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France - Day Six

Day six:

 Today was a very special day. We ventured south to the city of Le Mans where Blessed Basil Moreau’s most significant works occurred. Beatified by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, Father Moreau is the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross.
Our first stop was the Shrine of Basil Moreau, the church of Our Lady of Holy Cross, which was consecrated in 1857 and restored in the 1930s. 
We were greeted by our guide, Tiphaine Hamerel, and Fr. Joseph Gansalvez, C.S.C., assistant rector. 
Tiphaine did a magnificent job of giving us a tour of the Shrine and its 14th-century Gothic-style church.  We even spied a stained glass representation of Fr. James Donahue, C.S.C. 
Fr. Donahue was the Superior General of the Congregation who authorized the purchase of the Ames Estate which paved the way for the founding of Stonehill.  Thus, Donahue Hall is named in honor of Fr. Donahue.
We concluded our tour with a private Mass celebrated by Fr. Tony in the Shrine chapel that is the final resting place of Blessed Fr. Moreau.  It was truly a special moment for all of us.  


 After leaving the Shrine we had some time to explore the city of Le Mans before meeting up for our tour of the Cathedral.  The Cathedral is named for St. Julien, the first bishop of Le Mans. 
This awe-inspiring cathedral took 500 years to build and is home to some of the most magnificent stained glass including a window of the Ascension which is the oldest stained glass window in its original setting in all of France.   
Another highlight of the Cathedral was the vaulted ceiling in the Chapel of the Virgin Mary on which forty-seven angel musicians are depicted.  These paintings, which date back to the 14th century, had been covered over and were only rediscovered in 1842.

 After our tour for the Cathedral, we left Le Mans and continued on to the small village of Laigne-en-Belin, to see the birthplace and childhood home of Father Moreau.
This home is now privately owned but we were able to explore the courtyard a bit and take some photos of the outside.  

 We topped off our day with a drive into Tours where we checked into our hotel and enjoyed a bonus lovely group dinner at Brasserie O Palais.

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