A message from the President
Dear members and friends of the abbey,
After an 18-month hiatus, we are delighted to be publishing our newsletter once again, having made up for the departure of Jacquie, our editor-in-chief, who has left the region for the Ariège. We would like to thank her warmly for the fifteen years she has spent on our Board and her involvement in all our activities, especially as editor of our newsletter.
Last spring, we welcomed the presidents of the FESC and the associations managing the Cluniac paths for 3 memorable days. It was a resounding success, and this year a similar meeting is due to be held with our friends from the Franche-Comté-Burgundy Chemins de Cluny in the Jura.
During the event, we unveiled the Saint-Maurin banner embroidered by Martine and Gabriel Goudezeune and their embroidery friends. This tapestry was exhibited with the thirty or so other sites in Cluny during the federation’s thirtieth anniversary.
Still on the initiative of Martine and Gabriel, we are creating a medieval herb garden with an ancient grapes in the cloister of the abbey. Work is due to finish in summer.
Since autumn 2023, we have been actively involved in the UNESCO candidacy for Cluniac sites, along with 8 other sites in the south-west of France. Although only two of these sites, Moirax and Moissac, have been selected, we are continuing, with the municipality of Saint-Maurin, to work towards the success of this candidacy, convinced that our abbey can be designated as an associated site and benefit from this added value.
Two concerts were organized last summer, but they weren’t as successful as we’d hoped, so we’re going to redefine the events we’ll be offering this summer. These will probably include a long walk along our Cluny paths and a new concert, the type of which we have yet to define.
The final phase of work on the abbey church is underway, with completion scheduled for this summer. We would like to thank the municipality for its many years of commitment to safeguarding this cultural monument of our historical heritage.
Last year, we successfully celebrated our association’s thirtieth anniversary, with numerous events around the abbey and on the Cluny en Pays de Serres trails, and of course a banquet.
Our Annual General Meeting was held on Friday March 21 at 8.30pm in the abbey castle. At this AGM, in accordance with our bylaws, the renewal of the Board of Directors was on the agenda. All outgoing members were re-elected for a further three-year term, with the exception of Myriam Archambault, Vincent Lapierre and Cathy Valentin, who resigned. We thank them for their commitment throughout their mandate.
I hope you enjoy this new newsletter, and that we’ll have the opportunity to meet again at our summer concerts.
Gérard Deflisque
President
Newsletter Summary:
- President’s message
- Thirty years of the association
- The 13th capital
- Saint Maurin’s embroidered banner
- Medieval garden
- Cluny trails
- Cluny path meeting
- Ferrussac fortified mill
- Summer concerts
- Update on restoration work at the abbey
- New Board of Directors elected
We apologise to our English-speaking members, this newsletter 2025 is only available in French.