Annecy -- Cradle of the Apostolic Movement

 

Annecy is a beautiful and vibrant place, but its religious history makes it so much more incredible, especially for the Sisters of St. Joseph. It is the town where Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal emerged to establish a new movement in the Church where religious women could leave the cloister, devote themselves to helping the poor, and still live a rich, spiritual life. Unfortunately, the early 17th century Church was not yet ready for its nuns to take to the streets and provide service to others, so this movement was forestalled. Nevertheless, a new concept had been conceived, and it would eventually impact other women who wanted to serve people in a more active yet prayerful way.

 

Bishop Francis de Sales helped launch the Apostolic Movement, the fourth great movement in the Church's history, by working with Baronness Jeanne de Chantal, one of his disciples, to found the Daughters of Visitation in 1610. He described the Daughters as "a simple congregation of women without solemn vows, not cloistered, active, open to all people, disabled or sick; so as to care for the poor, the sick and the needy." 

But Church authorities found this vision too shocking, so in 1616, Francis de Sales had to accept the fact that his "Visitandines" had to return to the cloister. The  subsequent work of Vincent de Paul and Francis Regis would open the door for women to form religious congregations that adopted Francis de Sales' vision, including the Sisters of St. Joseph of Le Puy.

Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), a French priest, became aware of the immense material and spiritual poverty among people in rural areas. His influence with the powerful men of his day helped him found and fund charitable works like setting up soup kitchens, taking in orphaned children, and providing hospices for the elderly. He also established community hospitals and schools, offered job training to the unemployed, taught the young to read and write, and improved prison conditions. In 1633, he and Louise de Marillac, a widow, founded the Daughters of Charity in Paris, a group of women dedicated to serving the "poorest of the poor". 

Vincent de Paul likened the Daughters' work to the cloister only in different terms. He wrote:

"The Daughters of Charity have… for a convent, the houses of the sick; for cell, a rented room; for chapel, the parish church; for cloister, the streets of the city; for enclosure, obedience; for grille, the fear of God; and for veil, holy modesty.”

Although Francis Regis (1597-1640) wanted to be a missionary in Canada, his superiors wanted him to bring the Gospels to the peasants of southern France. It was a lucky thing they did for this Jesuit priest impressed people not only with his height, his gentleness, the strength of his persuasion, and his austere lifestyle but with his compassion for the poor. 

He arrived in Le Puy in 1636 and established numerous charitable works. He started soup kitchens, visited hospitals and prisons, taught prostitutes how to become lacemakers, and defended lace makers during their strikes. He established the refuge of Montferrand, which 12 years later became the birthplace of the Sisters of St. Joseph. 
 

In 1650, the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph was founded by Jean-Pierre Médaille. Thanks to Bishop Henri de Maupas' work in giving the group canonical status, this ecclesiastically-approved congregation of women would profess simple vows, live in a small groups with no specific apostolates, and dress in a common garb of the widows of their day. In the evening, the women made ribbon and lace to support themselves so that they could minister to the poor during the day. By 1950, the SSJs numbered to 30,000 members with 56 motherhouses on every continent of the globe. Francis de Sales, Vincent de Paul, and Francis Regis had been the sisters' models and the new movement took hold.

 

 

 Francis de Sales is highly honored in Annecy where he served as bishop of the diocese. This statue of him stands in the old city near the canal and near the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy.

 

 

 

The motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph is on the other side of the lake before you reach the canal. The sisters arrived here on May 7, 1833, in response to a request from Bishop Rey who had previously worked with them in Pignerol, Italy. 

  

 

Église St. Francis de Sales

Inspired by the design of Rome's Church of the Gesù, this Catholic church is also known as the Church of the Italians, and it provides Mass in Italian). Dating to the early 17th century, its Baroque interior dazzles its visitors with teal and white walls and a showy gilt altarpiece. 

The church's other distinction is that it had once served as the resting place of Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal before the Basilica of the Visitation was built in 1930. 

 

 The main altar of the church. A Black Madonna stands near the altar as one of 180 other places in France where she is venerated.

 

 

The former resting places of Francis de Sales (left) and Jane de Chantal (right). They were moved to the Basilica of the Visitation, which was built in 1930. Jane de Chantal's resting place has a grill behind it to signify her monastic life.

Various side altars line the nave and match the main altar in form. The altar below features the dying Joseph as Jesus and Mary comfort him.

The altar below shows Bishop Francis de Sales praying. On the top left of the altar is St. Sebastian with a mustache, an unusual depiction of the young man who suffered the piercing of many arrows into his body.

 

Basilica of the Visitation

 

 

This majestic neo-gothic basilica is located on a hill overlooking the city of Annecy. It was built between 1922-30 as a gesture of gratitude to the Lord for the gift of two great saints: Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal.  

The basilica acquired the name of Visitation to honor one of the hidden mysteries of the church as told in the story of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45).  

The bell tower, built of reinforced concrete, rises to a height of 236 feet under the stone cladding. 

The front entrance of the basilica has a high coffer rounded arch and a decorative tympanum (triangular structure inset).

The tympanum was filled with a bas-relief representing a cross planted in an urn from which two vine branches emerge. Doves peck at the grapes, which symbolizes the faithful approaching the sacrament of the Eucharist.

The basilica interior has a magnificent 12 columns made of blue Savoy marble. The basilica is constructed on rock to give the impression of the church's solidity. It also expresses the essential part of the mission of Francis de Sales, as a "builder" of the Church in the spirit of the Counter Reformation's Council of Trent (1545 -1563). This was a time of renewal for the Church after it had been challenged by Martin Luther and the Reformation that produced Protestantism.

This mosaic on the back wall of the sanctuary recalls the spirit of Francis de Sales, the mysteries of the Trinity, and the Redemption. The lit up face of Christ dying on the cross is sorrowful but peaceful. Some of His blood is offered by the angels, some falls into the chalice indicating that the sacrifice of the Eucharist is identical to that of the cross. For Francis, the Mass is "the sun of spiritual exercises...an ineffable mystery that includes the depths of divine Charity." The mosaic is made of Venetian enamel. 

 

  

 

 

The elaborate tabernacle features a sculpted genealogical tree of the Messiah called the "Tree of Jesse".

 

 

 

 

 

The bronze coffins of Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal contain the remains of the two saints in their final resting place. A prayer accompanies each coffin.

 

 

 

 

Prayer:  

Lord, you willed that the bishop, Saint Francis de Sales, should become the servant of all in all things for the salvation of souls. Grant that, helped by his example, we may witness to your tender love by devoting ourselves to our fellow men. Through Jesus our lord.

Prayer:

Lord, you granted St. Jane Frances de Chantal the grace to attain to a high degree of sanctity in different states of life. Grant us through her intercession the grace to correspond faithfully to our vocation, and witness to your guidance in all circumstances. Through Jesus Christ our lord.

 

 

 

The back of the basilica (and the front of the basilica's exterior) features this stained glass window with a cross, reminiscent of gothic church's rose window. The stained glass windows on each side of the basilica tell the life stories of Francis de Sales and Jane Chantal. Below are three windows of St. Francis de Sales.

Attached to the basilica is the monastery (square on the right) where the Visitation nuns have lived since 1911. The community founded by Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal on June 6, 1610, had been located in different parts of the city. Today, there are about 165 Visitation monasteries throughout the world. 

According to a brochure published by the basilica, the sisters are called to live in the spirit of the joyful mystery of the Visitation, of intimate piety, humility, and sisterly charity, according to the intuition of the founders. The community is marked by silence, work, and prayer to which they consecrate four hours per day.

The sisters participate in the mission of the Church by witnessing to the love of God which permeates their lives. Although they live in cloister, they are not cut off from the world. They bear in their prayers the joys and sorrows of the people of our times. The sisters also receive religious and lay women who would like to deepen their faith. One of the ways they may do this is by sharing in the monastic life of the community, which Francis de Sales advocated since the origin of the Order.