Rue Lacordaire
81 540 Sorèze
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The Benedictine abbey of Sainte Marie, later called Notre Dame de la Sagne, was founded in around 754 by Pepin of Aquitaine. It was built on marshland, near the river Sor, at the foot of the Montagne Noire [Black Mountain].
The abbey was pillaged and burnt several times, rebuilt in the 10th century by Abbot Walafride, and enjoyed widespread spiritual and material power from the 11th century.
After the abbey was destroyed by the Huguenots in 1573, the Benedictines affiliated to the Congregation of Saint Maur opened a seminary to welcome young, penniless men from the area.
Dom de Fougeras, a forward-thinking educator, introduced a highly innovative study programme in 1757.
This education, which focused less on ancient languages, combined discipline and exercises to make a perfect gentleman. Turned into a Royal Military School in 1776 by King Louis XVI of France, the kingdom’s future cadets and students from all over the world came to Sorèze to receive a quality education.
Father Lacordaire, who restored the Order of the Frères Prêcheurs in France, arrived in Sorèze in 1854, concerned about the education of young people, and took up the methods of his predecessors, adding to it his own experience.
In 1961, the Ecole de Sorèze became an association. The school closed in 1991.
The Abbaye Ecole and its 6-hectare park were listed “Historical Monuments” in 1988 by the French Ministry for Culture.
