Abbey of St.Cecile de Solesmes

 monastery, Order of Saint Benedict, catholicism

a Benedictine Abbey for women founded in 1866 by Dom Prosper Guéranger, the restorer of Benedictine life in France after the destruction of the revolution. It is located in Solesmes, Sarthe, and is the women's counterpart of St. Peters Abbey at Solesmes.The 19th century abbey church contains a full-size replica of the monumental effigy of Saint Cecilia in St. Cecilia's Basilica in Rome.

The French anti-religious laws of the early 20th century forced the whole community into exile in England, to the forerunner of the present St. Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, where on 18 March 1909 Mother Cécile died. When the community was at last able to return to Solesmes, in 1921, her body was also transported and re-buried there.The nuns of the Congregation maintain fully contemplative life.
www.saintececiledesolesmes.org/