Monastery of Tazert
Franciscan monastery in Tazert, Morocco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The monastery of Tazert is a Roman Catholic monastery in Tazert, Morocco. Originally founded by André Poissonnier, it is a priory of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi since 2019.
 Interactive map of Monastery of the Visitation | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Maison de la Visitation |
| Order | Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi |
| Established | 1931 |
| Mother house | Montpellier |
| Diocese | Rabat |
| People | |
| Founder | Charles-André Poissonnier |
| Site | |
| Location | Tazert, El Kelâa des Sraghna Province, Morocco |
| Coordinates | 31°38′05″N 7°25′45″W |
| Public access | Yes |
History
The monastery was founded in 1931 by André Poissonnier who, inspired by the life of Charles de Foucauld and the Franciscan missionaries in Morocco, decided to live as a hermit in Tazert. For this, he set up a dispensary and a chapel where he lived as a hermit until his death due to typhus in 1938.[1]
Poissonnier left the monastery to the Franciscans who continued to live in the monastery until the 1970s when a community of Poor Clares moved in. In order to be closer to the local population, they adopted the Melkite rite which is celebrated in Arabic.[2] In 2013, these nuns under their hegumenia Mère Assunta retired to the Monastery of the Burning Bush in Carcassone as there were no longer enough sisters to ensure a presence.[3]
The monastery then went over into the possession of the diocese of Rabat which started to search for a new monastic community to settle in Tazert. Finally, in late 2019, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi, a congregation whose motherhouse is located in Montpellier and who have also a presence in Mohammedia, sent a group of African nuns to Tazert.[4] The inauguration took place on 8 December 2019 under participation of the archbishop of Rabat, Cristóbal López Romero.[5]
Today the monastery serves as a place of prayer, offering spiritual retreat facilities with a guest house and educational opportunities for the surrounding Berber village of 3,500. As such, the nuns offer training in embroidery techniques as well as teaching literacy and computer science courses.[4]
The monastery hosts interreligious dialogue sessions.[6][4]