Brogne Abbey
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Abbaye Saint-Gérard de Brogne | |
 | |
 Interactive map of Brogne Abbey | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Benedictine |
| Established | before 920 |
| Disestablished | 1796 |
| Diocese | Liège (to 1559); Namur (from 1559) |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | listed building |
| Designated date | 1995 |
| Site | |
| Coordinates | 50°37′14″N 4°57′18″E / 50.6205°N 4.9549°E |
| Website | www |
Brogne Abbey (French: Abbaye de Brogne), also known as the Abbey of Saint-Gerard of Brogne, was a Benedictine abbey founded in the early 10th century by Gerard of Brogne in the village of Brogne (now the Saint-Gérard subdivision of Mettet, Wallonia, Belgium).[1] It was dedicated to Saint Peter and to Saint Gérard. They abbey was suppressed in 1796.
Gerard founded the abbey on his own land, with the blessing of Stephen of Liège (died 920), and acquired a relic of Saint Eugenius of Toledo with the assistance of the abbot of Saint Denis. A charter of 923 granted land in Hesbaye to the monastery.
The abbey received notable confirmations of its independence and privileges in 992, from Emperor Otto III who was visiting the abbey together with Notker of Liège,[2] and in 1183 from Pope Lucius III.[3]
The abbacy of Robert (1196-1221) who was abbot of both Brogne and the nearby monastery of Lobbes, was an era of revitalization of the abbey. Robert embarked on a program of construction and rehabilitation of the convent and church at Brogne. Under Robert, Brogne received another papal confirmation from Pope Innocent III and in 1215 Robert even traveled to the Fourth Lateran Council.
Relics and the Holy Cross of Brogne
In addition to the relic of Eugenius of Toledo, the abbey of Brogne possessed a number of important relics. They included the body of the monastery's founder Gerard, which were elevated upon his formal canonization in 1131.[4] They also included relics of the Holy Innocents, supposedly discovered in 1116.[5]
While on his deathbed in 1176, the local nobleman Manasses of Hierges promised the monastery of Brogne a major relic of the True Cross that he had brought back with him from the kingdom of Jerusalem. After his death in 1177, the relic was the subject of a dispute between his heirs and the monastery, who were ultimately successful in securing the cross later that year. The monks composed two accounts describing how Manasses had acquired the relic on crusade and how it had come to Brogne. The second of these accounts, How the Holy Cross Came from Antioch to the Monastery of Brogne, is a major work of history and hagiography and was written by an unknown author in 1211.[6] The cult of the cross at Brogne attracted gifts and resulted in miracle stories.[7]
In 1505 Guillaume de Beez, abbot of Brogne commissioned a new silver reliquary to house the relic originally acquired by Manasses. That reliquary is now kept at the Diocesan Museum and Treasury of the cathedral of Namur. The original reliquary can still be seen by removing the rear panels of the larger 1505 reliquary.
