Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu
Origin of the name Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu
From its foundation the convent bore the Latin name « Filia Dei », Daughter of God. It is dedicated to Mary.[1]
Founding of Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu
In 1268 the bishop of Lausanne, Jean de Cossonay, allowed Juliette de Villa, who died in 1305, and her companions to build a convent at the foot of the hill of Romont, and work began at once. The knight Conon, lord of Villa and brother of Juliette, Pernette and Cécile, was among the first benefactors. At first a priory headed by a prioress, the house joined the Cistercian order in the mid-14th century and became an abbey. Its confessors came first from the clergy of Romont, then from Hauterive Abbey. Less richly endowed than La Maigrauge, it prospered in the 14th century thanks to lands received as gifts.[1][2][4][5]
History of Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu
1268 (or early 1269). Bishop Jean de Cossonay allows Juliette de Villa and her companions to found the convent, and building begins.[1][2][4][5]
1346. The first church is consecrated on 10 April.[1][2][5]
1346-1350. The priory is incorporated into the Cistercian order in 1346-1348, then raised to the rank of abbey in 1350.[1][2]
1463. The abbey acquires co-citizenship with Romont.[1]
1536. Romont becomes part of Fribourg. After the suppression of Hautcrêt Abbey, whose abbot was father immediate, the abbot of Hauterive takes his place. In the second half of the 16th century Fribourg puts an administrator in charge of the convent's property.[1]
First half of the 17th century. Under the influence of Hauterive and its abbot Guillaume Moënnat, the strict observance is introduced. The community then numbers about thirty nuns.[1]
1613. A great enclosure wall is built around the property.[2]
1695. The south wing is built. It now houses the guest house.[2]
1726-1732. After a fire in 1726, new convent buildings rise north of the church.[2]
1755. The skeleton of Saint Donatus is brought from Rome at the request of Father Maximilien. The saint was invoked against eye diseases, thunder, lightning and hail.[5]
1848. The convent is secularised. It loses its father immediate and the right to receive novices, which is restored in 1856.[1]
1872-1873. The Jesuit Pierre Hartmann, chaplain charged with saving the convent from ruin, has the church remodelled. The nave loses two thirds of its volume to a guest wing, a library and a sacristy.[2]
1906. The abbey adopts the Strict Observance and comes under the jurisdiction of the abbot of Mont-des-Olives, in the Haut-Rhin. Further alterations are made to the church in 1906 and 1914.[1][2]
1956. The exemption is abolished, and the abbey now answers to the bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg.[1]
1990-1996. Restoration gives the nave back its original volume. Brian Clarke creates new windows, and the church is dedicated on 31 August 1996, 650 years after its first consecration.[2][3][5]
1999. The choir organ, dating from 1800, is renovated and reinstalled by the Valais organ builder Füglister.[3]
2018. The abbey celebrates the 750th anniversary of its foundation.[2]
Historic sites in Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu
Abbey church. Consecrated in 1346 and restored from 1990 to 1996, it has regained the volume of its original nave and received in 1993 a gabled roof with a small shingled bell turret. Its non-figurative windows, inspired by Cistercian art, are by Brian Clarke (1996).[2][3][5]
Convent buildings. The south wing of 1695 serves as a guest house. The buildings north of the church date from 1726-1732, and the enclosure wall of 1613 still surrounds the property.[2]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Fille-Dieu, La » (Kathrin Utz Tremp, version du 29.11.2005)
- Abbaye cistercienne de la Fille-Dieu, « Histoire »
- Abbaye cistercienne de la Fille-Dieu, « Les vitraux »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Romont (FR) » (Florian Defferrard, version du 24.05.2012)
- Fribourg Région, Romont Région, dépliant « Romont » (parcours historique)
Other villages near Abbaye de la Fille-Dieu
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