Priory of Moustier-en-fagne

The monastery of Wallers stood on the site of the current priory of Moustier.

Dodon died there and this was the origin of the priory, which depended on the Abbey of Lobbes and this was the origin of the village of Moustier.

The church is the chapel of the former priory and dates from the 16th century. There is a statue of Saint Dodon and his sister Saint Renelde. Here pilgrims invoke the saint, whom they attribute to the virtue of curing kidney ailments. There is also a bluestone altar, a wooden vault with carved beam heads, a 16th-century triptych and a 17th-century shrine containing the relics of Saint Dodon . The church and priory were restored in 1700.

The priory is located near the church and is dated 1777. In 1724 there were 2 monks , who could be dismissed at the abbot's discretion and who, out of consideration for the faithful, continued to confess, at least for the elderly. Monastic life remained modest with a very small number of monks until the Revolution and the arrest of the last prior, Matthieu le Blond, in 1793. The priory then served as a farm and residence , rented by the princes of Mérode, until it closed around 1955. was purchased by Abbot Louis Hardy. In 1962 the priory was inhabited by monks from Mons , but only for a short time. When they had to leave for Switzerland, they handed it over to the Benedictine nuns of Olivetan who had moved to Cambrai and have been making icons ever since.

The Byzantine chapel lies against the north facade of the priory and appears to stand on an old surrounding wall, connecting the church with the priory.

Groups of retreatants are received in the monastic guest house, with a reception room, a small kitchen, several bedrooms and an oratory.

Willem Vandenameele