Staying with the theme today I visited the ruins of the abbey; they are in a decent sized park with plenty of seating, paths, shade and petanque courts and if you are coming by tram (from October 2019 onwards) it’s only a short walk from Place Saint-Ruf.
Saint Ruf was a fourth century missionary to Avignon, and was the first to lead a Christian community there; he has long been considered the first bishop of Avignon, although there is no actual evidence for that.
The Saint-Ruf abbey of Avignon, in the Vaucluse, was founded in the 11th century. Today it is only stabilised ruins, classified in 1889, and outside the walls to the south of the city.
The abbey was abandoned by the monks well before the Revolution, however, it had been supported until the fourteenth century by the religious authorities and it was recognized as a focus of the so-called Gregorian reform.
The remains still visible include the bell tower, the transept, part of the nave and the foundations of the abbey church.
EUlogising Europe 2019 