Our journey northwards takes us on a quick stop in West Virginia. We celebrated Mass at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Beckley WV.
This was a surprisingly nice little church. The interior was much bigger even than it looked from the outside. Behind the Tabernacle, under the Crucifix is written words from the Bread of Life discourse in John’s Gospel. “He who eat my flesh and drink my blood have life everlasting.” V54
Francis de Sales lived 21 August 1567 – 28 December 1622). He was a Bishop of Geneva and is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.
Sales was buried on 24 January 1623 in the church of the Monastery of the Visitation in Annecy, which he had founded with Chantal, who was also buried there. Their remains were venerated there until the French Revolution. Many miracles have been reported at his shrine. De Sales’ heart was kept in Lyon, in response to the popular demand of the citizens of the city to retain his remains. During the French Revolution, however, it was saved from the revolutionaries by being carried by the Visitation nuns from Lyons to Venice.
Francis de Sales was beatified in 1661 by Pope Alexander VII, who then canonized him four years later. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1877.
