aint Scholastica, sister of Saint Benedict and patroness of the nuns, set up a monastery near her brother’s. Today the Benedictine nuns are quite numerous.

	hey are present in Quebec since 1936. The Abbey Sainte-Marie des Deux-Montagnes, near Montreal, founded by nuns from the Abbey Notre-Dame de Wisques in France, belongs to the Congregation of Solesmes.
							The Abbey Sainte-Marie des Deux-Montagnes
								ike the monks, the nuns join lectio divina and work to the Divine Office. In 1982, the Abbey opened a house at Westfield, Vermont, U.S.A.
		Profession of a nun
	here are two other Abbeys of Benedictine nuns in Quebec : the Abbey of Mont-de-la-Rédemption situated in Mont-Laurier, and the Abbey Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix in Joliette.
									Westfield (Vermont, USA)

						here are two other Abbeys of Benedictine monks in Canada : Saint Peter’s at Muenster, Saskatchewan, and the Abbey of Mission City in British Columbia.
		The Abbey Saint-Pierre de Solesmes (France)
	astly, at the end of the 11th century, some monks desiring to live the Rule of Saint Benedict according to its original sense, founded the Cistercian Order. Saint Bernard (1090-1153) ensured the spread of this Order. The Abbey of Rougemont is a Cistercian Abbey. In the 17th century, the Abbé de Rancé undertook a reform of monastic life at the Cistercian Abbey of La Trappe : so were founded the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, regrouping Cistercian communities called Trappists, observing also the Rule of Saint Benedict. In Quebec, the Abbeys of Oka and Mistassini as well as Saint-Romuald (nuns) follow this observance.

				oday, throughout the world, there are about 8 700 Benedictine monks, 7 650 Benedictine nuns and 10 570 Benedictine sisters. Their monasteries are grouped in Congregations, and with a few self-governed monasteries, compose the Benedictine Confederation. Saint-Benoît-du-Lac belongs to the Congregation of Solesmes which counts 21 monasteries with 760 monks and 8 monasteries with 280 nuns.
			Number of Benedictines by continent on January 1st 1995 :
		Continents  monks   nuns Africa 673 410  America 2 692 742  Asia 459  209  Europe 4 835  6 248  Oceania 35 34

	he Rule of Saint Benedict holds a wealth of spiritual doctrine suitable to lead any Christian who follows the Gospel. Oblates are lay-persons or secular priests who wish to live in the world according to the spirit of Saint Benedict. By their “oblation”, that is, their offering of themselves to the Lord, they are attached to a monastic family and pledge themselves to live by the Rule. The Benedictine oblates are not, properly speaking, a “third order”, because their link is with a given monastery and not with the Order.
			his association is not profit-making. It was founded in 1952 and sustains in different ways the monks’ endeavors. Various activities allow its some 2 000 members to fraternize, to meditate the message of Saint Benedict, to find in it a source of inspiration and make it known.