They follow the Rule of St Benedict, and co-operate with the apostolic mission of the Catholic Church through educational activities and hospitality.

In the 11th century, three Benedictine monks, Robert of Molesme, Alberic and Stephen Harding, sought to follow the Rule of St. Benedict in all its fulness.

Along with a group of other monks who shared this vision of simplicity, austerity and fraternal life, they went to Cîteaux in Burgundy, where the "New Monastery" was established in March 1098.

Many women wished to follow the Cistercian ideal and many houses were established including several in French Flanders.

Before the Revolution, two of the Abbeys had had small schools for the education of young girls, so this work was in direct continuity with their origins.

It took 30 long years to reestablish their official statutes and interior rule which drew heavily on their Cistercian customs.

The original intention at Esquermes had never been to establish a congregation, but the founding of new monasteries required new structures and new Constitutions, which were approved by Rome in 1909.

In 1955, official approval from Rome enabled the sisters to take solemn vows as Cistercian nuns.

Following the call of Pope Pius XII, monasteries were founded in Hamamatsu, Japan (1954) and Goma, Congo (1960).

The Bernardines were able to return to France and the mother house was transferred to the Monastery of Notre Dame de La Plaine, St André-lez-Lille (1948).

Written in the sixth century, the rule sets out a way of seeking God in community, through a life of prayer and service of others.

Cistercians seek God together, having all things in common, living in simplicity, in relative silence and solitude.

Lectio Divina, the prayerful and meditative reading of scripture, opens the sisters to the Word of God and allows it to act in their lives.

The historical development of the Bernardine Order resulted in it having a central government, based at the mother house at the Monastery of Notre Dame de La Plaine, St André-lez-Lille.

During these stages, the person is initiated into the life and traditions of the order and with the help of the novice mistress, seeks to discern if this is what God is calling her to.

Lay people who wish to deepen their faith by drawing from the riches of Cistercian spirituality may become oblates of any Bernardine community.

The practical living out of this commitment is adapted to the life and circumstances of each oblate, but in general they remain in close contact with one of the monasteries.