The General Chapter of 1494 approved a major collection of reforms which had been drawn up earlier that same year by Dom Jean de Cirey, the Abbot of Cîteaux, at a meeting in Paris with about 40 French abbots. Statute 35 of the Chapter confirms the acceptance of the document, and Statutes 36 to 39 of the Chapter form an introduction.
The present General Chapter, desiring as much as it is possible to desire, both our holy Order’s return to its proper state, and its reform, accepts, praises, renews, confirms and approves the articles transcribed here below…