The oldest form of religious life is the monastic life (of the Greek : monastès, solitary). The First Christians who left the world to devote themselves completely to God were hermits, i.e. recluses, from where the name of monks or moniales (of Greek: monos, only) comes. They lived in huts close to each other and met to participate in common religious exercises. The most famous of them lived in Egypt, in the desert of thébaïde: Saint Palémon, Saint Paul the hermit, Saint Antoine and Saint Pacôme. in the 4th century, Saint Pacôme gathered disciples together in a community, thus founding the category of monks living jointly in a monastery.

The Abbaye of Mont-de-la-Rédemption is a congregation of contemplative nuns, from the great Benedictine family, founded by Saint Benedict of Nursie in the sixth century. It is an autonomous Canadian foundation, connected to the Benedictine Confederacy under the presidency of the Abbott Primate. The nuns live under the rules of Saint Benedict.

The nuns alternate their time between prayer and work, according to the teachings of their founding father. The main aim of the monastic life is to search for God. in the life of every Christian, prayer is an important means of meeting the Lord, but in a monastery, it occupies a privileged place. The nuns sing every day, in French, Vigils, Laudes, Sext, Terce, Nonnes, Evensong and Compline.