaine resumed management of the site, perpetuating its role as a place of pilgrimage and monastic life.

Today, Notre-Dame des Gardes Abbey is home to a community of about 30 Cistercian nuns, the guardians of a Marian sanctuary that is still frequented. Daughter of Cherlieu Abbey, it is part of the Cistercian Order tradition of strict observance. Its history reflects the religious and political upheavals of modern France, while maintaining spiritual continuity since the Middle Ages.

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