19th Century

The French Revolution and Its Immediate Aftermath

The revolutionary storm that decimated the religous Orders and confiscated their property for resale did not spare Saint-Michel of Frigolet. January 15th, 1791, the members of the small community were forced to flee. One of the friars was executed. The monastery, "a small church and the rest of the burned-out convent, without liens" is tendered by the town of Tarascon for the modest amount of 300 livres. The little sanctuary of Our Lady is spared by its relative isolation. One account has it that a certain Madame Chaïne who lived in a house close to the monastery personally intervened to save the chapel of Our Lady from looters and vandals.

After the ravages of the revolution and the Terreur had finally passed, Saint-Michel had several owners. A group comprised of princes of industry, supposedly Spanish political exiles and people just fed up with the world came to Frigolet in 1837 to "follow the Rule of St. Bernard, far from the turmoil of mankind". Alas, due to a lack of resources and, especially, police injunctions, they soon had to disband.

A boarding school was then opened in 1839 by Mr Donnat. Among the forty or so pupils was the young Frederic Mistral of Maillance. But once again, a lack of funds would force this school to close.