CARMEL DE LA FONTAINE OLIVE

The Ardennes region was once a land of monks with the Cistercian abbey of Signy, the Chartreuse du Mont Dieu, the abbey of Elan, etc. But since the Revolution, no stable religious community had been established, despite many attempts. It was in 1975, following the call of the auxiliary bishop of Rheims who wished to have a contemplative community in the Ardennes, that the sisters of a Carmelite monastery in the Paris region settled at the Fontaine Olive. They enthusiastically offer a welcome to individuals, or to small groups of up to 8 people, for a few days, in the small house outside the carmel and in the middle of nature, for people who wish to share the prayer of the community and are looking for a place of silence and calm. The Carmelites of the Olive Fountain can also welcome, for the day, groups of a maximum of about 25 people. The services are, as everywhere, at fixed times: Lauds at 8am, Eucharist at 11am or 11.30am, Vespers at 6.30pm, Vigils at 9pm. On Sundays, Mass is at 10:30 am. Guests are welcomed in the 6 rooms, 2 meeting rooms and a hermitage. The guests do their own cooking but all the equipment is provided. There is also an interesting shop where the products of the sisters' work in their workshops are on display: embroidery, sheets, liturgical vestments, weaving, mohair plaids, caning, word processing.