Benedictine

The Benedictine Order is portrayed as a powerful religious institution whose money and hierarchy sustain a secret monastery devoted to the monks’ illicit pleasures. Through the testimony of Omphale, the account connects the Order’s wealth to the recruitment of abducted women and shows how religious reputation helps shield the institution from scrutiny. The contrast between public piety and private abuse makes the Order’s resources and authority central to the monastery’s impunity.

Organization and Support

The monastery is described as having existed for more than a century and as being occupied by four of the Order’s richest and most influential monks. Its founders and residents are distinguished by family background, wealth, and high rank within the hierarchy. The account says that the Order allocates substantial funds to maintain the institution, supplementing contributions from monks who join it with portions of their own property.

Together, these sources are said to yield more than a hundred thousand crowns a year. The money pays the house’s expenses and supports the recruitment of women. A dozen trusted women are employed to bring a new recruit each month, under requirements concerning age, health, and social standing. Thus the monastery’s abuses are not presented as an isolated act by one member: the narrative describes an enduring system supported by institutional money and organized recruitment.

Leadership and Continuity

The four monks have held their positions for years: Antonin for ten, Clement for eighteen, Jerome for thirty, and Severino for twenty-five. Omphale explains that the house was already established when Severino arrived and that successive superiors had perpetuated its arrangements. Its operation therefore precedes the current superior and depends on continuity among leaders, rather than being a temporary deviation.

Severino is described as intent on preserving the abbey’s secret privileges. His close connection to the Pope and his standing within the Church contrast with the hidden purpose of the monastery he governs. The Order’s seniority and influence, in this account, do not restrain the abuse; they help maintain a structure in which powerful members can pursue it without interruption.

Recruitment and Secrecy

The recruitment system depends on force and concealment. Women are abducted far from the monastery, and the monks require that their arrival be involuntary; the victims’ distress is part of what the perpetrators seek. The recruiters are paid, act discreetly, and choose women according to the house’s requirements. Omphale says she has never heard of a resulting legal action, attributing this impunity to the operation’s caution.

The monastery’s isolation further protects it. Although it lies within the diocese of Auxerre, the bishop is never seen there and never visits. Few outsiders arrive during the year; the main exception is the period around the Notre-Dame d’Août festival. The monks reportedly claim that fewer than ten visitors come in a year. When strangers do arrive, Severino receives them with outward hospitality and displays of religious austerity, leaving them satisfied and inclined to praise the monastery.

Public Piety and Institutional Impunity

The monastery’s reputation rests in part on alleged miracles associated with the Virgin. Omphale says these claims gained prominence after Severino’s arrival and discouraged outsiders from examining the house too closely. During the festival, the monks stage a false apparition using Florette, a young captive dressed as the Virgin and positioned with concealed strings. Threatened with punishment if she failed or revealed the deception, she performs the role successfully; visitors believe they have witnessed a miracle and leave offerings.

The episode shows how the Order’s religious resources and public standing are turned into instruments of concealment. The ceremony does not merely distract from the monastery’s crimes: it strengthens popular trust and renews the institution’s reputation. The narrative places genuine religious devotion beside fabricated miracles and the monks’ abuses, making the distance between public sanctity and private conduct a central feature of the Order’s portrayal. At the same time, the accusations are delivered through Therese’s testimony, framed by her account to Madame de Lorsange and Monsieur de Corville; the article’s claims about the institution are therefore grounded in the narrative’s reported evidence, not in an independent historical record.