This Trappist Abbey Isn't. Cistercian nuns seek God and follow Christ under a rule and an abbess in a stable community that is a school of mutual love. The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (also known as “Trappists”) is a Roman Catholic contemplative religious order, consisting of monasteries of monks and monasteries of nuns. The Cistercian way of life is cenobitic. [19] Monasteries in Belgium and the Netherlands, such as La Trappe, Orval Abbey and Westvleteren Abbey, brew beer both for the monks themselves and for sale to the general public. In time, these monasteries also spread and created new foundations of their own. Cistercian nuns seek God and follow Christ under a rule and an abbess in a stable community that is a school of mutual love. [21] As of 1 January 2018[update], there were 1,796 Trappist monks[22] and 1,592 Trappistine nuns[23] across the world. The hard labour was in part a penitential exercise, in part a way of keeping the monastery self-supportive so that communication with the world might be kept at a minimum. She retains nothing at all for herself, not even authority over her own body. [24] The present Abbot General is Dom Eamon Fitzgerald of Mount Melleray Abbey in Waterford, Ireland. In 1792, during the French Revolution, La Trappe Abbey, like all other monasteries at the time, was confiscated by the French government and the Trappists expelled. The Abbot General and his Council reside in Rome and are generally in charge of the Order's affairs. Saint Benedict's precept to minimise conversation means that Trappists generally speak only when necessary; thus idle talk is strongly discouraged. ", The order takes its name from La Trappe Abbey or La Grande Trappe, located in the French province of Normandy, where the reform movement began. Those who prefer nothing to the love of Christ make themselves strangers to the actions of the world. The Eucharist is the heart of Christian prayer, and for centuries Catholic monastics have celebrated Mass daily. Mount St. Mary's AbbeyWrentham, Massachusetts, Our Lady of the Mississippi AbbeyDubuque, Iowa, Our Lady of the Angels MonasteryCrozet, Virginia. In the monastic tradition this involves a certain degree of physical separation. The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Latin: Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe,[1] are a Catholic religious order of cloistered monastics that branched off from the Cistercians. Sign up for emails to notify of new postings. In 1664, in reaction to the relaxation of practices in many Cistercian monasteries, de Rancé introduced an austere reform. However, in 1798, when the French invaded Switzerland, the monks were again exiled and had to roam different countries seeking to establish a new home, until Dom Augustin and his monks of Val-Sainte were finally able to re-establish a community in La Trappe. As commendatory abbot, de Rancé was a secular individual who obtained income from the monastery but was not a professed monk and otherwise had no monastic obligations.