the Visitation order?

[MarysLittleFlower]

I realized that an order I don't know anything about is the Visitation. I just learned a tiny bit about them today. Can someone explain please what is their main charism? What sets them apart from other orders? Their history? Who are some Saints who were in this order? I know some answers to these questions but not in more detail. Are there good Visitation communities today in North America? Just any information would be great, thank you!!

[Maggyie]

The "Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary" is my favorite order!

St Margaret Mary and St Jane are two well known Visitandines. 

With the St Margaret Mary connection there is a great devotion to the Sacred Heart. 

PS in terms of communities, check out the Georgetown Visitation, the Mobile Visitation or the Visitation in Toledo, OH. 

[LoveZoe11]

I've been discerning on and off with the visitation sisters in Tyringham MA for over a year now! They are an amesome  order. ( There's a sister in Tyringham named Sister Gemma, btw.) The order was founded in France by St. Jane DeChantel, a widow and St. Frances de Sales. Salesian spirituality is based on gentleness and joy. The Visitation Sisters are unique in that they accept women with physical disabilities and older women, because of this they are less austere in their daily routine then say the Carmelites or Cisterians are. There are s couple of communities in a the US. I believe there is a community in Mobile, Alabama, Delaware and Tyringham MA.

Here is the he website  for the sisters in Tyringham: visityr.org

Edited January 14, 2016 by LoveZoe11
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[John Paul]

11 hours ago, MarysLittleFlower said:

I realized that an order I don't know anything about is the Visitation. I just learned a tiny bit about them today. Can someone explain please what is their main charism? What sets them apart from other orders? Their history? Who are some Saints who were in this order? I know some answers to these questions but not in more detail. Are there good Visitation communities today in North America? Just any information would be great, thank you!!

http://www.cloisteredlife.com/visitandines/

I found this a while back.

[NadaTeTurbe]

They have a focus on the Sacred Heart, because St François de Salles had a strong devotion to Him (he was one of the first theologian to write about it), and because the Sacred Heart appared to Ste Marguerie-Marie Alacoque in Paray Le Monial. They also have a lot of martyrs from the Spanish Civil War. They accept women with disabilities, older women, women who have parents to take care of, etc... They have a contemplative life (Divine Office, Silence, Adoration, Mental Prayer), but instead of focusing on penance and fast and monastic heroism, they focus on joy, being kind to your other sisters, humility, and praising God. They were known for their fine art in sewing, that you can admire here : 

http://www.musee-visitation.eu/index.php?module=contents&idrec=103

http://www.musee-visitation.eu/index.php?module=contents&idrec=35

http://www.musee-visitation.eu/index.php?module=contents&idrec=91

Léonie, the sister of Ste THerese of Lisieux, entered the visitation in the city of Caen. She's the patroness of people who have a hard time entering religious life : she entered the Visitation three times ! 

Read more about Ste Thérèse of Lisieux aunt, who was a Visitation sister, here : http://www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/sr-marie-dosithee (you can read her biography and letters with Therese's family) 

Read more about Léone Martin here : http://www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/chez-leonie There's a whole chapter about her life as a Visitandine. Here you can read about her life : http://www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/chez-leonie/sr-fran%C3%A7oise-th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se-visitandine/circulaire-de-sr-fran%C3%A7oise-th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se

François de Sales, introduction to the devout life : http://www.catholicspiritualdirection.org/devoutlife.pdf This book can CHANGE YOUR LIFE. I'm serious. I deeply encourage you to do the meditation in the beginning seriously,as well as reading the book and taking notes at the same time. 

I don't know if St François and Ste Jeanne letters are available in english ? It's amazing. 

I really think that will love this spirituality. It's a spirituality for people who can be anxious/scrupulous. It's about trusting in God's love and serving Him, but with humility and simplicity. I hesitated to message you about it, but I did not want to bother you. But since you've got Ste Jeanne de Chantal as your Saint for the year...  

 the seven martyrs sisters of the visitation, in Spain

 the sacred heart appared to Ste Marguerie Marie

 Ste Jeanne de Chantal 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/100012771@N06/18928388486/in/album-72157654765786591/ a sister from Lourdes having fun ! 

[MarysLittleFlower]

Thank you for all the information! :) I really like them and I love that they have a devotion to the Sacred Heart. Its really interesting too that St Margaret Mary was a Visitation nun! I'm wondering if anyone knows if any Visitation community has the Latin Mass too? I read that one has the Latin Novus Ordo sometimes but do any have the TLM? Also if I want to learn more about the spirituality of the Visitation what do you think could be the best book? There's introduction to the Devout Life which I would like to read, but I remember it was written for lay people, is the spirituality similar in the Visitation just adapted to religious? Thanks again!

[MarysLittleFlower]

I really like the spirituality in the order of being hidden with Jesus as well. I just read the life of Leonie Martin and I can relate to her so much in a way! Though I don't have health problems and haven't tried religious life several times, there are other things about her that are just really encouraging to me. I like how St Therese obtained her entrance into the order 

I think I found a reference to a book about the spirituality...  The Spiritual Directory?

[MarysLittleFlower]

Also am I correct that they are cloistered? 

2 hours ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

They have a focus on the Sacred Heart, because St François de Salles had a strong devotion to Him (he was one of the first theologian to write about it), and because the Sacred Heart appared to Ste Marguerie-Marie Alacoque in Paray Le Monial. They also have a lot of martyrs from the Spanish Civil War. They accept women with disabilities, older women, women who have parents to take care of, etc... They have a contemplative life (Divine Office, Silence, Adoration, Mental Prayer), but instead of focusing on penance and fast and monastic heroism, they focus on joy, being kind to your other sisters, humility, and praising God. They were known for their fine art in sewing, that you can admire here : 

http://www.musee-visitation.eu/index.php?module=contents&idrec=103

http://www.musee-visitation.eu/index.php?module=contents&idrec=35

http://www.musee-visitation.eu/index.php?module=contents&idrec=91

Léonie, the sister of Ste THerese of Lisieux, entered the visitation in the city of Caen. She's the patroness of people who have a hard time entering religious life : she entered the Visitation three times ! 

Read more about Ste Thérèse of Lisieux aunt, who was a Visitation sister, here : http://www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/sr-marie-dosithee (you can read her biography and letters with Therese's family) 

Read more about Léone Martin here : http://www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/chez-leonie There's a whole chapter about her life as a Visitandine. Here you can read about her life : http://www.archives-carmel-lisieux.fr/english/carmel/index.php/chez-leonie/sr-fran%C3%A7oise-th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se-visitandine/circulaire-de-sr-fran%C3%A7oise-th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se

François de Sales, introduction to the devout life : http://www.catholicspiritualdirection.org/devoutlife.pdf This book can CHANGE YOUR LIFE. I'm serious. I deeply encourage you to do the meditation in the beginning seriously,as well as reading the book and taking notes at the same time. 

I don't know if St François and Ste Jeanne letters are available in english ? It's amazing. 

I really think that will love this spirituality. It's a spirituality for people who can be anxious/scrupulous. It's about trusting in God's love and serving Him, but with humility and simplicity. I hesitated to message you about it, but I did not want to bother you. But since you've got Ste Jeanne de Chantal as your Saint for the year...  

 the seven martyrs sisters of the visitation, in Spain

 the sacred heart appared to Ste Marguerie Marie

 Ste Jeanne de Chantal 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/100012771@N06/18928388486/in/album-72157654765786591/ a sister from Lourdes having fun ! 

Nada, sorry for so many questions, I'm just wondering too is Leonie the one who had scruples? Or am I confusing her with someone else? Anyway I really like her! Thanks for all the info!

[MarysLittleFlower]

These are just curiosity questions I'm just wondering if the nuns have a title in their name when they become novices? How do they become novices compared to other orders? Do they wear wedding gowns? Just out of curiosity lol - of course there are more fundamental questions out there. 

[NadaTeTurbe]

Yes, they are cloistered. 
Léonie was the one who had scruples, yes ! I listened to a conference about her, and the priest told us that he prayed her when he had scruples. 
Things may change between monasteries, but usually, they receive a title when they become novice. "my" visitation sister is called sister Mary of the Cross, and another sister in the monastery is Sister Margaret of the Sacred Heart. 
I don't think there's fundamental difference when they become novice ? 
I don't think they use wedding gowns, but they receive a ring and bride of Christ. Maybe it's more that in France, wedding gowns are very unusual.
Also, Visitation monasteries can be the center of their local Guard of Honor to the Sacred Heart (members of the guard choose an hours by day that they consecrate to the Sacred Heart).

Here's a little translation about their spirituality that I found on the net : 

"At the Visitation, love the beginning, the mean, and the end of spiritual life. (...) Mother Chantal spoke about the "martyrdom of love" where "love separate us from ourselves, because love is strong as death. This martyrdom began when we give ourselves totally to god, til our death."
"(...) Love have to be proved by a life of charity. François de Sales prefered asceticism of the heart and the will, achievable even by people in poor health. 
The spirit of the Visitation is none other than the spirit that animated the Virgin Mary when she visited her cousin Elizabeth : spirit of union with the Incarnate Word , the spirit of Thanksgiving at the wonders of God, spontaneity and readiness to make the humble service of daily life. The visitation sisters mus imitate the Virgin Mary above all. 
The devotion to the Heart of Jesus dates back to the time of the foundation. Francis de Sales wrote to Jeanne : "... our little congregation is truly a work of the Heart of Jesus and Mary. The dying Savior gave birth to us by the opening of His Sacred Heart . "

(from  http://www.diocese-annecy.fr/haute-savoie/basilique-visitation/le-monastere/lordre-de-la-visitation/spiritualite-et-mystique-propres )

3 hours ago, MarysLittleFlower said:

I really like the spirituality in the order of being hidden with Jesus as well. I just read the life of Leonie Martin and I can relate to her so much in a way! Though I don't have health problems and haven't tried religious life several times, there are other things about her that are just really encouraging to me. I like how St Therese obtained her entrance into the order 

I think I found a reference to a book about the spirituality...  The Spiritual Directory?

Yes, the spiritual directory is the "founding book" for their spiritual life ! Introduction to the Devout Life is more for laypeople - it's about living holiness in your daily life and in the world, while the Spiritual Directory is about the Visitation's spirituality. 
The letters between Saint François and Sainte Jeanne are very good : http://www.amazon.com/Francis-Sales-Jane-Chantal-Spirituality/dp/0809129906 
or :  http://www.amazon.com/Selected-Letters-Saint-Frances-Chantal/dp/1493518976/ref=pd_sim_14_11?ie=UTF8&dpID=41V0cMYMCqL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=0CWFY4E8HY0G3RWE41BW

you can read some of her letters online, how cool is that ? https://archive.org/details/selectedletterso00chanuoft

I haven't read it, but this book maybe good for discernment : http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Gods-Will-Francis-Sales/dp/0918477832/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=517aNvy2M6L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR103%2C160_&refRID=0CWFY4E8HY0G3RWE41BW I'm seriously thinking of buying it ! 

Sermons of St François are a must : http://www.amazon.com/The-Sermons-St-Francis-Sales/dp/0895552590/ref=pd_sim_14_25?ie=UTF8&dpID=51EZVJu40hL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=0CWFY4E8HY0G3RWE41BW

They also have a special cross who was designed by St François himself. The Oblate Sisters of St François de Sales and the Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus have the same. 

 

[MarysLittleFlower]

Thanks for all the information!! I really like how it's about imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I see they do less severe penances than other contemplative orders but this is because they are open to those who are weaker/have illnesses/older women, and they concentrate more on interior mortifications it seems. (of course there are still exterior mortifications in terms of detachment that just come with religious life, they are just less extreme than some others). They also focus on humility and charity. It's interesting, how orders are so different! and each one is for some unique purpose.

I thought I remembered how Leonie had scruples!! I think I found a new friend :D

Edited January 14, 2016 by MarysLittleFlower

[Nunsuch]

There is a recent doctoral dissertation on the spirituality and discipline of the 19th-century Visitation Nuns: "'Glorify and Bear God in Your Body': Rituals of Discipline and Resistance in the Lives of Nineteenth-Century Georgetown Visitation Nuns." I read it last summer. It is available through the ProQuest database, for those who have access to it. Or, if you want a copy and don't have access, p.m. me with your email, and I can send it to anyone interested (MLF? Nada?) as a PDF. 

The Georgetown Visitation nuns ran the first Catholic academy for women in the original U.S. (The Ursulines in New Orleans taught earlier, but they were not part of the US). There is a history of the community written by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop and her husband, George--Rose later became Mother Alphonsa, and was the foundress of the Dominican Sisters of Relief for Incurable Cancer (Hawthorne Dominicans).

 

[Luigi]

There are two federations of Visitation nuns: one federation is cloistered, the other is not as they add apostolic work.

My late aunt was taught by Visitation nuns in high school. One of her teachers (a nun) told her that there had been a lot of discussion in the order about whether they ought to remain fully cloistered or not. Some of the monasteries felt that their primary work was education of girls, others felt that their primary work was prayer. So there was a vote, and the division into two federations. They are all still on good terms with each other - it wasn't a competition, or a "split" in the order.

I'm not sure when that happened, but I'd say late 19th century. I'm also not sure that the federations extend beyond the US. I think it was the strong demand for Catholic education of girls in the US in the 19th century that led to the discussion in the first place.

Here's a link to an UNOFFICIAL page for the first federation (cloistered). It has links to the six first federation monasteries in the US plus one in England. http://cloisters.tripod.com/us_vhm_first_fed/

There used to be a web page for the second federation, too. I can't find that any more, but there is a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Visitation-Communities-2nd-Federation-211679762186220/timeline

[beatitude]

I have a short anthology of letters written by Jane de Chantal, A Simple Life. It was my spiritual reading back in April and May, when life was pretty tough going for me, and it was a tremendous comfort. Those letters are a real spiritual treasure trove and they give good insight into the Visitandine spirituality, as many of them were written for her nuns. I recommend that you read them. There are a couple of other English-language collections of her writing, too.

[NadaTeTurbe]

13 hours ago, Nunsuch said:

There is a recent doctoral dissertation on the spirituality and discipline of the 19th-century Visitation Nuns: "'Glorify and Bear God in Your Body': Rituals of Discipline and Resistance in the Lives of Nineteenth-Century Georgetown Visitation Nuns." I read it last summer. It is available through the ProQuest database, for those who have access to it. Or, if you want a copy and don't have access, p.m. me with your email, and I can send it to anyone interested (MLF? Nada?) as a PDF. 

The Georgetown Visitation nuns ran the first Catholic academy for women in the original U.S. (The Ursulines in New Orleans taught earlier, but they were not part of the US). There is a history of the community written by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop and her husband, George--Rose later became Mother Alphonsa, and was the foundress of the Dominican Sisters of Relief for Incurable Cancer (Hawthorne Dominicans).

 

Very interested ! Thank you !