The Feast of the Assumption

TOURNUS, FRANCE (Aug. 15)—We checked out of the hotel this morning and headed north to the region of France known as Bourgogne. We stopped in Tournus to see Abbaye Saint-Philibert, a magnificently restored Romanesque church.

As most of you know, Aug. 15 is the Feast of the Assumption, which is an important day in the Catholic religion. It celebrates the assumption of Mary’s body into heaven. It also is one of the holy days of obligation, which means that Catholics must go to Mass on this day. So as you would imagine, the church was PACKED. If it hadn’t been for all the people who turned out, you would never know that many people lived in this town. Here's a little video from inside the church.




So as not to disturb the worshippers, the Rev. John Rybolt, C.M., spoke softly in telling us about the church. He told us about the Roman floor mosaics and the massive “porch” that was added to the front of the church. He used the word “porch,” but what he was really talking about was a major addition of an enormous room (which is the one I am standing in throughout most of the video posted above). Then we all wandered around, so I took some pictures of the people in the church, listened to some of the Mass and then I made my way upstairs to see what the view was like from way up there.

BEAUNE, FRANCE (Aug. 15)—A short time later, we continued on to the town of Beaune, which is, indeed, très bon—and not just because it lies in the center of the Côte-d'Or wine-producing area. It was yet another very quaint French town.

Many businesses in Beaune and throughout France were closed because of the holy day. It’s odd that France is actually so Catholic for a country that prides itself on its secularism. Even big commercial trucks are not permitted to drive for the entire weekend because of the Catholic holy day, so they all just camp out in truck stop areas that whole time. (I was actually surprised that our motorcoach was allowed to drive around on the highways of France, given what they make the truck drivers do.)

The only businesses that seem to be open today were some restaurants, chocolate and pastry shops, and tabac shops, which are like our 7-Eleven stores, only much smaller.

We were on our own for lunch so a few of us went to a cafeteria style place with outdoor seating. I had a rubbery steak with frits. That was not very bonjour at all, as my DePaul colleague Tom Judge would say.

We then toured Hotel-Dieu, which was built in the 15th century as a hospital so it was typical of the hospitals that the church operated in the time of St. Vincent.

On the inside, it felt more like a church than a hospital because of the beautiful high ceilings, religious artifacts, altar and so on. A statue depicting Jesus’s suffering was there to let patients know that he overcame and that they could, too. The altar in the front of the room reminded everyone of the connection between spiritual and physical healing, Father Rybolt said. They put art in the hospital to relieve the pressure of being in the hospital. Most of the art was peaceful, but some of it wouldn’t have calmed me down. See what I mean?

Then in two neat rows on both sides of the length of the massive room were small hospital room dormers. The beds looked so comfortable and inviting. There were walls between the beds and the curtains in the front that could be drawn for privacy. Here’s a photo of Father Rybolt guiding us through the place.

The Hotel-Dieu was a real working hospital run by a religious order of sisters and endowed by the vineyards.

Part of the museum’s holdings included several self-inflicted enema pumps that looked like stainless steel versions of today’s caulk guns. Yikes!

While part of the building serves as a museum today, the rest serves as a retirement home that features a lovely courtyard. I didn’t see anyone sitting out there, but I’m sure they do sometimes.

We were told not to miss the part of the museum that contained an elaborate altarpiece of the Last Judgment by the Flemish artist Roger van der Weyden. It really is very striking. What is shown here is just a part of it.

All this touring sure made us thirsty. So it was nice that we capped it off with some Burgundian wine at Patriarche Pere et Fils, a local wine cellar.





A short time later, we gathered for dinner at Abbaye de Maizieres.




It was all very bonjour!