Records Relating to Local Administration France... | Saint Michael's College Archives & Special Collections

In 1926, some members of the Fathers of Saint Edmund returned to Pontigny, the place of their founding, after a 25-year absence.  Once there, they regained charge of the parish of Pontigny, (although not the abbey.)  By 1936, they were able to reopen a novitiate at Pontigny with two novices from England.  In 1939, the French government took possession of the Abbey, which was later taken over by the Germans, who used it as a barracks.  The few Edmundites remaining were forced to live elsewhere, although they maintained their works as best they could.  When the war ended in 1945, Rev. Nicolle, Superior General of the Society, lost no time in reorganizing the Society in Pontigny.  The Society purchased the Abbey and four American members joined the members already in Pontigny.  Their major undertaking was the Franco-American College of Saint Edmund.  The school, organized like an American high school, had an initial enrollment of almost 50 boys from the surrounding area.  Running the school was not without problems however, and 1954, however the Society was forced to close the school.  Financial problems forced the Society to sell the Abbey once again.  Although Pontigny remains the ancestral home of the Society, no other attempt has been made to purchase it.