Abbey of St. Vincent, Senlis

Late in their history, they became part of a new congregation of canons regular with the motherhouse at the Royal Abbey of St Genevieve in Paris, known as the Genofévains, widely respected for their institutions of learning.

The abbey was founded in 1065 by Queen Anne of Kiev, the widow of King Henry I of France,[1] possibly built on the ruins of an ancient chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist which had been destroyed in the course of invasion by the Normans in the late 900s.

She did this to fulfill a vow she had made as a young bride some fifteen years earlier to found a monastery if God were to bless her marriage.

[2] Nevertheless, the monastery church was solemnly dedicated on 29 October 1065, under the patronage of the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist and St. Vincent of Saragossa.

Her son, King Philip I of France, later declared it to be a royal abbey, independent of all authorities, both ecclesiastical or civil, and made a number of grants of land to the community.

Pope Callistus III gave his official support to the canons, though he urged them to return to their original zeal in their following of the Rule of St. Augustine in their daily lives.

After his death, in order to assure their continued success, the canons of Senlis decided to affiliate with the Royal Abbey of St. Victor in Paris, which had quickly become an esteemed center of learning in France.

The king gave formal approval of this affiliation in 1138 but guaranteed the complete autonomy of the community at Senlis, which thereby became a part of the Congregation of St. Victor.

This group of monasteries were so favored by the royal family that, upon his death in 1226, King Louis VIII of France left 4,000 pounds in his will to each of the forty houses then belonging to the congregation.

During this period, the abbey went to great efforts to maintain its independence from the local authorities, including the Bishop of Senlis, in whose diocese they were situated.

As a consequence, by the end of the century, community life among the canons had deteriorated to such a degree that few of them resided in the abbey and there was consideration of giving it to the newly founded Capuchin Franciscan friars.

[3] The matter was brought to the attention of the Bishop of Senlis, at that time, Cardinal François de La Rochefoucauld, who was also commendatory abbot of the community.

The following year, a young member of the community was so overwhelmed by the demands of the life that he attempted to escape over the walls of the abbey, from which he fell, badly injuring himself.

As a result, any commendatory abbots who truly were interested in promoting the spiritual lives of the houses which belonged to them began to look to St. Vincent as a model for reform.

In 1622, the cardinal received a mandate from both King Louis XIII and Pope Gregory XV to undertake the reform of the religious communities of France.

After his death, the congregation voted to continue holding its General Chapter at St. Vincent every three years, to honor its role in the reform of the canonical life in France.