Saint-Michel de Cuxa Abbey, Codalet

L’abbaye Saint-Michel de Cuxa s’élève au pied du Canigou, sur la commune de Codalet, dans les Pyrénées-Orientales. Ce monastère bénédictin, né en 879, abrite encore une communauté de moines. Son église, consacrée en 975, compte parmi les grands édifices préromans, et son cloître marque au XII^e siècle la naissance de la sculpture romane du Roussillon.

Monks who survived a flood

It all began higher up the Têt valley, at the monastery of Saint-André d’Eixalada. In the autumn of 878, a sudden flood swept it away. The thirty-five surviving monks withdrew to Cuxa, where the cleric Protais owned a church dedicated to Saint Germain, and the following year they formed a new community there. From 956, Count Sunifred had a large church built, consecrated on the 28 of September 975. In 978, the Doge of Venice, Pietro Orseolo, secretly left his city to become a monk at Cuxa, accompanied in particular by the hermit Romuald, future founder of the Camaldolese. He died there in 987, with a reputation for holiness, and his presence drew pilgrims.

Abbot Oliba and the Church of the Virgin

Au XI^e siècle, l’abbé Oliba, également abbé de Ripoll et évêque de Vic, transforme le monastère. Il ajoute des absides, deux clochers jumeaux et, devant l’église, deux sanctuaires superposés. En bas, la crypte de la Crèche, dédiée à la Vierge, est une salle circulaire dont la voûte en anneau repose sur un gros pilier central. Au-dessus se trouvait la chapelle de la Trinité, dont il ne reste que des fondations. Les historiens y voient une construction pensée comme une méditation sur l’Incarnation, la chapelle haute figurant l’église du Ciel. Des deux clochers, seul celui du sud tient encore : une tour de 33 mètres ornée de bandes lombardes.

A cloister that went to New York, partly returned

The pink marble cloister, built around 1130-1140, was dispersed after the abbey was sold as national property in 1791. In 1907, the American sculptor George Grey Barnard bought thirty-eight capitals, which now form the core of The Cloisters museum in New York. A series of arcades, sold in 1835 to a bathing establishment in Prades, remained on site thanks to the mobilisation of local residents; Barnard, who had bought it, eventually gave it to France. It was used between 1950 and 1955 to rebuild the south gallery. Lions, eagles and foliage predominate.

Music and Reflection

In 1950, Pablo Casals gave a now famous concert in the church, which still had no roof; the festival bearing his name has been largely held at the abbey since 1957, every August. Enthusiasts of energy sites also know Cuxa, and the round crypt with its single pillar is probably not unconnected to this reputation. Have you visited? Your testimony, below, will help those planning their visit.