BOUTHILLIER DE RANCÉ, Armand-Jean Le. - Cistercian, founder of the Trappists. Born in Paris of a noble family on 9 January 1626, died at La Trappe (county of Perche) on 27 October 1700. At the age of 11, in order to succeed to the rich benefices left vacant by the death of his brother, he held in commendam the Cistercian monastery of La Trappe. He led a worldly life, however, though even as a youth he was noted for his love of letters, especially Greek (at the age of 13, in 1639, he published an edition of Anacreon with a critical commentary), and for his eloquence, of which he gave an excellent demonstration at the Assembly of the Clergy of 1655. In 1657 his conversion began, about which much was said and written (D. de Larroque, Véritables motifs de la conversion de l'abbé de La Trappe, Cologne 1685; N. Barthe, Lettre de l'abbé de Rancé à un ami, Geneva 1765; and the reply in verse by J. F. de Laharpe, Réponse, Paris 1802). Having disposed of all his possessions, he kept for himself only the abbey of La Trappe, in which he became regular abbot, after two years of harsh novitiate, on 13 July 1664. Then began his constant and relentless struggle to obtain the reform of the Cistercian Order. Famous in this regard is his controversy with the Maurist monks concerning monastic studies, which B. regarded as alien to the spirit of Benedictine monasticism, insisting instead on manual labor. Not having obtained the brief favorable to "strict observance" from the cardinalitial Congregation that was to decide between "strict" and "common" observance in the religious Orders, he withdrew to La Trappe (1667) and dictated to his monks the new regulations designed to re-establish the Benedictine Rule in all its primitive observance. On 23 May 1678 he obtained from the Pope the approval and the commendation, and his reform received official recognition from Clement XI (19 Sept. 1705). At present the Order of Trappists numbers over 80 monasteries.

He wrote various works on the monastic life, commentaries on the Rule of St. Benedict and on the Gospels. Since he did not neglect to concern himself with all the religious and literary questions of his time, he remained in correspondence with the most representative men; his Lettres, collected and published by P. Gouod (Paris 1845), are therefore extremely interesting.

Bibliography5 works

BIBL.: Many have written his life; the one by Chateaubriand, Paris 1844, is valuable, and was also recently translated into Italian by G. Aventi, Milan 1942; C. Gaillardin, Les Trappistes ou l'ordre de Cîteaux au XIXᵉ siècle, 2 vols., Paris 1844-1853; Anon., Breve storia dell'Ordine cistercense per un monaco di Thymadenc, Rome 1898; H. Bremond, L'abbé tempête, A. de B. réformateur de La Trappe, Paris 1929.

Renata Orazi Ausenda

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Bouthillier de Rancé, Armand-Jean Le

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