The first years of foundation
© House of Chamvres/ Monastic Family of Bethlehem
The Humble Beginnings” in Chamvres (Burgundy; France)
The small Dominican foundation was born in the village of Chamvres in Burgundy (France), in a house made available to the sisters by a pilgrim from Rome. On 3 February 1951, Sister Marie (Odile) arrived there with Hortense, the future Sister Marie Liesse. They are accompanied by Father Ceslas Minguet, o.p. Very soon Geneviève, the future Sister Myriam, arrived. In May 1951, a draft of the Rule of Life, “The Blue Leaves”, in which the bases of the charism of the monastic family were defined, was presented to the local bishop, Monsignor Frédéric Lamy, archbishop of Sens (Yonne; France) (PDF link). On 22 August 1951, the first three sisters received the monastic habit of Monsignor Lamy in the chapel of Chamvres. On the same day, the bishop erected the small community into a Pia unio for one year and took responsibility for this Dominican foundation. On 11 November 1951, Father Emmanuel Suarez, Master General of the Dominican Order, approved the erection of the Dominican Order and sent his blessing upon the Institution. The Little Sisters begin a life of silence and prayer.
© House of Méry-sur-Oise/Monastic Family of Bethlehem
© Chapel of Méry-sur-Oise/
Monastic Family of Bethlehem
The foundation moves to Méry-sur-Oise (Val d’Oise; France)
In September 1954, the house had become too small after the arrival of the Sisters, with the agreement of the Archbishop of Sens, Monsignor Lamy, and the community moved to an old farm in Méry-sur-Oise in the Diocese of Versailles (Yvelines; France), welcomed by Monsignor Renard bishop of this diocese. Father Ceslas Minguet, o.p. He was then appointed to the Dominican convent of Corbara in Corsica, and had no further links with the foundation. The growing community remained in Méry-sur-Oise until 1971.
Monsignor Renard, bishop of Versailles, became the canonical leader of the community. Father Bonduelle o.p., then Father Chevignard o.p., then Father Kopf o.p., provincial of France, are delegated by the Dominican Order as religious assistants of the community. Great attention is paid to the theological formation of young novices and to liturgical life. Several Dominican Fathers come to give teaching or retreats: Father Molinié o.p., Father Dalmais o.p., Father Ranquet o.p., Father Besnard o.p. Since 1967, a week of Ignatian exercises has been offered each year by Father Goussault, S.J. (bubble link), Former Provincial of the Jesuits of France. Father Caffarel will come to offer an initiation into the life of prayer.
Under the guidance of Father Delalande, o.p., who composed an office for the community in French, the sisters received for 13 years a deep imbue with the strength and spirit of the liturgy.
Gradually, a craft of sacred art was born, with the fraternal help of the brothers of Taizé (Saône-et-Loire; France) Tags:
This stage was also marked by the event of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which enabled the community to open itself to the richness of the spiritual heritage of the East and to ecumenism. Friendships were forged with the Orthodox, who passed on the iconographic tradition to the nuns and introduced them to Eastern liturgical sources. During this time, meetings of spiritual friendship, advice and teaching for life in the desert were forged with the monks of the Chartreuse de Sélignac (Ain; France) whose sister of the novice master entered Bethlehem. During two pilgrimages to Greece and the Holy Land in 1968 and 1969, Sister Marie discovered the monastic East.
© Villard-sur-Hautecour/
Monastic Family of Bethlehem
Hautecour (Savoy ; France)
In 1962, Sister Marie found a place conducive to a life of solitude in the desert at Hautecour-en-Tarentaise in the Alps. In July, the decision was made to establish a stable community there. The sisters of Méry-sur-Oise can also come and recharge their batteries during the summer. It was the custom to bring together all the sisters in annual General Assemblies at Hautecour.
From 1966 onwards, the community grew and some sisters followed a small biblical and theological Studium. On 21 November 1968, a fraternity of solitude was founded in the hamlet of Villard-sur-Hautecour where several sisters experience of a more radical life of silence and solitude at the school of the Desert Fathers.
In 1967, Monsignor André Bontems, bishop of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and administrator of Tarentaise was appointed canonical leader of the fraternities of Méry-sur-Oise and Hautecour in Tarentaise by His Excellency Monsignor Paul Philippe, Secretary of the Congregation of the Religious in Rome..
The General Chapter confirms the charism of silence and solitude in the desert of the communité
During the General Chapter of January 1971 in Méry-sur-Oise, the community asked the Dominican Order to assume its canonical autonomy. The Provincial of France, Father Kopf, gave his full agreement on 23 February 1971.
A new path opens up for the community as it continues its search for primitive monastic sources. In the course of this chapter, Archbishop Bontems authorizes that the liturgy be enriched with ancient liturgical texts and melodies drawn from the traditions of the Christian East.
From 1967 to 1998: deployment in France and outside France until papal recognition
© Monastery of Notre-Dame du Torrent de vie – Le Thoronet (Var; France) /Monastic Family of Bethlehem
© Monastic Family of Bethlehem
The Extension of Foundations to the Call of the Church
At the call of some bishops of France, or outside France, new foundations were opened. The Monastic Family of Bethlehem is gradually becoming international, and Sister Marie accompanies the young communities.
In France, the foundation of Montsvoirons (Haute-Savoie; France) in 1967 opened friendly relations with other Christian denominations thanks to the proximity of the World Council of Churches, whose headquarters are near Geneva, Switzerland.
In 1974, the Carthusians placed the monastery of Currière-en-Chartreuse (Isère; France) so that she could lead a life of prayer and welcome guests in the desert. This monastery became a source place, a founding place, and opened up for the monastic family a greater closeness to Saint Bruno.
On 8 December 1998, the monastery of Our Lady of the Desert of the Immaculate was founded in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées; France) in the irradiation of the presence of the Virgin at the grotto of Massabielle. It was the last monastery founded before Sister Marie’s call to God.
Outside France, the Family of Bethlehem is developing in Europe and establishing itself on new continents:
– Europe: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Poland;
– North America: in the United States and Canada;
– Latin America: Argentina and Chile;
– In the Holy Land, the proximity of the Monastery of the Assumption of Our Lady to Eastern Christian communities enlivens our monastic life, especially our liturgy.
On the eve of its papal erection, 441 nuns were involved in the Monastic Family of Bethlehem.
© Visit of Patriarch Bartholomew – Kinderalm Monastery (Austria)/
Monastic Family of Bethlehem
Fraternal relations with other Christian denominations
From 1961, fraternal relations were forged with the Evangelical Sisters of Grandchamp, the Sisters of Pomeyrol, and the Deaconesses of Reuilly.
Sister Mary met Patriarch Athenagoras in Geneva on 7 October 1967, and then again at the Phanar (Istanbul; Turkey) in 1968. She visited Father Makris Amphylochios – canonized by the Church of Constantinople in 2018 – abbot of the Monastery of St. John the Theologian in Patmos (Greece) in 1969. The sisters of Bethlehem had several opportunities to welcome and exchange with the disciple of Saint Silouan, Elder Sophrony – canonized in 2019 by the Orthodox Church – between 1973 and 1982.
The bonds of friendship and spiritual exchange with our brothers of other faiths continue to this day.
On 21 February 2021 and 19 February 2022, the community of Kinderalm (diocese of Salzburg, Austria) welcomed Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.
In 2023, the monastery of Montvoirons, near Geneva, receives the visit of Monsignor Amba Louka, bishop of the Coptic Church of Geneva and southern France.
Papal recognition
The Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin, and of St. Bruno was recognized by pontifical right by decree of 6 October 1998. The document states that “the monks and nuns together constitute a single monastic family in the Church, in two distinct branches of the same religious institute.” Click here to consult : the decree of pontifical erection.
By this recognition of the universal Church, monks and nuns “are directly and exclusively under the Apostolic See for their internal government and discipline” (Source: Canonical Code of Decree, canon 593).
On this occasion, Pope John Paul II approves the Rule of Life ad experimentum for 10 years.
September 27, 1999: Sister Marie’s call to God
On 27 September 1999, Sister Marie joined the Father’s House.
On 21 November 1999, Sister Isabelle, prioress of the Monastery of Bet Gemal in the Holy Land, was elected by the Extraordinary General Chapter to succeed her.
The monastery of Bet Gemal in the Holy Land is authorized by Rome to become the Mother House of the nuns of Bethlehem.
© Marienheide Monastery/
Monastic Family of Bethlehem
© Notre-Dame de la source Monastery/
Monastic Family of Bethlehem
Further development of foundations in France and outside France
New foundations are emerging both in Europe (Spain, Germany, Portugal, France), and in Latin America in Mexico.
The foundation of Le Perthus
In February 2018, at the call of Monsignor Turini, Bishop of Montpellier (Hérault; France), some sisters join the Lavra of Saint Jean de l’Albère in Perthus (Pyrénées Orientales; France) where the community of the Hermits of Mary wishes to perpetuate monastic life.
This is how the monastery of Notre-Dame de la Source came into being, in a place that bears witness to the prehistory of Charisma, where Sister Marie lived for several months in 1950.
2014 – 2021 : The Church's accompaniment of the sisters
At the end of 2014, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life initiated an apostolic visitation. Two visitors were appointed by Rome: Mother Geneviève Barrière, abbess emeritus of the Benedictine Abbey of Jouarre (Seine et Marne; France) and Father Jean Quris, episcopal delegate for consecrated life in the diocese of Angers (Maine-et-Loire; France).
Apostolic visit findings and recommendations
At the end of the visit, which took place in 2015 and 2016, the two branches of monks and nuns received the esteem of the Congregation of Religious for the Charism of Bethlehem: the Institute was encouraged to persevere in this monastic life sourced to the East and the West.
Several dysfunctions were pointed out by the Roman authorities. It is requested that the service of authority be exercised with greater collegiality, that the sisters be given a real participation in the decisions in each community and that greater attention be paid to the discernment of vocations during the stages of initial formation.
There is also a need for a community environment that is more open to outside support and help, and a greater respect for freedom of conscience and speech. The text of the Constitutions also needs to be renewed.
The Government Appointed by Rome
On 22 February 2017, Sister Emmanuel was appointed Prioress General of the Nuns by the Dicastery for Consecrated Life until the next elective General Chapter which will elect the Prioress General and vote on the future Constitutions. A permanent Council of six sisters appointed by the same Dicastery helps her in this service: Sister Amena, Sister Beata, Sister Paola, Sister Marta and Sister Mia. The Council is assisted by two apostolic assistants, also appointed by the Dicastery: Father Jean Quris and Mother Geneviève Barrière, O.S.B.Tags:
The monastery of Notre-Dame du Saint-Désert in the diocese of Grenoble (Isère; France) becomes the Mother House of the nuns.
The Nuns’ Journey and the Decisions Implemented
In January 2021, an independent listening unit was set up by the Permanent Council of Nuns to welcome and listen to people who have been injured by members of the Bethlehem Monastic Family and to take into account complaints according to the requirements of truth and justice.
As of 2018, the revision of the Constitutions
At the end of the Apostolic visitation, a synodal work of reflection and drafting of the Constitutions begins. It involves all the nuns who are definitively committed to perpetual profession in the Family of Bethlehem.
The various chapters of the Constitutions – charism; monastic consecration; Family (in common with the brothers); solitude and communion; training; authority service; management – were first drafted by Commissions set up for this work..
The proposed texts were then re-read and amended by the assemblies of perpetually professed sisters of the various local monasteries. Several back-and-forth between the drafting team, the Permanent Council and the communities led to the completion of a 90-page text. This intense collaborative work between all the members of the Family has initiated a new impetus for the building of the Community Body and the Family as a whole.
On 16 March 2021, Pope Francis replied to a letter from Sister Emmanuel on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Monastic Family: “I am happy that this event coincides with the revision of your Constitutions, marking a beautiful renewal of charity and communion, in fidelity to the founding charism” Letter from Pope Francis.
In November 2021, the text of the Constitutions was voted on, paragraph by paragraph, during the Extraordinary General Chapter.
© MontsVoirons/
Monastic Family of Bethlehem
The Extraordinary General Chapter and its Final Declaration
On 22 November 2021, at the end of their Extraordinary General Chapter, the seventy capitulating sisters (prioresses and delegates elected by their communities) drew up and signed a Final Declaration: “During the Chapter we have had the opportunity, on several occasions, to acknowledge our faults and to express our repentance through our prayer to the God of Mercy…. We humbly ask forgiveness from all those who have suffered because of us.”
To consult the full text click here
On 7 January 2022, the text of the Constitutions was deposited in Rome at the Dicastery for Consecrated Life (C.I.V.C.S.V.A.), and submitted for its approval.
On 7 June 2022, the Dicastery responded in the person of Monsignor Carballo, Archbishop Secretary of the Dicastery. The nuns received very positive feedback on the work that had been done. These Constitutions can serve as a reference for the nuns of Bethlehem for the next three years.
However, there is still work to be done in terms of discernment and synthesis in order to bring out more clearly the canonical aspects of the text (its juridical aspect). For their part, the theological and spiritual dimensions are more to be integrated into other texts of proper law such as directories and customary law. The formula for monastic commitment, also, needs to be simplified.
The year 2023 is devoted to these adjustments, with a view to submitting the reworked text to Rome in the course of 2024.
These Constitutions are the canonical reference text for the nuns. The previous Rules of Life (Rule of Life 1986, Rule of Life 1998 are part of the heritage of the Monastic Family and its sources).
Teach me, Lord, the way of your will
I want to keep it as a reward.
(Psalm 118)
Opening to the future and the main lines of the Permanent Council's commitment
The current work of the Permanent Council
On 5 November 2022, at the end of their Council, the Prioresses signed a communiqué in which they shared the progress made in the dynamics of the 2021 General Chapter and the recommendations of the listening cell. They mainly concern the implementation of our Constitutions, the formation of prioresses and formative sisters, and canonical visitations.
(To consult the full text click here )
A process of study, assimilation and personal and community appropriation of the charism with the help of theological and spiritual advisors
A whole work of study of the source texts (catechesis of Sister Marie, historical texts, articles, letters) has begun with the impetus of several meetings in Rome as well as at the monastery of Notre-Dame du Saint-Desert with Father Ciardi O.Mr.I. (bubble link). A theologian of religious life, Father Ciardi teaches at the Institute for the Theology of Consecrated Life “Claretinum” in Rome. He also lectured at other Roman universities and is a consultant to the Dicastery for Consecrated Life. Passionate about the study of the development of the charisms of communities in the Church, at the school of the Holy Spirit, he helps us in our work from the archives we possess.
This new stage of personal appropriation of our texts animates each community in its spiritual impetus.
Canonical visits, a source of change and new dynamism for the communities
Since January 2022, seventeen of the twenty-eight communities have been visited. The canonical visits, which take place in each of our monasteries between two General Chapters, are lived out in a dynamic of exchange and synodal reflection, listening to the community being visited.
The sisters of the community are led to walk together with their prioress in the construction of the community body. In this, a ‘new culture’ of listening to the Holy Spirit together, in learning of dialogue and fraternal communion, has been initiated.
The two visitors, sent by the Prioress General and her Permanent Council, accompany the community through several successive meetings before and after the canonical visitation.
Accompanying new prioresses and their community
Sixteen communities have been asked to choose a new leader in accordance to our own law, either by electing a prioress or by requesting the appointment of a “vicar in capite” (equivalent to the administrative prioress in the Benedictine order) for a period that may extend up to the general Chapter.
This renewal requires close support on the part of the sisters of the Permanent Council and the visitors.
A strong emphasis on training
Open training, involving a variety of speakers from outside the community, continues to be provided in the various communities.
For those in charge (prioresses and formators), this mainly involves training in relationships, in the service of authority and in accompaniment. The sisters participate in some of the formations offered in their countries: the University of Pamplona in Spain; University of Córdoba in Argentina; Talenthéo training, training at the Notre-Dame de Vie Institute in France…
The prioresses and their vicars meet about once a month for an afternoon of training by video conference. Many topics are discussed: synodality with Sister Nathalie Becquart, interculturality (Sister Estelle of the Chemin Neuf community), the service of authority (Dom Guillaume Jedrzeczak), spiritual warfare and obedience (Monsignor Arsenios Kardamakis)…
Father Sintobin, S.J., provides ongoing Ignatian training open to all.
With regard to initial and ongoing training, a team of sisters is working on the drafting of the Ratio Studiorum and the Ratio Formationis at the request of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life.
This text is based on a long reflection on the subject of training in our monastic family, in collaboration with several trainers from other religious communities. It is now updated and adjusted to meet the demands of the new generations.
Working committees have been set up in various areas
Archives
A new building was built at the Monastery of Notre-Dame du Saint-Désert, Mother House of the nuns, to house the archives. Designed according to the document conservation standards, it houses all the archives of our monastic family. A team of nuns, helped by a professional trained in this service, organises this place and works on the various documents according to the needs of our Family’s life.
©MontsVoirons/ Monastic Family of Bethlehem
A liturgical commission has been set up around various teams responsible for publishing liturgical books, singing and training.
A group of young sisters from different languages meets regularly to work on unifying the melodies of our liturgy. They are drawn from the different musical sources of the monastic liturgies of East and West. In 2022 and 2023, some sisters took part in sessions led by a Swiss Gregorian chant teacher at the Benedictine Abbey of Notre-Dame de Vénière (France) and the Cistercian Abbey of Maigrauge in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Other sisters take courses in liturgy at the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie de l’Institut Catholique de Paris and at the Institut Saint-Serge in Paris, and at the Institut Saint-Éphrem in Austria, and in Spain
©Meeting of the temporary professed sisters at Montsvoirons/Monastic Familiy of Bethlehem
Stronger bonds of communion between monasteries
After a meeting of all the postulants and novices in September 2022, the young temporary professed sisters met at the monastery of Montsvoirons from 26 August to 4 September 2023.
This event was full of exchanges, teachings and sharing in small groups. Dom Luc Cornuaud, Abbot of the Benedictine monastery of La Pierre-qui-Vire in France, gave a talk on the subject: “Religious life, a school of freedom”.
Geronda Elisha, Abbot of the monastery of Simonos Petra on Mount Athos (Greece), graced us with his visit and spoke about the fundamental pillars of monastic life in the school of the first monks of the East.
The Council of Prioresses
Each year, a council brings together the prioresses of all the sister’s monasteries for three weeks of exchange, work, retreat and formation. It met from 25 September to 16 October 2023 at the monastery of Notre-Dame du Saint-Désert (Isère; France). The bonds of “family” communion are strengthened in the diversity of the different cultures of the countries in which the monasteries are located.