At the Prouilhe monastery, the sisters mobilize to complete the cathedral

The monastery of Prouilhe in Fanjeaux (Aude), the first Dominican place founded in 1206 by Saint Dominic, has had a turbulent history. After having housed a royal convent, it was completely destroyed in 1792, during the Revolution. Rebuilt from the 1860s thanks to Brother Henri-Dominique Lacordaire and his benefactress Countess Jurien de la Gravière, then put up for auction in 1879 while it was still unfinished, it was bought by three Dominicans from Nay (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), near Pau. The following year, nine sisters from this community settled in the monastery and revived the liturgy, also planning the construction of a basilica.

An unfinished basilica

The first stone of the Prouilhe Basilica was laid in 1886. Initially designed on a neo-Gothic plan, it evolved towards a Romano-Byzantine plan, inspired by Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (Turkey). Unfortunately, the bishop who initiated the work died before it was completed, in 1900.

The laws of expulsion of religious between 1901 and 1905 stopped the construction site while the roof was not even installed. A temporary roof installed in 1926 over the entire basilica is still in place today, but it is in very poor condition. There is no protection. As soon as there is wind and rain, the place becomes dangerous.

“We would have liked to have finished the basilica in 2006 for the 8th centenary of the foundation of Prouilhe,” regrets Sister Geneviève. “But the problems kept coming.” In 1990, a fire ravaged the temporary roof and part of the monastery buildings, forcing the sisters to postpone the restoration of the basilica. The reconstruction work on the monastery would last nearly four years.

A dynamic community

There is no shortage of work for the dozen sisters who now make up the community! In addition to their community and religious life punctuated by prayer, they take care of the entire property: gardening, maintenance of the premises, household linen and hospitality, monitoring of work, welcoming visitors, etc.

They keep this historic and spiritual place alive thanks to various sources of income: hospitality, product sales in the shop, donations. “We run a small commercial company, an EURL,” explains Sister Geneviève. “We have a ceramic painting workshop. The work is shared among the sisters. We try to encourage teamwork and we change jobs every three years. Some take care of the accounting, others the painting workshop, the shop, or even the hospitality… We never get bored!”

Despite all their strength and goodwill, this is not enough to complete the work. “We work tirelessly, we pay contributions and receive pensions, but today we cannot live from our work alone while carrying out the work.”

One million euros to finance the work

To complete the basilica with its astonishing neo-Byzantine architecture, the sisters need to raise nearly a million euros. The Stéphane Bern Foundation for History and Heritage, which has promised 185,000 euros, will not release the subsidies until the entire roof is completed. And this sum will only cover part of the roof renovations, leaving those of the side chapels and the porch in poor condition.

“There are a handful of sisters who carry this. If we do nothing, this basilica will fall into ruin! And it is important for our Dominican order, for the entire diocese, for the heritage and for the memory of the people here.”

The community hopes to resume work on the roofs in September, then access for people with reduced mobility and the development of prayer spaces: heating, lighting, furniture, restoration of the marquees, etc. Enough to make this place a little more habitable, especially in winter. “We are not looking for super luxury! We simply want a place where we can pray without being too cold,” says Sister Geneviève.

A new hotel opened this summer

One of the characteristics of the Dominican order is its international dimension. The monastery is a place of welcome for brothers and sisters from all over the world, but also for anyone who has an interest in the site, those who wish to help the monastery, and for pilgrims on their way to Compostela. “Believers or not, it doesn’t matter, we welcome those who need to recharge their batteries by putting down their suitcase here. We experience something with the people who come.”

For several years, the sisters have been working on renovating the old hotel. Today, after several unfortunate events, including the demolition of the accommodation in 2018 due to poor construction, they are finally reaching the end of their project. Recently inaugurated, the new building includes a conference room to host events. “We hope that the hotel will allow us to find financial balance to get back to work on the basilica,” says Sister Geneviève. A bold bet, because to date, they are still short 150,000 euros to close the budget for the renovation work on the place.

But nothing can slow down the nuns’ constructive momentum: “These are life projects. We could have given up on everything. But Prouilhe is the cradle of the order, and it is a welcoming place. Prouilhe without a welcoming place, it makes no sense. If we do nothing, we choose death. We prefer to choose life. Even if the projects are beyond us, I think that we will be joined and supported, I don’t know in what form, but I know it. I can’t see ten meters ahead of us, but I know that we are moving forward.”