Priory of Our Lady of Atlas

Priory of Our Lady of Atlas
Church of the priory
Monastery information
Other namesNotre-Dame de l'Atlas
OrderTrappists, OCSO
Established1988
Mother houseAiguebelle Abbey
Dedicated toSaint Mary
DioceseRabat
PriorJean-Pierre Flachaire
Site
LocationMidelt, Drâa-Tafilalet, Morocco; before 2000: Fez, Morocco
Coordinates32°40′48″N 4°43′48″W / 32.68000°N 4.73000°W / 32.68000; -4.73000
Public accessYes

The Priory of Our Lady of Atlas (French: Notre-Dame de l'Atlas) is a monastery of Trappist monks in Midelt, Morocco. It is a continuation of the community of the Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas after seven monks were killed there during the Algerian civil war.

History

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This community of Trappist monks was initially founded in Fez in 1988 on request of the bishop of Rabat, Hubert Michon, after he had been inspired by the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas in Tibhirine, Algeria. They were given as home the former hotel "Bellevue Hotel" which had been built at the beginning of the 20th century and lay mostly in ruins. The community remained an annex to the Abbey in Algeria with four monks. After the killing of the monks of this abbey in 1996 and the joining of the two survivors, Fr. Amédée and Fr. Jean-Pierre, it was given the status of a priory.[1] The murdered monks of the Abbey were later beatified together with twelve other martyrs in Algeria as the 19 martyrs of Algeria on 8 December 2018 in Oran[2] and the priory keeps several of their relics and possessions, including an icon of the Virgin Mary.[3]

In 1999, the community decided to change location from the old hotel to a small convent in the town of Midelt, two hundred kilometres south of Fez, on invitations of Franciscan missionary sisters of Mary.[1] The community hosted the 2007 meeting of the Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique at its premises.[4] The last survivor of the Tibhirine monks, Fr. Jean Pierre, died in 2021.[5] The film-makers of the movie "Of Gods and Men" (which is based on the murder of the monks of the Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas) visited the monastery while filming the movie at the nearby abandoned monastery of Toumliline.[6]

Whereas in 2006 there were only four monks,[7] the community grew to seven in 2023[8] including the current prior, Dom Jean-Pierre Flachaire.[9]

Building

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The convent in Midelt was constructed by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary as the Kasbah Miryam des Soeurs in 1926.[10] It includes a small church, two chapels (one dedicated to Charles de Foucauld and the other to Fr. Albert Peyriguère) and living spaces for the monks as well as for up to twenty guests.[5][6] There is also an oratory dedicated to the Tibhirine martyrs[3] and a cemetery of the Franciscan sisters, including the grave of sister Cécile Prouvost.[1]

List of priors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Flachaire, Jean-Pierre (2006). "Le monastère Notre Dame de l'Atlas au Maroc" (PDF). Collectanea Cisterciensia. 68: 1–18. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Martyrs of Algeria: A historical day that became an interreligious ceremony - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. Vatican News. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Z., R. "MIDELT – MEMORIAL DE VIES DONNEES – Diocèse de Rabat". Diocèse de Rabat (in French). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  4. ^ McGee, OSB, Martin (17 August 2017). Dialogue of the Heart: Christian-Muslim Stories of Encounter. Orbis Books. ISBN 978-1-60833-704-0. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Au Maroc, un monastère cistercien s'érige en pont de dialogue interreligieux". France24. France 24. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b Patterson, Margot. "The last monk of Tibhirine: 'God drove that history'". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  7. ^ Olivera, Bernardo (21 May 2006). "Tibhirine Today". tibhirine monastery today. Rome: Order of Cistercians of Strict Observance.
  8. ^ "Les nouvelles de la Communauté Notre Dame de l'Atlas à Midelt". Les moines de Thiberine. Association des Ecrits des 7 de l'Atlas. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Midelt". Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance. Ordre Cistercien de la Stricte Observance. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Notre Dame of the Atlas (Our Lady of the Atlas)". Visit Draa Tafilalet. Regional tourism council of Draa Tafilalet. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
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