About this place
Monastère de la Visitation is a contemplative convent of Visitandine nuns in Tarascon, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of Provence, southern France. The community has been present in the town since the seventeenth century, apart from a break during the French Revolution, and today still follows a life of prayer while welcoming visitors seeking quiet.
How did the Visitandines come to settle in Tarascon?
In 1639 the town council of Tarascon asked the Visitation convent in Avignon to found a new community locally. The foundation was approved on 23 March 1640 by Jeanne de Chantal, co-founder of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. The sisters themselves arrived and settled in Tarascon on 15 October 1641, in buildings located just behind the town hall.
What happened to the convent during the Revolution?
The French Revolution interrupted the community's life. On 19 March 1793 the original convent was sold at public auction and the sisters were forced to leave the town. The seventeenth-century buildings, in poor sanitary condition, were later abandoned and eventually demolished. The community only returned to Tarascon on 23 November 1843, reclaiming the former convent building it had occupied before the Revolution.
What does the monastery building look like today?
The current building is not the seventeenth-century one. In 1854 the sisters moved into a new building erected on what was then the edge of town, on the Cours Jarnègues. This building is the one that still houses the Monastère de la Visitation in Tarascon today.
Why is Tarascon associated with the convent's yogurt?
From 1940 to 2005 the monastery was known locally for its homemade yogurt. The sisters were among the pioneers of this kind of production in France, at a time when home-based yogurt making for sale was still uncommon. The workshop closed in 2005, because bringing the small facility up to new hygiene standards would have been too costly for the community.
Today the Visitandine sisters continue a contemplative life, receive guests looking for retreat and quiet, and carry on small monastic crafts, including honey and jam making, continuing the tradition of manual work that is part of religious life.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly is the monastery located?
The Monastère de la Visitation stands in Tarascon, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France, at coordinates 43.80826 N, 4.65738 E.
Is this the same Visitandine convent as the ones in Romans-sur-Isère or Sisteron?
No. It is a separate and unrelated convent of the Order of the Visitation, founded independently in Tarascon in the seventeenth century, with its own history of buildings and community.
Can the monastery be visited like a historic monument?
The monastery is first and foremost a living contemplative community, not a museum. Visits are spiritual and retreat-oriented in character, following the rhythm of the sisters' life.
Since when has the current building been the community's home?
The building on Cours Jarnègues, where the sisters live today, was built in 1854 and has served as the community's home ever since.
Does the monastery still produce yogurt?
No. The well-known yogurt production, running from 1940, ended in 2005 because of the cost of upgrading the workshop to meet new hygiene standards.
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