FREE VISIT OF THE CHAPEL OF THE MONASTERY OF THE VISITATION, September 2018, Monastery of the Visitation Troyes, from Saturday, September 15 to Sunday, September 16 Dating from the 17th century and Erected between 1641 and 1664, the chapel includes a painting by Pierre Mignard.
Monastery of the Visitation 75 rue André Beury, 10000 Troyes Aube Troyes Saturday, September 15, 2018
An American Visitandine remembers her visit to this Chapel and Monastery in 2009:
We began the day in Troyes walking to our Visitation Monastery from the hotel. It is situated on the main boulevard in town but behind a gate and wall that affords much privacy and enclosure. We entered the dimly lit chapel, typical for France, and Fr John and Fr Jim celebrated Mass, in English, with a Sister behind the grille repeating the readings in French, even the Gospel. It was a powerful liturgy and unique. Firstly, the community has retained only the high altar and it is apparent that the priest must usually say mass in the former way with his back to the people. Fr. John was privileged to wear a richly brocaded vestment that St Francis de Sales himself wore, and this moved him deeply. The chalice he used was one used by Fr. Brisson. When it came time for the Eucharistic prayer and consecration, Fr John also faced the high altar.
After this deep, profound Liturgy, we had a tour of the Chapel, with a unique stained glass window of St John the Baptist and family visiting the Holy Family, and a Visitation scene over the altar painted by a local Troyes artist. Troyes is the 45th foundation of the Visitation Order.
All the Sisters lined up to greet us, then took us to the shrine where Mother Chappuis was buried and the room in which she died. This room has a spot on the floor which is marked with a plaque where Jesus Himself appeared to her while she was praying for the future of the community. Jesus said to her, “I am with you”.
We walked to the parlor where Fr Brisson had his apparition of Our Lord as well.
The Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales are only a block away and their property touches the Visitation’s property. It’s a modern building, 1960’s, and an Oblate Sister showed us around. We viewed many encased objects of St. Leonie Aviat and Fr. Brisson, their chapel, a very fine museum and an additional chapel with his extraordinary clock.
The afternoon was free, so we went to the medieval section of Troyes, ate at an open air café and visited another art museum.
In the evening the bus took us to Plancy, where Fr. Brisson both was born and also died. A delightful Oblate Sister, Sr. Anne Hildegard, brought us to the room in which he died and included in her talk historical tidbits about the Marechal of France and World War 11. The remembrance of the war is very manifest in France. We proceeded to the ancient Chapel where Fr. Brisson worshipped as a boy, and Sr pointed out row 4 where at 8 years old he had an inspiration that he would do something for youth. We also saw the relic of St. Victor, hermit.