The History of the St. Francis de Sales Association
On October 15, 1872, three of Fr. Chaumont's "directrees" including Madame Carré de Malberg, gathered for the first meeting on rue Cassette in Paris. They had traveled to Annecy in September of the same year and met in the house of "The Gallery" (where St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal had created the Visitation). They had intensely prayed with Fr. Chaumont to discern their vocation. That is why this October date is celebrated as the date of the founding of the association. We find our roots in the teachings of Fr. Chaumont, without a doubt, but more deeply in the thought of St. Francis de Sales. What should we look for in them? To what needs, inspired by the Spirit, should they respond? A survey of the respective historical periods in which they lived will allow us to understand more precisely the "how" and "why" of their reactions to the realities of their times.
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