Claude Vaussin

It took almost four years before Vaussin received confirmation from the Holy See and the King of France, finally allowing him to take office in Cîteaux in 1649.

They dominated the General Chapter of 1651 and were granted a certain amount of independence by being able to form their own congregation, but that was not enough: They wanted control of the Cistercian Order.

In 1634, Cardinal La Rochefoucauld added his support to the movement, leading to much controversy and seemingly unending polemics; the War of Observances also had its political dimensions.

The "National Chapter" at Rottweil in 1654, during which Vaussin himself presided at, improved the unity of the Upper German Congregation within its own ranks and strengthen its ties to its mother abbey of Cîteaux.

The following abbatial elections in the primary abbeys of Clairvaux (1653) and La Ferté (1655) resulted in abbots who Vaussin had endorsed.

Vaussin canceled the General Chapter which had been called for 1661 and protested against the court's actions to the Vatican, traveling there personally in order to attain its retraction.