Aubazine, in the beginning was faith
When two priests discovered this remote spot in the heart of the Corrèze, they decided to live there as hermits. This austere place was still called Obazine. – Isabelle Cerboneschi, Aubazine
Aubazine was born of the compelling desire of two priests, one of whom was called Etienne, to live as hermits in a place which, until the 16th century, was still called Obazine. Through his radiant faith, his benevolence and his intelligence, Stephen soon attracted a number of disciples who wanted to follow him along this path of austerity.
He had two monasteries built, one for women in the nearby Coyroux valley, isolated at the bottom of a ravine, and one for men, which later became the orphanage where Gabrielle Chanel spent seven years of her life. The rule that prevailed at Obazine was that of Saint Benedict, as well as Cistercian monastic practices. The Bishop of Limoges consecrated the two churches in 1142.
In 1860, the site became an orphanage run by the Congregation of the Holy Heart of Mary.
Since 1965, the abbey has belonged to the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church, a church of Byzantine tradition united to Rome. But the Cistercian spirit remains in every stone and in the stained glass windows.
Acknowledgements: a huge thank you to Mr Luc-Emmanuel Feuillet, former curator of Aubazine Abbey, who was an invaluable and patient guide through the corridors of the abbey along the spans of the abbey church of Saint Etienne, as well as a marvellous storyteller of the history of Etienne d’Obazine.
