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Founded in 1902 as the Abbaye Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Conseil, the monastery of the Cistercian sisters stood for nearly a century on farmland in Saint-Romuald (now Lévis, Quebec). The Trappistine community lived here until 2001, when the sisters relocated to a new convent in Saint-Benoît-Labre.
Abandoned soon after, the site deteriorated rapidly. A fire in 2008 destroyed much of the structure, leaving behind only charred walls and foundations. By the 2010s, the abbey had become an unofficial ruin, overrun by vegetation and stripped of its original religious character.
Today, the site has been transformed into a graffiti and urban art landmark, directly accessible along a popular bike and pedestrian trail. The crumbling remains of the abbey’s concrete walls serve as canvases for murals, tags, and large-scale street art. In 2020, artist RenéeRose added two murals, including a contemplative female figure and a rose surrounded by birds, connecting the new artwork to the site’s spiritual past.
What was once a cloistered monastic retreat is now an open, evolving cultural landscape: part ruin, part nature reclaiming, and part outdoor gallery where local artists and passers-by contribute to its ongoing story.