Where It All Began

FOLLEVILLE, FRANCE (Aug. 8)—We departed the hotel at 8:30 a.m. for Folleville, about two hours northwest of Paris. On the bus ride to Folleville, a town rich in the history of St. Vincent's beginnings as a priest, we got a glimpse of the rich and fertile French countryside through our bus windows.

On the way there, the Rev. John Rybolt, C.M. told us about the Gondi family and their strong ties to St. Vincent. The family came from Florence, Italy, to France and made a fortune in the banking industry. Phillipe Emanuel de Gondi was an admiral in charge of fleets in the Mediteranean. His wife, Marguerite, was also a noble, and we were going to see her property in Folleville. The family would have to visit Folleville once a year to collect feudal dues that were owed to them from people residing on their property.

Father Rybolt said that not only was madame responsible for collecting the dues, but in exchange for the dues, she was responsible for providing services much like a government would be today. In addition, she was responsible for the spiritual well being of everybody in the county. I'm not sure what the population was back in the day, but about 70 people live there today.

Father Rybolt said that a story came to her of a man who was sick or dying and wanted to go to confession before he died. She asked Vincent, her chaplain, to do it. The sick man was so moved by the conversion that happened in his life based on the confession, that he told Madame de Gondi. She convinced Vincent that he should preach on the importance of confession.

Vincent always tried to bring about reconciliation, Father Rybolt said. "There were always problems that had to be reconciled, and that's one thing that he did and that was one thing that he was good at."

Addressing our group of DePaul University faculty and staff in the Church of Folleville, Father Rybolt said, "Why we are what we are and why we have the name that we have began right here." Here's what the church looks like from outside:


Legend has it that Vincent gave his first sermon in the Church of Folleville from the pulpit pictured here:


It turns out the pulpit and other furniture weren’t around until about 20 years later. Nevertheless, there’s no disputing that the Congregation of the Mission had its origins in a sermon given by St. Vincent in this parish church, and there we were, standing exactly where he stood and where he took confession. It was rather moving.

This is what the altar of the church looks like:


And this what the back of the church looks like:


I loved this church for its elegance and simplicity, especially the back of the church. The rain outside served as the perfect backdrop, making the church and the remains of the Gondi mansion seem even more beautiful.

Next door, a building that houses what looks like a large, open community room served, at one point, as a place of rest for people on the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain (Folleville and Paris are both on the pilgrimage route). Here's what it looks like on the outside:

This is what it looks like inside:

We then stopped for fancy lunch at a quaint country restaurant called Le Relais de Sains restaurant. The meal started with a dish made of mushrooms, cheese and ham. I understand it was rich, creamy and delicious. It looked like a huge, smooshy quiche. That was followed by chicken and tangy vegetable mixture. The dessert was crème brulee. This time the portion was more civilized. We had wine, of course. I’m not used to chilled red wine. It’s an acquired taste.

AMIENS, France--Other than the whole Napoleon’s tomb thing, one of the great surprises of this trip was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

In his remarks about the church, the Rev. John Rybolt, C.M., said that the town of Amiens suffered a great deal during WWII. It was a transportation hub, and the train station was bombed and rubble littered the streets. As we approached the town, we expected to see a small cathedral, but holy cow, was this thing huge!

Our tour materials said: “Begun in 1220, this magnificent cathedral has an elegant nave, the highest in France. The interior has late medieval stained-glass windows and an 18th-century wrought-iron screen.” Hopefully the photos and video I post here will convey how awesome this place is.

The tour materials didn’t say anything about the fact that this cathedral has in its possession what is supposedly part of the head of John the Baptist. Who knows if it is or isn’t really his head? It looked scary, so it probably was his head. I can’t describe this one. You’ll just have to look at the photo and decide for yourself.

Given that this is allegedly the site of a major relic, I thought the cathedral would serve as a nice backdrop for an interview with Scott Kelley, assistant vice president of Vincentian scholarship at DePaul, on why relics are important in Catholicism:



Another interesting feature of the church is a labyrinth on the floor in the center of the church. Some people like to follow the path outlined by the labyrinth or do such things as praying aloud or chanting in church after mass. Kelley explained that people commonly engage in these exercises to make their religious practice less intellectual, to quiet the mind and to engage in contemplative prayer.

After our visit, it was back on the bus for our scenic ride through more beautiful French countryside as we returned to Paris.

We were on our own for dinner tonight, so three of us went out to dinner. We went to the Latin Quarter and decided we all wanted pizza. Because each pizza only cost 10 Euros or so, we assumed they must be individual pizzas. We were wrong. They were huge. The three of us probably could have shared one pizza.


We washed them down with Morettis, a beautifully smooth Italian beer that I never tried before. Now, I feel like I have to make up for lost time. I love you, Moretti!