After teaching humanities for a short time to the junior monks at Pontlevoy, he was, at the instance of Luc d'Achery, sent to the Abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés, Paris.
In 1684 he was appointed procurator for his congregation in the Curia Romana, which post required his residence in Rome for the remainder of his life.
Between 1673 and 1682 he compiled his chief work, entitled "Antiquités Bénédictines", in which the monastic traditions of France are treated under the headings of the different dioceses.
On his way to Rome he visited monasteries and collected literary material, which he sent back to Mabillon, and most of which found its way into the "Annales O.S.B."
Though he did not publish much under his own name, he continued to research in the chief libraries of Italy, all of which were open to him, and to forward the results.