that was still hostile to religious, the sisters opened a school. Before the Revolution, two of the Abbeys had had small schools for the education of young girls, so this work was in direct continuity with their origins. Educational activities remain part of the charism of the Bernardines to this day. In 1806, building work began on the new monastery. It took 30 long years to reestablish their official statutes and interior rule which drew heavily on their Cistercian customs. The official erection of the Monastery of Notre Dame de la Plaine took place on May 28, 1827. By this time they had been joined by several other women, including two nuns from their former abbeys. The first hundred years The sisters were joined by many young women who shared in their ideals and the "new" monastery grew. A young chaplain who exercised disproportionate power in the life of the community imposed his own rule of life on the community, preventing them from following some of their Cistercian usages but the sisters clung to their customs and lived their Cistercian Rule in secret. In 1846, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Cambrai, they established a monastery and school in that town. During this time, the schools and monasteries at Esquermes and Cambrai prospered, and had a considerable influence in the area. However anticlericalism persisted in France, and the sisters foresaw the possibility of further difficulties with the authorities. This led them to found refuge communities, first in Belgium (Ollignies, 1883), and then in Slough in England (1897), Bonsecours in France (1904). The original intention at Esquermes had never been to establish a congregation, but the founding of new monasteries required new structures and new Constitutions, which were approved by Rome in 1909. In 1904, following anticlerical laws, the sisters were expelled from Esquermes and took refuge in the other houses of the order. Ollignies in Belgium became the mother house. Later developments The new code of Canon Law of 1917 opened the door for the Bernardines to refind their Cistercian identity. New constitutions were approved in 1937, which recognized the Bernardines as Cistercians. In 1955, official approval from Rome enabled the sisters to take solemn vows as Cistercian nuns. Spiritual links with both the Cistercians of the Strict Observance and the Common Observance were firmly established. Following the call of Pope Pius XII, monasteries were founded in Hamamatsu, Japan