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Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye |
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| Abbey church | |
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Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Isère |
| Arrondissement | Grenoble |
| Canton | Saint-Marcellin |
| Intercommunality | Pays de Saint-Marcellin |
| Mayor | Marie-Chantal Jolland (2001–2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 274–578 m (899–1,896 ft) (avg. 365 m/1,198 ft) |
| Land area1 | 22.21 km2 (8.58 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 910 (1999) |
| - Density | 41 /km2 (110 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 38359/ 38160 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Saint-Antoine-l'Abbaye, also Saint-Antoine-en-Viennois, is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.
Formerly known as La-Motte-Saint-Didier, it was renamed after becoming the home of the relics of Saint Anthony the Great in the 11th century, and shortly afterwards of the original house of the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony, founded here in 1095 as the result of miraculous cures from St. Anthony's Fire ascribed to the relics.
It was set up as a Benedictine community, whose monks cared for the shrine and the relics, while the Brothers cared for those suffering from the common malady of St. Anthony's Fire. Over the course of the next two centuries, disputes between the Antonines and the Benedictines arose repeatedly. Finally, the Antonines were formed into an Order of canons regular in 1297. At that time the monks were removed from the shrine, which was entrusted to the Antonines.