Today was singular to say the least. Many of us woke early to see the startlingly clear, blue lake of Annecy. After some frigid swimming and a gorgeous sunrise, we met for breakfast and headed out for our day of exploration and veneration. We began our day with a bus ride to the Basilica where not one but two great saints rest. The first is Saint Francis De Sales, a priest, later the bishop of Geneva, filled with charisma and zeal for bringing the common folk to Christ. Buried alongside him is a slightly less well known saint, the founder of the Visitation order of sisters, Saint Jane Frances De Chantel. Frances was Jane's spiritual director, and the two were known for their close relationship. Though Jane survived her great friend by nearly twenty years, they are buried on opposite sides of the main altar in the same great basilica. After venerating their relics, we left the basilica and descended the great hill atop which it was perched, into the oldest part of the city of Annecy. There we wound our way through street vendors selling everything from the most delectable strawberries to brightly colored dresses . As we walked, we took pictures, many of which featured an imposing chateau and the other half with the bright blue of one of the clearest lakes in Europe. Yes, the same one we jumped in earlier that morning. It was freezing. And exquisite. Though we wished to spend more time in Annecy, we were even more excited about what, or rather who, was ahead of us. So, we boarded the bus and drove for four and a half hours up into the mountains. Highways gave way to narrow, winding roads that certainly weren't designed with tour buses in mind. In Lalouvesc stands the basilica of Saint John Francis Regis, the patron of our summer program and our parish. This passionate Jesuit lived a simple life that touched the lives of so many. From converting villages from protestantism to Catholicism to freeing prostitutes and giving them good work, this man's heart for God is written across the pages of his life. We prayed in the town where he died and visited a spring which is said to heal the faithful through his intercession. We then celebrated Sunday mass in a mountain chapel, surrounded on all sides by the babbling of brooks and the swaying of trees. The stained glass window in this little Chapel depicts a Jesuit priest adoring Mary...we like to think it's John Francis Regis. We retired to our hotel this evening for a top notch dinner and a much needed swim in the indoor pool. We head to bed looking forward to seeing more of the life of John Francis Regis tomorrow.
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