Badia Fiorentina

The monastic communities of Jerusalem have the mission to live in the heart of the city of God. The first community was founded on November 1, 1975 in Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais Church by father Pierre-Marie Delfieux, with Cardinal François Marty’s approval. And since September, 8 1998 they have been called by Cardinal Silvano Piovinelli to settle at Florence in Santa Maria Assunta Church in Badia of Faenza-Modigliana’s desire to “give life” to the hermitage of Gamogna. The essence of their vocation could be summed up in Jesus’ own prayer: “ Fsther, I do not pray that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from evil one ( John 17,15), which guides all their life. Since human beings are created as the most beautiful image of God, the brothers and sisters of Jerusalem want to pray and meet God in the city, among its inhabitants. Through a life of contemplation and community, they want to reach out and serve all the men who seek God. This, the monks and nuns of Jerusalem strive to put the prayer in the heart of the city and carry the city in the heart of their prayers. They want to create an oasis in the urban “desert “ of alienation and anxiety, loneliness, yearning or indifference by “giving life” to a place of silence and prayer which would be also a place of welcome and sharing. Concretely, the vocation of the brothers and sisters of Jerusalem is typified by five distinctive characteristics: ✅ First, they’re city dwellers, because urbanisation is without a doubt one of the most important developments of modern times, and the rapid expansion of big cities has become a universal phenomenon ✅ They rent their housing, as do most other city dwellers today and do not own any property, in order to avoid the risk of becoming too settled and of accumulating property ✅ They are wage-earners , and work only at part-time, looking for being in solidarity with everybody, and not being a charge for nobody. ✅ They are directly part of the diocesan church, in the spirit of Vatican Council II, in order to adapt better to different situations, sensibilities and cultures and to live fully the reality of each local Church ✅ They have , no walled cloister though they live a spirit of enclosure by keeping clearly defined them to live “apart” , always in a spirit of communion.

Badia Fiorentina is a beautiful old monastery that is situated in the historical center of Florence. Also known as the Abbey of Santa Maria Assunta, it is one of the five ancient abbeys of the city. It is located very close to where Dante grew up. Legend is that he would have heard the chants of the monks as he wrote his Divine Comedy. Its bell tower is visible from several parts of the city.