History of Douai Abbey
Paris 1615 ~ Douai 1820 ~ Woolhampton 1903
PARIS
St Edmund, King and Martyr, had been venerated at the medieval Abbey of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. When our community was founded in 1615 in Paris it was placed under St Edmund's patronage.
The three crowns in the Douai arms are those of St Edmund: King, Virgin and Martyr.
In Paris the community provided a centre for English monks at the Sorbonne and also for English Catholic exiles. Most of the community ministered to Catholics in England.
This period is represented by one of the Fleur-de-lys on the Douai arms.
DOUAI
After the French Revolution a new start was made but now at Douai in northern France. A seminary for English boys was founded, most of whom were destined for the priesthood, thus perpetuating the great tradition at Douai begun by Cardinal Allen in 1568.
The growth of the community enabled it to take a greater part in caring for the pastoral needs of the rapidly expanding Catholic population of England and Wales.
This period is represented by the second Fleur-de-lys on the Douai arms.
In 1899 the monastery was raised from the status of Priory to Abbey, and the first Abbot was elected.
The Abbey is represented by the abbot's mitre on the Douai arms.
WOOLHAMPTON
Expelled from France in 1903 by the French Laws of Association, the community settled at Upper Woolhampton, in Berkshire, retaining the name of Douai in recognition of the debt of British Catholics to that town.
The community now administers eight parishes, and runs a pastoral programme of retreats, meditation workshops and conferences.
The wavy line separating the upper and lower parts of the Douai arms represents the crossing of the English Channel when the community moved from France to England.
MOTTO