THE FIRST MEETING OF ST FRANCIS DE SALES AND ST JANE DE CHANTAL, CO-FOUNDERS OF THE ORDER OF THE VISITATION OF HOLY MARY!
The initial encounter on 5 March 1604 between Francis de Sales and Jane deChantal during the Lenten sermons held in Dijon is described by their biographer as being providentially predestined. Each friend had prophetic spiritual visions about their relationship prior to setting eyes on each other; hence, when they saw each other at the Sainte Chapelle, the saints “recognized each other from the first.”Accepting the foresights as divine revelation, the saints are encouraged in their pursuit and cultivation of a friendship that would be the root of an immense legacy to the Christian spiritual tradition.
André Ravier asks, “By what chance was Jeanne Frémyot de Chantal attending the Lenten series in Dijon?”Francis de Sales answers this question in his brief note to Jane de Chantal: “It seems to me that that God has given me to you; I am assured of this more keenly as each hour passes.”
Source:
DANIEL WISNIEWSKI,O.S.F.S”God has given me to you”:Divine Action in the Friendship of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal http://hosted.desales.edu/files/salesian/library/Wisneiwski-Encounter.pdf
As we know, the Visitation Order was founded six years after this first meeting, on June 6, 1610, and we are approaching the 410th anniversary of our Foundation this year!
May the spiritual friendship that St Francis de Sales and St Jane de Chantal shared be an example to all and may its spirit permeate and help dissolve the tensions of our times, as we explore holy relationships with one another.