WELCOME! VILLIERS ABBEY The Cistercian Abbey of Villiers, situated on the confines of Villers and Tilly, Duchy of Brabant, present Diocese of Namur (Belgium), and first monastery of the order in this territory, was started in April, 1146 (most probably), when Saint Bernard sent twelve monks and five lay-brothers from Clairvaux, under the direction of Abbot Laurence [Lawrence] , to establish themselves at Boverie, from whence, after over a year of struggle against discouragement and failure, they transferred their monastery to a more suitable location, about three miles distant, where a modest oratory and dwelling were soon erected. The early years were replete with sufferings for the new community, but little by little, as it became known, the nobles of the vicinity came to its aid with material assistance. Abbot Charles (1197-1209) laid the foundations for the magnificent church, the ruins of which even today profoundly impress the behol...