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Monastery of Tazert

Coordinates: 31°38′05″N 7°25′45″W / 31.63472°N 7.42917°W / 31.63472; -7.42917
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Monastery of the Visitation
Monastery information
Other namesMaison de la Visitation
OrderSisters of St. Francis of Assisi
Established1931
Mother houseMontpellier
DioceseRabat
People
Founder(s)Charles-André Poissonnier
Site
LocationTazert, El Kelâa des Sraghna Province, Morocco
Coordinates31°38′05″N 7°25′45″W / 31.63472°N 7.42917°W / 31.63472; -7.42917
Public accessYes

The monastery of Tazert is a Roman Catholic monastery in Tazert, Morocco. Originally founded by André Poissonnier, it is a priory of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi since 2019.

History

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The monastery was founded in 1931 by André Poissonnier who, inspired by the life of Charles de Foucauld and the Franciscan missionaries in Morocco, decided to live as a hermit in Tazert. For this, he set up a dispensary and a chapel where he lived as a hermit until his death due to typhus in 1938.[1]

Poissonnier left the monastery to the Franciscans who continued to live in the monastery until the 1970s when a community of Poor Clares moved in. In order to be closer to the local population, they adopted the Melkite rite which is celebrated in Arabic.[2] In 2013, these nuns under their hegumenia Mère Assunta retired to the Monastery of the Burning Bush in Carcassone as there were no longer enough sisters to ensure a presence.[3]

The monastery then went over into the possession of the diocese of Rabat which started to search for a new monastic community to settle in Tazert. Finally, in late 2019, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, a congregation whose motherhouse is located in Montpellier and who have also a presence in Mohammedia, sent a group of African nuns to Tazert.[4] The inauguration took place on 8 December 2019 under participation of the archbishop of Rabat, Cristóbal López Romero.[5]

Today the monastery serves as a place of prayer, offering spiritual retreat facilities with a guest house and educational opportunities for the surrounding Berber village of 3,500. As such, the nuns offer training in embroidery techniques as well as teaching literacy and computer science courses.[4]

The monastery hosts interreligious dialogue sessions.[6][4]

Reference

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  1. ^ Henning 2019.
  2. ^ López 2020.
  3. ^ "Les religieuses : Monastères de contemplatives" (PDF). Diocèse de Carcassonne & Narbonne. L’Association diocésaine de Carcassonne. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Zappa 2022.
  5. ^ Zengarini 2019.
  6. ^ "Session interreligieuse à Tazert 2024". Sœurs Saint Francois Assise (in French). 9 February 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.

Sources

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