When he established his congregation, St. Francis de Sales envisioned a community of women who would not be bound by the austerities of the more rigorous religious orders of the day. Rather, the Sisters would practice an interior asceticism whose source would be charity and whose distinguishing virtues would be humility before God and gentleness toward their neighbor. The order would be essentially contemplative but also active to the extent that the professed Sisters would take turns going out among the people for a couple of hours a day, tending to the needs of the poor, the sick, and the dying. Although Francis saw this apostolic work as "an aid to the life of prayer and contemplation within the convent," such a practice was quite unheard of at the time. "Active and contemplative were considered mutually exclusive, not only for spiritual reasons, but for administrative ones: contemplatives were strictly enclosed and never went out." Despite his original hope of having the Sisters combine prayer with an exterior apostolate, the Bishop of Geneva eventually acceded to the wishes of the Archbishop of Lyons, in whose diocese a new Visitation monastery had been founded in 1615, and agreed that "the simple Annecy Institute" would become a cloistered religious order. It would fall to St. Francis' friend, St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), to establish some years later (1633) an active order which would be known as the Daughters of Charity.

Among the questions to be settled in the early days of Francis and Jane's fledgling institute was its name. Several possibilities had occurred to the bishop, including "Oblates of the Blessed Virgin" and "Daughters of Saint Martha," but the idea that kept coming to St. Francis de Sales was more along the lines of "Sisters of the Visitation." By July 1, 1610, the Sisters were calling themselves "Religious of the Visitation of Holy Mary." Many people thought he chose the word "Visitation" to indicate that the Sisters were out visiting the needy in their homes, but actually St. Francis used the name in a spiritual sense because, as one of his biographers writes, "'a thousand lights' concerning the evangelical mystery of the Visitation had come to him for his institute."

By the time of St. Francis de Sales' death in 1622, thirteen monasteries had been founded, and when St. Jane died nearly twenty years later, there were seventy-four more houses of the Visitation, for a total of eighty-seven. Today there are approximately 3,000 Visitation sisters in 150 monasteries throughout the world, including eleven foundations in the United States. Six of these monasteries in the U.S. are cloistered and belong to what is known as the First Federation; five, including the original foundation at Georgetown in Washington, D.C., are involved in teaching or other active apostolates and comprise the Second Federation. As these communities celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first foundation in Annecy, it seems to be a particularly appropriate time to reflect upon the riches of the mystery of the Visitation, the event in the life of our Blessed Lady that we commemorate today as the Second Joyful Mystery of the rosary. What was there about it that so touched the heart and soul of St. Francis de Sales that he would put his congregation under its patronage?

To answer this question, let us begin at the beginning, so to speak, and turn to the Gospel of St. Luke. The story is a familiar one:

Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and cried out in a loud voice: "Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb. But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leapt in my womb for joy. Blest is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled" (Lk. 1:39-45). Our Blessed Lady responded, St. Luke tells us, with what has come to be known as her Magnificat, proclaiming the greatness of God and extolling his mercy throughout all generations (1:46-55). She stayed with Elizabeth "about three months" before returning home (1:56). Elizabeth gave birth to a son, and her relatives and friends "rejoiced with her" when they heard that "the Lord had extended his mercy to her" (1:57-58).

Certainly there are many ways to approach this mystery. It has, no doubt, been the subject of two thousand years of Scriptural exegeses, commentaries, and sermons. In fact, we have in English at least two sermons of St. Francis de Sales on the subject, one for the feast of the Visitation in 1618, the other for the feast day in 1621. In these sermons St. Francis de Sales spoke about the reasons Our Lady had for visiting Elizabeth, why she "proceeded in haste," the blessings she brought to the house of Zechariah, the role of the Holy Spirit, and Elizabeth's response. He also spoke about the virtues Mary demonstrated in visiting her cousin and told the Sisters of the Visitation how they could apply the lessons of this mystery to their own spiritual lives.

One theme that runs throughout both of these sermons is the way in which the Visitation demonstrates a perfect blend of humility and charity:

[F]or what is the Visitation of Our Lady to holy Elizabeth if not a meeting of humility and charity, or a summary of the effects of these two virtues practiced by the holy Virgin toward her cousin? Humility and charity have only one object, God, as they tend toward union with Him; nevertheless they pass from God to the neighbor, and it is in this transfer that they attain their perfection. St. Francis de Sales' use of the phrase "holy Elizabeth" to describe Mary's elderly cousin offers us a good place to begin pondering this mystery, namely, from the point of view of the woman who received Mary into her home. What do we know about Elizabeth? What can we infer? What was her vocation in life, her unique role in God's unfolding plan of the Incarnation of His only Son?

Elizabeth

St. Luke tells us that Elizabeth was "a descendant of Aaron" and the wife of Zechariah "of the priestly class of Abijah" (1:5). She and her husband were worthy in the sight of God, devout Jews, faithfully observant of all the commandments of God (1:6). The great sorrow of her life was her barrenness: "They were childless, for Elizabeth was sterile; moreover, both were advanced in years" (1:7).

Suddenly one day everything changed. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the temple and told him that his prayer had been answered. Elizabeth would bear a son. He was to be named John (1:13). He would be his parents' joy and delight, "great in the eyes of the Lord" (1:14-15). From his mother's womb he would be "filled with the Holy Spirit" (1:15), turning the sons of Israel back to the Lord (1:16), to the living of wise and virtuous lives, so as to "prepare for the Lord a people well-disposed" (1:17).

Zechariah, considering his own age and that of his wife, did not believe this could happen. Gabriel replied that since Zechariah doubted the angel's words would come true "at their appointed time," (1:20), Zechariah would be struck dumb until the events took place. Zechariah, somewhat shaken, left the temple and returned home (1:22-23). Sometime later Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she "went into seclusion" (1:24). "In these days," she said, "the Lord is acting on my behalf; he has seen fit to remove my reproach among men" (1:25).

Elizabeth, it is clear, was the beneficiary of a miracle. Her upright moral life prepared the way for her to be open to receive the grace of God in her life. God, in His goodness and mercy, surprised her. She knew what it was to suffer and to be scorned for something (her barrenness) that was beyond her control. Yet, out of her years of suffering, God gave her joy far surpassing anything she could have planned or wished for herself. She recognized the great things God was doing for her, and her response was to keep to herself for five months. She knew the value of silence, solitude, prayer, and contemplation.

The Encounter with Mary

At this point Mary entered the picture. Like Zechariah, Mary had been visited by the angel Gabriel. His message to her was even more wonderful than his message to Zechariah. It would, indeed, change the course of human history. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she was to become the mother of Jesus, the Son of God (1:31-32). Not only that, the angel told her, her kinswoman Elizabeth had "conceived a son in her old age" (1:36). Assenting in faith to God's plan for her life, Mary pronounced her "fiat" (1:38) and then reached out to Elizabeth, "proceeding in haste into the hill country" (1:39) to visit and to assist her elderly cousin in her time of need. The words of the prophet Isaiah come to mind: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion, 'Your God is King!'" (Is. 52:7).

St. Francis de Sales, in his 1618 sermon for the feast of the Visitation, suggested several reasons that Mary went to visit Elizabeth. She went, not only to be of help to her elderly cousin, but also "to see that great wonder, or that great grace, which God had worked in behalf of this good old and barren woman"; she went "in order to tell her of the exalted mystery of the Incarnation which had been worked in her"; and she went because "she knew that this visit would draw down an immense number of blessings upon the house of Zechariah . . . ." As to why she "proceeded in haste," St. Francis explained:

The Evangelist says that the Virgin proceeded in haste and went up into the hill country of Juda, to show the promptitude with which we should respond to divine inspirations; for when the Holy Spirit touches a heart, He puts to flight all tepidity: He loves diligence and promptitude, and is the enemy of procrastination and delays in the performance of the divine will.

When Mary entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth, she became, it could be said, "a light to all in the house" (Mt. 5:15). Mary greeted Elizabeth, but before she lifted a finger to help her in any practical way, she was first present to Elizabeth and, by virtue of her presence, brought Elizabeth the presence of Christ. In this sense it can be said that Mary "evangelized" her cousin in her home, bringing her, quite literally, the "good news" of the presence of Christ in the world. Mary extended herself to a member of her family, someone whose situation paralleled her own, at least in its outward appearance. The two women shared a bond that went beyond a familial one and rose to the level of a spiritual friendship, based upon a mutual recognition of God's extraordinary action in their lives. Mary went "to rejoice with her kinswoman . . . that they might mutually help one another give glory to God, who had lavished such graces upon both . . . ."

Elizabeth welcomed and embraced Mary. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth felt the child John leap in her womb for joy at the presence of the unborn Messiah (Lk. 1:41). She recognized Mary's singular role in salvation history: "Blest are you among women, and blest is the fruit of your womb" (1:42). Moved by the Holy Spirit to a posture of profound humility and deep faith, she cried out, "But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (1:43); and further, "Blest is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled" (1:45).

Elizabeth then became the first to hear Mary proclaim her Magnificat (Lk. 1:46-55). Certainly Elizabeth could identify with Mary's words extolling the greatness of God, glorifying His holy name and rejoicing in His saving deeds. Was she not, like Mary, a "lowly handmaid" of the Lord? Did she not recognize from the events of her own life that God's mercy extended "from age to age for those who fear him"? Had she not experienced God's power to "exalt the lowly"? Was she not now "filled with good things"?

Elizabeth spent three months in the company of Mary (1:56). Having been embraced by Mary, she now allowed herself to be helped by Mary. We can imagine the two women praying and working together, conversing not only as relatives, but also as friends. "The time these two women spent together was one of prayer in the living presence of God Incarnate, as well as a time of hidden, mutually rendered service." Surely Mary and Elizabeth must have marveled at the great things God was doing in their lives. At other times they must have simply enjoyed being in each other's company. (We could even speculate with a touch of humor that after five months of living with a husband who was unable to speak, Elizabeth would have been only too happy to have someone to talk to!)

There is a little-noted gospel verse that comes to mind here. After Our Lord raised Lazarus from the dead, St. John wrote, "This caused many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary [emphasis added], and had seen what Jesus did, to put their faith in him" (Jn. 11:45). In that instance, as in the case of Elizabeth some thirty years before, witnessing the mighty deeds of the Lord and having contact with Mary led to faith in Christ.

As St. Francis de Sales saw in Mary the model of a young woman totally conforming herself to God's will in her life, he may have seen in "holy Elizabeth," she who bore "fruit in old age" (Ps. 92:14), a beautiful example of a mature, faith-filled woman. Open to God's grace and obedient to His commandments from her youth, Elizabeth was ready to receive and respond to His gratuitous action in her life with great joy at the "appointed time" (Lk. 1:20). Her ordinary home life became the vehicle for the manifestation of a key part of God's plan of salvation in her life and in the lives of others. Out of her blameless, patient suffering God brought good beyond all measure. Out of her marriage to Zechariah came her unique vocation of giving the world John the Baptist, the Precursor of the Lord. Out of her silence and prayer came the capacity to welcome and embrace Mary, to be befriended by her, and to recognize the presence of Christ within her. Never did this simple woman imagine that her words of greeting to her younger cousin would become part of a prayer that would be uttered by the Church untold times throughout the centuries: "Blest are you among women, and blest is the fruit of your womb" (Lk. 1:42). Surely Elizabeth would agree with St. Francis de Sales when he said, "Oh, how delightful and profitable it is to be visited by this holy Lady, for her visit always brings us many blessings."

The Spirit of the Visitation

There is, indeed, much food for thought in St. Luke's account of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. Perhaps we have touched upon a few of the "thousand lights" that came to the mind of St. Francis de Sales as he pondered this beautiful mystery and put his newfound community under its patronage. He wanted his Visitandine nuns to imitate the virtues of Our Blessed Lady who went to be of service to her cousin Elizabeth with charity and humility, with zeal and joy: "Oh, then, my dear Sisters," he exhorted them, "be most careful to model your lives on hers: Be meek, humble, charitable and kind, and magnify the Lord with her during this life." He assured them that if they did so "humbly and faithfully in this world," they would "undoubtedly sing the Magnificat in Heaven" with Mary herself.

This same spirit that St. Francis de Sales so desired for the first Visitandines has been carefully preserved and handed down throughout the past four centuries, as thousands of dedicated women have lived quiet, faithful lives of loving service to God and neighbor. A book compiled to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first foundation contains this observation: "The mystery of the Visitation, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, portrays communication and friendship between women. . . . this mystery has inspired union among monasteries and linked them with Annecy, as their 'Holy Source.'" May it continue to do so well into the twenty-first century and beyond.

Elisabeth Stopp, Madame de Chantal: Portrait of a Saint, 2nd ed. (Stella Niagara, N.Y. : DeSales Resource Center, 2002), 122.

Ibid.

Andre Ravier, S.J., Francis de Sales: Sage and Saint, trans. Joseph D. Bowler, O.S.F.S. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1988), 195.

Ibid., 191.

Ibid.

Ibid., 195.

Ibid., 197.

Moira E. McLaughlin, "400th Anniversary of Visitation Order Seen as Reminder of Motto, to 'Live Jesus,' MyCatholicStandard, 28 January 2010

Lewis S. Fiorelli, O.S.F.S., ed., The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales on Our Lady, trans. Nuns of the Visitation (Rockford, Ill.: Tan Books, 1985), 157.

Ibid., 49-50.

Ibid., 56.

Ibid., 50.

Madame de Chantal, 125.

Sermons on Our Lady, 168.

Ibid., 60.

Ibid.

The Visitation: A Monastic Way of Life in the Church (Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2008), 32.