St. Paul's Abbey

St. Paul's Abbey, Oosterhout, also Oosterhout Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Oosterhout, North Brabant, the Netherlands.

St. Paul's Abbey was founded by monks from Wisques Abbey in Wisques in the Pas-de-Calais who were forced to leave France by the anticlerical policies and popular feeling of the period. The community settled initially in Belgium, at first in Honnay and later in Montignies-Saint-Christophe. The Benedictine nuns of Wisques had already settled in Oosterhout in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouweabdij and the abbot of Solesmes wanted both communities close to each other in the same town. The monks therefore bought 2 hectares of land nearby but had difficulties with the Dutch architect who was working for the nuns. Eventually the new priory was built under the supervision of the architect Dom Bellot, and proved to be a masterpiece of brick architecture, as well as the architect's first great work. The building was finished in 1907 and the community was raised to the status of an abbey in 1910. Dom Jean de Puniet was the first abbot.

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