Religion – a tricky subject anywhere in the world – can be especially difficult to bring up in France.  There’s a broad perception (based on dozens of polls – the French seem to like contemplating this question) that France is now a mostly secular society, and that the massive influence of the Catholic church from the Middle Ages to the Revolution is mostly a historical relic.  There are thousands of ancient churches and crumbling old abbeys, but it seems rare to see a new one.  That’s why, when Karen mentioned the visit she made with her women’s group to a 20th-cenury abbey at Randol, we decided we had to go back there together to learn more about what was going […]