Basilica of the Visitation (Tomb of St. Francis of Sales)

The Story

The Basilica of the Visitation rises on a hillside above Annecy in the French Alps, the church of the Visitation monastery and the resting place of two great saints of the Catholic Reformation: St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal. St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622), bishop of Geneva residing at Annecy in an age when he could not enter his Calvinist see city, became one of the Church's most beloved spiritual teachers. His Introduction to the Devout Life taught lay people that holiness is possible in every walk of life, and his gentleness won countless souls back to the Catholic faith. With the widow Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641) he founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary at Annecy in 1610, a community marked by humility and interior devotion. Francis was canonized in 1665 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877; he is honored as patron of writers and journalists. Jane de Chantal was canonized in 1767. The present basilica, built between 1922 and 1930 for the Visitation monastery, enshrines their relics in the sanctuary, where the two founders rest near one another beneath bronze effigies. Pilgrims and travelers climb to the basilica for its shrine and its sweeping view over Annecy and its lake, especially around the feast of St. Francis de Sales on January 24. Annecy remains the spiritual home of the worldwide Salesian family inspired by his teaching.

Church Recognition

A minor basilica serving the Visitation monastery of Annecy; it enshrines the relics of St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church, and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, co-founders of the Order of the Visitation.

Catholic Teaching

St. Francis de Sales taught that the call to holiness is universal, to be lived faithfully in every state of life, a teaching echoed by the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism (CCC 2013); the veneration of the founders' relics expresses the communion of saints (CCC 957).

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Practical

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Pilgrims venerate the tombs of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal in the basilica's sanctuary and visit the Visitation monastery and the Salesian sites of old Annecy; devotion peaks around the feast of St. Francis de Sales on January 24.

Go Deeper

Read St. Francis de Sales's Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God, and explore the Diocese of Annecy's resources on the Salesian heritage of the town where both founders lived and now rest.