In 1075, three lay brothers decided to devote themselves to the religious life and established themselves on land donated by Henry I of Verdun, Bishop of Liège, near the village of Flône. The site would serve as a convenient resting-place for travelers on the Tongres-Amay-Arlon road, and the lay brothers built a water mill and an oratory dedicated to Saint Matthew. In the 18th century, Jean-Jerome de Schroots (1725-1742) added a tithe house (maison de la dîme) and his successor Charles Delvaux de Fenffe rebuilt the abbatial palace.