Maredret Abbey, Benedictine monastery in Anhée, Belgium.
Maredret Abbey is a Benedictine monastery for nuns in Anhée, situated on a hillside overlooking the Molignée valley. The stone buildings feature towers and slate roofs, surrounded by sturdy stone walls.
Agnès de Hemptinne founded the community in 1891 with seven nuns, financed the construction on land donated by the Desclée family, and became the first abbess. The first stone was laid on 5 August 1891, and the abbey church, completed in 1907, was one of the last projects of architect Auguste Van Assche. Building continued until 1936.
The nuns living here follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, organizing their days around a structured schedule of prayer and community work.
The abbey cannot be visited; the nuns receive guests only for prayer and for activities such as retreats, Eucharistic celebrations, concerts and workshops. The site lies on a hillside above Maredret and the Molignée valley, enclosed by a high rough-stone wall with two medieval-style towers. The church, completed in 1907, is known for its acoustics.
The abbey's scriptorium, active since its foundation, produced the clandestine calligraphed and illuminated copy of Cardinal Mercier's 1914 pastoral letter "Patriotism and Endurance" in 1915–1916, in 35 plates; it was listed as movable heritage of Wallonia-Brussels in 2015. Works from the workshop are held in the Vatican Library, the Morgan Library in New York, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
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