Eglise du Petit-Bornand-les-Glières

It would appear that the parish was created in 1152, under the reign of Humbert III le Bienheureux, Count of Savoy, by pioneer monks from the Abbey of Entremont close by.

The original church dates from the 13th century and is dedicated to Our Lady of the Visitation, whose saint's day is 2nd July. Amongst the list of parish priests is the name Jacque de Savoye, who arrived in 1543 and was a man of importance with several offices, including abbot of Entremont, prior of Talloire and priest of Le Petit-Bornand. His coat of arms, those of the House of Savoy crossed through with a rod, are engraved on the main doorway of the presbytery (they were damaged during the Revolution). Around 1150 he ordered the building of the church, on the same site, and the enlargement of the public square. In 1597, a new parish priest was appointed to Le Petit-Bornand, born in Thorens in 1567, his name was St François de Sales. This was during the period of the Wars of Religion. The prelate and saint was incredibly diligent when it came to his duties to the poor, a great clergyman, a great example of every virtue and a supporter of the Christian religion. He was provost of the St Pierre cathedral in Geneva and did not live permanently in Petit-Bornand. There is an inscription engraved on the baptismal font of our church claiming that a descendant of the Fichet family was baptised in the village church by St François de Sales on 30th September 1597 (see the inscription at the bottom of the church). However, Petit-Bornand's parish priest François de Sales was soon called to greater things and he left the parish on 17 June 1598. Together with Jeanne de Chantal, he founded the order of the Visitation. Today their bodies lie in the Church of the Visitation in Annecy. Above the altar there is a fresco painted by George Herman in 1925, honouring St François de Sales representing a visit to see his fervent citizens.