Receive reasons to believe
< Find all the Reasons here
EVERY REASON TO BELIEVE
Des miracles étonnants
n°231

Annecy (France, Haute-Savoie)

28 April 1623

Saint Francis de Sales brings back to life a victim of drowning (1623)

In 1623, eight-year-old Françoise-Angélique de La Pesse drowned in the Thiou canal in Annecy. Her lifeless body was found three hours later. At the end of the day, the little girl came back to life after her mother had prayed to Francis de Sales, the bishop and miracle-worker who had died the previous year. Dozens of miracles had already been reported during the lifetime of this saint. All of them, without exception, testify to the evangelical love at the heart of his life and work. Saint Francis de Sales' feast day is on 24 January.

CC0 George Hodan
CC0 George Hodan

Reasons to believe:

  • One coudn't say that the girl was not dead but simply unconscious. She could not swim and her body, swept several hundred metres by the current, was not found until three hours after the accident. The death was certified by a certain Dr Grandis. Although medicine was still in its infancy in the 17th century, the doctors of the time were absolutely able to certify a death by drowning.
  • This miracle is not a pious legend: all the circumstances are documented: the date, place, time, and names of the witnesses.
  • Not only is the account of the miracle very detailed, but it has never been called into question by anyone: not by the family of the victim, or the doctors, or city officials, or the clergy. On the contrary, it was duly recorded by numerous reliable witnesses.
  • The miracle took place in Annecy, the town where Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva (Switzerland), had taken refuge. In 1610, François Viollon de La Pesse, the girl's father, had made his home in Annecy available to Francis de Sales.
  • The facts date back to 1623, at a time when the Church authorities were beginning to assemble evidence for the beatification of Francis de Sales: a deception or a poorly detailed account would have been immediately rejected, and the de La Pesse family would have been charged with making false statements.
  • This miracle was not required for the beatification of Francis de Sales. Many other miracles were already being considered by the ecclesiastical authorities at that time.
  • By this time, Francis de Sales was already well known. The investigations into the girl's family and the discernment of De Sales' holiness were rigorous: as the Church knows, an authentic event can also attract unreliable testimonies.
  • The de La Pesse were a prominent noble family. There is not a credible reason why they would have invented a story of a resurrection.
  • The fruits of the miracle were many and lasting, starting with Françoise-Angélique who, as a teenager, became a nun of the Visitation, an order founded by Saint Francis de Sales.

Summary:

Saint Francis de Sales returned to God on 28 December 1622. Four months later, an event was to cause quite a stir in Annecy, home town of the author of the Treatise on the Love of God.

On Friday 28 April 1623, at around 2pm, Françoise-Angélique de La Pesse took advantage of a moment of distraction from her mother to leave the family estate. She headed for the Thiou canal, named after the river that runs through the town and serves as a transport route to Lake Annecy. The force of the current is strong enough that, since the Middle Ages, the inhabitants had been making flour from mills set up on the banks of the river.

The little girl did not heed the advice she had been given: getting close to the water was dangerous. When she reached the shore, she lost her balance, fell into the water and drowned. The mother did not immediately realise that her daughter was missing, and it was only after many minutes that she raised the alarm. The current carried the girl's body several hundred metres. At around 5pm, near a mill lock, passers-by noticed an unidentified body in the water.

The small body was hoisted onto the bank. A crowd soon gathered around the scene. The police were called, as was a local doctor, Dr Grandis. All he could do was certify the girl's death. He noted that she was "cold as a hailstone", "her face was blackish"and her eyes "horribly swollen". It was in this state that Madame de La Pesse discovered her child. Dispirited, the mother, trusting in God, began to implore Saint Francis de Sales, saying: "Glorious Francis de Sales, my daughter! My daughter! I'll give you a heart of solid gold if I can find have her back!" Nothing happened. Death had done its work.

Carried back to the family home, Françoise-Angélique had to be buried quickly, given the circumstances of her death. The neighbouring parish was notified and everyone was thinking about the funeral the next day. At around 5.30pm, there was a knock at the house: a group of women from Annecy - friends who had known the victim all their lives - wanted to pay their last respects. The mother and her family hesitated, then let them in.

The visitors now stood silently around Françoise-Angélique. One of them lifted the shroud that has been laid over her body. As she lifted it, they all cried out in amazement. The child opened her eyes and clasped her hands together, saying: "I slept well".

In the hours that followed, the news of the resurrection spread to the people of Annecy, then the whole of Savoie, and soon reached Saint Jane Frances de Chantal and the King of France, Louis XIII. The clergy decided to carry out an investigation, at the end of which the miracle was fully authenticated.

During the lifetime of Saint Francis de Sales, dozens of very different types of miracles had been reported. In the vast majority of cases, they benefited simple, poor or sick people, and all of these miracle, without exception, testify to the evangelical love at the heart of Saint Francis de Sales' life and work.

Patrick Sbalchiero


Beyond reasons to believe:

A bishop, mystic, theologian, missionary, spiritual director, miracle-worker, and the founder of a religious order, Saint Francis de Sales was also a prolific writer, among the most influential of the 17th century. His writings show that he had a perfect knowledge of miracles and, throughout his life, he was able to discern authentic and false mystical phenomena .


Going further:

St. Francis de Sales: A Biography of the Gentle Saint (eBook), Independently published (November 29, 2023)


More information:

  • Article "The life story of Saint Francis de Sales"
  • The Life Of Saint Francis De Sales: Consoling thoughts and sermons of saint Francis de sales by Cole M. Gabriel, Independently published (January 25, 2024)

  • Introduction to the Devout Life: 400th Anniversary Edition by Saint Francis de Sales, ‎ Eremitical Pr; Anniversary edition (May 13, 2009)

Share this reason

THE REASONS FOR THE WEEK

Des miracles étonnants
Le jour où le soleil dansa
Des miracles étonnants
Il giorno in cui il Sole ha danzato
Des miracles étonnants
The day the sun danced at Fatima
Des miracles étonnants
El día en el que el sol bailó
Des miracles étonnants , Histoires providentielles
Le sauvetage miraculeux de Charle par Charles
Des miracles étonnants , Histoires providentielles
Il salvataggio miracoloso di Charle da parte di Charles
Des miracles étonnants , Histoires providentielles
El milagroso rescate de Carlo por Carlos
Des miracles étonnants , Histoires providentielles
When Blessed Charles de Foucauld saved a young roofer named Charle
Les papes , Des miracles étonnants
Pie XII et le miracle du soleil au Vatican
Les papes , Des miracles étonnants
Pio XII e il miracolo del Sole in Vaticano
Les papes , Des miracles étonnants
Pío XII y el milagro del sol en el Vaticano
Les papes , Des miracles étonnants
Pius XII and the miracle of the sun at the Vatican
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants
Saint Jean Bosco et la promesse d’outre-tombe
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants
San Giovanni Bosco e la promessa dell'aldilà
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants
San Juan Bosco y la promesa del más allá
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants
Saint John Bosco and the promise kept beyond the grave
Les grands témoins de la foi , Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses , Conversions de musulmans , Conversions d'athées , Histoires providentielles
Reinhard Bonnke : 89 millions de conversions
Les grands témoins de la foi , Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses , Conversions de musulmans , Conversions d'athées , Histoires providentielles
Reinhard Bonnke: 89 milioni di conversioni
Les grands témoins de la foi , Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses , Conversions de musulmans , Conversions d'athées , Histoires providentielles
Reinhard Bonnke: 89 million conversions
Les grands témoins de la foi , Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses , Conversions de musulmans , Conversions d'athées , Histoires providentielles
Reinhard Bonnke: 89 millones de conversiones
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants , Bilocations , Miracles eucharistiques
Les miracles de saint Antoine de Padoue
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants , Bilocations , Miracles eucharistiques
I miracoli di Sant'Antonio da Padova
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants , Bilocations , Miracles eucharistiques
Los milagros de San Antonio de Padua
Les saints , Des miracles étonnants , Bilocations , Miracles eucharistiques
The miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua
Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses
Saint François de Sales ressuscite une enfant noyée
Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses
San Francesco di Sales riporta in vita una bambina annegata
Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses
San Francisco de Sales devuelve la vida a una niña ahogada
Des miracles étonnants , Guérisons miraculeuses
Saint Francis de Sales brings back to life a victim of drowning (1623)
Des miracles étonnants
Saint Philippe Néri ressuscite un jeune mort
Des miracles étonnants , Histoires providentielles
Saint Pie V et le miracle du crucifix
Des miracles étonnants
La résurrection de Jérôme Genin
Des miracles étonnants
Le miracle de la liquéfaction du sang de saint Janvier
Les martyrs , Des miracles étonnants
Une fleur inconnue pousse sur la fosse commune
Des miracles étonnants
Le miracle toujours recommencé du sang de saint Pantaléon
Des miracles étonnants
Les panini benedetti de saint Nicolas de Tolentino
Des miracles étonnants
Le rôti inépuisable de Marie-Thérèse de Lamourous
Des miracles étonnants , Histoires providentielles
Un navire de guerre sauvé par le Saint Sacrement
Des miracles étonnants
Le miracle des ardents
Des miracles étonnants
Le bon père Fourier, un curé lorrain mémorable
Les apparitions et interventions mariales , Des miracles étonnants
À la veille de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le signe annoncé par la Vierge Marie apparaît dans le ciel
Les martyrs , Des miracles étonnants
Dorothée reçoit des fruits et des fleurs du ciel