It was formally established in 1604 on the initiative of Didier de La Cour, prior of the Abbey of Saint-Vanne[b] near Verdun, a reformer of the Benedictine Order after the Council of Trent.
[1] To counteract the evils resulting from the practice of bestowing ecclesiastical benefices upon secular persons in commendam, then rife throughout Western Europe, Didier de la Cour, Prior of the Abbey of St.-Vannes in Lorraine, inaugurated in 1598 a strict disciplinary reform with the full approbation of the commendatory abbot, Eric of Lorraine, the Bishop of Verdun.
[5] The response to the attempts to return the Benedictine houses to a more rigorous way of life in accordance with the Rule, combined with serious study and scholarship, was very positive, but Lorraine was not at that time under the French crown.
[6] Distinguished Vannist scholars included Rémy Ceillier, Nicolas Tabouillot, Thierry Ruinart and Ambroise Pelletier.
Didier de La Cour was born at Montzéville, Meuse, in December 1550, into an ancient noble family of Lorraine but one which had grown so poor that they were obliged to work on their own lands.
At 18, he entered St. Vanne's Abbey in Verdun and later studied at the University of Pont-à-Mousson, where he became friendly with Servais de Lairuelz and Saint Pierre Fourier.