- Westmalle Abbey
The Trappist Abbey of Westmalle or "Abdij van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van het Heilig Hart" (E: Abbey of Our Lady of the Sacred heart), which belongs to the Cistercians of Strict Observance, is located in
Westmalle (Malle ), in theCampine region of the province of Antwerp (Flanders ,Belgium ).
The abbey was founded in1794 , but the community was not elevated to the rank of Trappist abbey until22 April ,1836 . The abbey is famous for its spiritual life and its brewery, which is one of fewTrappist beer breweries in the world. The three pillars of life in the Trappistmonastery are a "life of prayer", "life in a community", and a "life of work".History
18th Century
Twice in the 18th and 19th century the
Cistercians (just like most other monastic orders) had been prohibited. In 1791 in the aftermath of theFrench Revolution ,Augustinus de Lestrange Dubosc (1754-1827), thenovice master ofLa Trappe Abbey (Soligny-la-Trappe ) leftFrance and went toSwitzerland . He settled in the emptyCarthusian monastery Val-Sainte (E: Sacred Valley) nearFribourg . As the senate of Fribourg put a numerus clausus of 21monk s and the refugees from France kept flowing in, Lestrange decided to send monks abroad to create new settlements, they left forSpain ,Italy , and a third group toCanada . The group which was sent to Canada, would end up inWestmalle and laid the foundations of the present-day abbey.When the monks, on their way to Canada, passed throughFlanders , thebishop of Antwerp, Cornelis Franciscus Nelis, invited them toAntwerp . He wanted to ask Lestrange if they would be allowed to found a Trappist monastery in hisbishopric instead of going to Canada. Lestrange allowed 8 of them to stay and to settle in Westmalle in theCampine region of Flanders.The
bishop of Antwerp gave them a small farm "Nooit Rust" (that is, "never rest") in which on6 June 1794 apriory was founded. The farm dated from 1778 and was built by F.J. Charlé. He had purchased the land from the Saint-Bernard abbey ofBornem on8 June 1773 . The sale was a result of decree ofMaria Theresa of Austria of23 June 1772 to promote the cultivation of theCampine . With the support of banker Karel Jan Michiel De Wolff and other beneficiaries, such as the Saint-Bernard abbey ofBornem , bishop Neefs, Vyncke ofWuustwezel , Legrelle and count Bois d'Outrement, the farm was purchased on 3 June 1794 from the widow of Charlé, Elisabeth de Roode.Two novices had joined the original group of eight, so they were now 10 founders: Arsenius Durand (first prior), Eugenius Bonhomme de la Prade, Joannes-M. De Bruyne, Joseph X (surname unknown), Bonavetura X (surname unknown), Sebastianus Dumont, Hippolytus Moriceau, Zozymus Florentin, Stefanus Malmy and Maria-Bernardus Benoit. However already on
17 July 1794 , the monks had to leaveWestmalle again, when the French troops invaded the Austrian Netherlands. They fled toMünster (Westphalia ,Germany ), and founded a monastery in Darfeld.19th Century
In February
1802 , 12 monks returned to Westmalle, and with the support of theAntwerp banker Karel Jan Michiel De Wolff and other beneficiaries, the priory started to grow. However, on28 July 1811 a decree byNapoleon I of France closed all Trappist monasteries inFrance . On21 August 1814 , after the defeat of Napoleon, the monks finally returned to Westmalle. During theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands , the priory narrowly escaped closure due to the support ofLeonard Pierre Joseph du Bus de Gisignies and on 25 January 1822, the priory was granted legal status by "personnification civile" by King William I. In 1830 a guesthouse was built, with the support of G. De Boey and other benficiaries. In 1833Archbishop Engelbert Sterckx granted the abbey the right to print the books of the Trappist order.In 1834 negotiations started to obtain papal approval of the regulations in order to promote the priory to an abbey. It took until
22 April 1836 before themonastery became a Trappist abbey by a decree ofPope Gregory XVI andArchbishop Engelbert Sterckx . The regulations of abbotArmand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé (1677) were ordained to be the rule in the Abbey of Westmalle. The regulations of de Rancé say that the monks are allowed to drink the popular local beverage with their meals (besides water), which inFlanders isbeer . In order not to have to buy beer, they decided to brew it themselves. In1836 the abbotMartinus Dom starts with the construction of a small brewery, and on10 December 1836 they served their first brew of Trappist beer at lunch.On
5 December 1842 the abbot and the community finally became the legal owners of the abbey. During the 19th Century the Abbey of Westmalle founded several other monasteries, such asAchel Abbey on21 March 1846 (first founded in Meersel-Dreef on 3 May 1838 in a former monastery of theOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin ) and provided support for the Saint Sixtus abbey (Westvleteren ). In 1840 avineyard was created and a new entry gate was built. On 3 June 1884, the abbey ofTegelen was founded and on 6 April 1894, the abbey ofSaint Joseph inBelgian Congo . Father Jozef Peeters, together with 4 friars left for Congo and they first settled in N'Dembe in Kasai but after a few years they relocated to Bamania nearMbandaka (then Coquilhatville). The abbey in Congo was in 1925 handed over to theBrothers of the Sacred Heart of the "Sacred Heart of Issoundun" (Borgerhout ). In Westmalle from 1885 onwards, several new buildings were built, such as a new church and aguesthouse between 1885 and 1887. Between 1895 and 1908, the abbey was expanded and in 1895 atramway was extended up to within the abbey for transport. In 1897, a second brewery was built and in 1898 the fourth and last wing of the abbey was completed, now consisting of alibrary ,refectory ,dormitory and the wing for the novices.20th Century
In 1914 at the onset of
World War I , the church tower was demolished by the retreating Belgian army, it was rebuilt in 1924 with acampanile . During the war 10 monks, lead by father Isidorus Verelst, stayed in the abbey. The other ones lived in exile in monasteries inZundert ,Echt andTegelen in the (neutral)Netherlands . In 1930 a cowshed was built and in 1934 a new brewery was built. The abbey kept "blister head" cows for their milk and the production of Trappistcheese . DuringWorld War II , the abbey was spared and after the war the library was enlarged and the church modernized. Between 1946 and 1954 the monks of the abbey helped with the building of theAbbey of Our Lady of Nazareth in nearby Brecht. The rebuilding of Westmale Abbey was finished in 1964. On 26 June 1972 it was decided that the abbey of Saint Sixtus would replace Cîteaux as the mother-abbey of Westmalle and the abbot of Saint Sixtus became the supervisor of Westmalle.21st Century
Up to today the Trappist abbey of Westmalle remains a remarkable element in the village of
Westmalle (Malle ) and continues its activities as a monastery and a brewery. In 2004 abbot Ivo Dujardin resigned and was succeeded by father Philip Nathanaël Koninkx.Priors and Abbots
Priors
The first four priors were appointed by the founder of the
priory ,abbot Augustinus (Louis Henri) de Lestrange Dubosc of Val-Sainte. Martinus Dom was the first prior elected in 1826 by the monks of the priory itself.
* 6 June 1794 - March 1795: Arsenius (Pierre Bertrand) Durand (Chatellerault 1761 -Lulworth 1804)
* March 1795 - 16 October 1795: Eugenius Bonhomme de la Prade (Carcassonne 1764 -Verlaine 1816)
** All monasteries in France were closed from 1795 until theConcordat of 1801 between Napoleon andPope Pius VII .
* 1802 - August 1810: Maurus (Joseph) Mori (Ghent 1768 -Melleray 1842)
* 1810 - 1826: Alexius (Alex) Van Kerckhove (Lokeren 1767 - Westmalle 1826)
* 1826 - 1836: Martinus (Frans Daniel) Dom (Kontich 1791 - Westmalle 1873)Abbots
In 1836, Martinus Dom was elected the first abbot of the
abbey after its was elevated to the status of abbey instead of a priory.
* 1836 - 1873: Martinus (Frans Daniel) Dom (Kontich 1791 - Westmalle 1873)
* 1872 - 1896: Benedictus (Michel) Wuyts (Vlimmeren 1819 - Westmalle 1921)
* 1896 - 1911: Ferdinandus (August) Broechoven (Berlaar 1839 - Westmalle 1921)
* 1911 - 1929: Herman Jozef (Jozef Petrus Karel) Smets (Antwerpen 1875 - Rome 1943
* 1929 - 1939: Tarcisius (Cornelius) Van Der Kamp (Amsterdam 1891 - Weert 1939)
* 1940 - 1956: Robertus (Edward Jozef Modest) Eyckmans (Herentals 1887 - Westmalle 1971)
* 1956 - 1966: Edwardus (Albert Edward) Wellens (b. Uden 1916)
* 1967 - 1975: Deodatus (Godelief Frans Jan) Dewilde (b. Rumbeke 1903)
* 1975 - 1987: Bartholomeus De Strycker (b. ?)
* 1987 - 2004: Ivo Dujardin (b. Turnhout 1938)
* 2004 - : Philip Nathanaël Koninkx (b. ?)ee also
*
Monasterium Magnificat ource
* Monks of the abbey, "Geschiedenis der Abdij van het Heilig Hart van Jezus te Westmalle", Westmalle, 1904.
* Jan B. Van Damme o.c.r., "Cistercienzers of Trappisten te Westmalle", Westmalle, 1974
* Jan B. Van Damme o.c.r., "Geschiedenis van de Trappistenabdij te Westmalle (1794-1956)", Westmalle, 1977
* J. Van Remoortere, "Ippa's Abdijengids voor Belgie", Lanno, 1990
* F. Verwulgen, "Omtrent de Trappisten, 200 jaar abdij van Westmalle", Davidsfonds Westmalle, 1994External links
* [http://www.trappistwestmalle.be/ Trappist Abbey of Westmalle]
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