Abbaye Notre-Dame de la Plaine

Abbaye Notre-Dame de la Plaine is a monastery of Cistercian Bernardine nuns on the western edge of Lille, sitting right at the boundary between Lambersart and the neighbouring commune of Saint-André-lez-Lille, in the Nord department of northern France. For decades it has served as the mother house of the Bernardine congregation of Esquermes, a quiet enclave of contemplative life within a busy metropolitan area.

Where exactly is the monastery?

The community's grounds lie in the built-up strip that links Lambersart with Saint-André-lez-Lille, which is why the site is sometimes associated with either commune depending on the source. In practice, this means the monastery is easy to reach both from central Lambersart and from Lille itself, only a short distance away. Visitors coming from the city centre will find it a straightforward trip into a noticeably calmer, greener part of the agglomeration.

How did the community come to be here?

The story begins during the French Revolution, when nuns from three Cistercian abbeys — La Brayelle, La Woestyne and Les Prés — were forced from their homes and took refuge in Belgium. There, in 1798, they founded a new congregation, settling into the former Grimaretz castle, which gradually grew into the Abbey of Esquermes. Permission to resume wearing the habit came only in 1827, allowing the sisters to live openly as a religious community again.

A second upheaval followed at the start of the twentieth century. French laws targeting religious congregations forced the nuns out of the country again in 1904, sending them back across the border into Belgium. It would be decades before they returned: in 1948 the community purchased a former estate straddling the Lambersart–Saint-André-lez-Lille boundary and named it Notre-Dame de la Plaine. A later donation allowed the sisters to build a new monastic church on the site, blessed in May 2005 and formally dedicated that October.

What does the community's life look like today?

The nuns follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, shaping their days around prayer, silence and communal life in the wider Cistercian tradition. Notre-Dame de la Plaine functions as the mother house of the Bernardine congregation of Esquermes, which over the years has gone on to found daughter monasteries not only elsewhere in France but well beyond it — in Japan, Congo, England and Burkina Faso. A modest monastery on the edge of Lille turns out to be the hub of a genuinely international religious family.

What should visitors know before coming?

Notre-Dame de la Plaine is first and foremost a working contemplative monastery, not a conventional tourist site — daily life follows the rhythm of prayer and work rather than visiting hours. Anyone hoping to join a liturgy, attend a retreat, or stay briefly should contact the monastery directly beforehand rather than simply turning up. The surrounding area, straddling Lambersart and Saint-André-lez-Lille, is a quiet, leafy corner of greater Lille and makes a pleasant base for exploring the city itself and its immediate surroundings.

Frequently asked questions

Which religious order do the nuns of Notre-Dame de la Plaine belong to? They are Cistercian Bernardines, living under the Rule of Saint Benedict within the broader Cistercian family.

When was the monastery established at its current site? The nuns acquired the property in 1948, and the present monastic church was blessed in 2005.

Can the monastery be visited? It is an active contemplative community rather than a tourist attraction, so joining any liturgy, retreat or stay requires contacting the monastery in advance.

What international links does the monastery have? As mother house of the Bernardine congregation of Esquermes, Notre-Dame de la Plaine has founded daughter monasteries in France as well as in Japan, Congo, England and Burkina Faso.