SAINT ARMAND JEAN LE BOUTHILLIER DE RANCÉ - 27 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER

Saints celebrated on the 27th of October

SAINT ARMAND JEAN LE BOUTHILLIER DE RANCÉ 

Armand Jean, son of Denis Bouthillier, a noble member of the government, born on January 9, 1626 in Paris, France, was befittingly appointed canon at Notre Dame in Paris. 

At the age of 12, the he wrote his first book, annotated in Greek, dedicated to his godfather, Cardinal Richelieu. In 1651 he was ordained a priest, but continued to live and work at the court in Paris. In 1654 he received his doctorate in theology, from 1655 he was a member of the French clergy and archdeacon of Tours. Only in 1657 did he turn to a deep faith.

In 1660, Armand Jean visited the abbey La Trappe, which he found completely dilapidated. In 1662 he withdrew from political and courtly life to this monastery, in 1664 he took his vows and shortly thereafter was elected abbot. 

He now introduced reforms and strict asceticism in his monastery, but the majority of the monks rejected their new abbot and his rules, threatened to stab him or drown him in the monastery pond. Nevertheless, he pushed through the new rules with the monks who were willing to reform,  dismissed a large part of the monks and got more professional monks from other monastery. 

The adherents to his rules were given the name Trappists, and La Trappe became a center of religious life in France. Pope Innocent XI approved the new rules in 1678, the Trappist order became an independent community in the large Benedictine religious family.

At the time of Armand Jean Bouthillier de Rancé's death on October 27, 1700, about 90 monks lived at La-Trappe, there were five other abbeys and a women's convent where his rule was observed.