La Basilique de la Visitation

Visit Date: Saturday, 28th September, 2013

The Basilica, otherwise known as "The Visitation of Annecy" in English, comprises of a monastery and a church, partway up one of the many mountains surrounding Annecy. The monastery was built between 1909 and 1911, while the church itself was built between 1922 and 1930. The clock tower, which chimes the hour, is 72m tall and hides underneath a structure built in reinforced concrete. The church was designed in a neo-roman style by architect Alfred-Henri Recoura. The simple exterior contrasts with the inside décor, where there are 12 columns built in blue marble from Savoie. 

The Basilica was built as a gesture of gratitude to the Lord for Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal. The effigies of both saints lie within the church, either side of the altar. There is also an effigy in the Museum, where Saint Francis is clothed with an alb and a chasuble which had been embroidered for the second centenary of his canonisation in 1865.

Saint Francis de Sales was born in the castle of Sales at Thorens, approximately 20km from Annecy, in 1567. He was a gentleman, a scholar and a lawyer. He was ordained a priest in 1593 and later became Bishop of Geneva, while still living in Annecy (before Haute-Savoie was formerly adjoined to France). He was received by King Henry IV several times. He remained a faithful "shepherd of the diocese" and travelled throughout his 600 parishes on a mule, visiting the most distant villages, constantly prepared to serve the underprivileged. He died of cerebral haemorrhage in 1622 at the age of 55.

Saint Jane de Chantal was born in Dijon in 1572, daughter of the president of the Burgundian Parliament. At the age of 20 she married the Baron de Rabutin-Chantal. She had 6 children, 2 of whom died at birth. Her husband died 8 years into their marriage, leaving Jane de Chantal a widow at age 28 with 4 children between the ages of 5 years and 3 weeks in her care. Jane de Chantal met Francis de Sales in 1604 in Dijon, where he was giving a sermon; he became her spiritual guide. She moved to Annecy on the 29th March, 1610, and between 1615 and 1641 she founded 87 monasteries. She died at Moulins in 1641.