“Writers have loved Lagrasse. There, they found friends, advisors, guides, simple men above all. No one was there to convince the other. But the gamble was not won in advance” writes Nicolas Diat in his preface…
What happened at this abbey in the Corbières region between Carcassonne and Narbonne? Forty-two young canons live a life of prayer under the aegis of the Rule of Saint Augustine, in the shadow of immense buildings dating back to the 8th century; For three days and nights, fifteen writers joined them to share their daily lives; Office, study, manual work, walks, meals – they had the privilege of being with them all the time;
Here are the beautiful stories of these unforgettable experiences, full of adventures and surprises; Here are a few excerpts:
“The brothers were good to me. They would come and talk to me. We’d sit in the armchairs and they’d teach me things about Augustinian thought that I’d waited forty-nine years to discover because – let’s make confessions – I hadn’t read much Augustine. What’s more, for a long time I’d been wandering around Outer Mongolia, where these things were said differently (and, what’s more, in an impossible language).”
Sylvain Tesson
“After spending three days and three nights at Notre-Dame de Lagrasse, where I lived, prayed, ate and washed dishes with the canons, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel, however scabrous, between them and their saint, whose writings are as topical today as ever. From his bishopric of Hippo, now Annaba, in northeastern Algeria, Augustine lived serenely through the fall of the Roman Empire to barbarian invasions, symbolized by the first sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, followed by the Ostrogoths and Vandals.”
Franz-Olivier Giesbert
“I go down to vespers in white Lacoste pants and polo shirt, in solidarity with the virginal look of the brothers. As far as I know, the white dress code is the one and only thing in common between Sainte Marie de Lagrasse and Nikki Beach in Saint Tropez. The cantor playing the organ resembles the veiled Christ of Sanmartino in Naples. He has green eyes and plays Bach like Jimi Hendrix burned his electric guitar.”