This is a first in Sarthe. A beguinage of 18 social housing units opened in September 2020, managed by the association Luceau beguinage spirit. An association, the Esprit Béguinage Luceau was created to manage the common part, and the employee it employs, under the aegis of the company Esprit Béguinage solidaire.
Originally, the beguinages were pious institutions born in Liège on the initiative of Saint Marie d’Oignies. Close to the mendicant, Franciscan or Dominican orders, the beguinages have for many fallen under the influence of mystics, on the margins of the Church, which justified their dissolution by the Council of Vienna in 1311.
Today, some beguinages have been renovated to provide a living environment suitable for the elderly. The beguinages keep a social vocation and offer an alternative to retirement homes, to get out of isolation, to respond to the drop in purchasing power and to remain available to others.
The majority of older people prefer to stay at home as long as possible. The beguinage will make it possible to prolong this time of habitat at home. Mutual aid, watching over each other, friendship have a beneficial effect on health, which allows residents to stay at home longer, even hospitalized at home.
With the gradual disappearance of neighborhood life, of village life, loneliness is one of the scourges. The beguinage can be an answer to loneliness. Building a supportive and benevolent spirit, watching over each other as we would for our own family. But also respond to the decline in purchasing power with the pooling of goods, spaces and services, which makes it possible to save on rents and charges for the residence.
After a first project in the Sarthe, it is today in Richelieu in Indre-et-Loire, within a former communal school of the XVIIth century, that the Association installs its future beguinage.
All information on the Luceau beguinage by writing to: [email protected]