CLEAN AND GREEN EVEN BEFORE IT BECAME FASHIONABLE

[Photo: Sunset at Brunnen at Lake Lucerne, Switzerland]

From myswitzerland.com:

Brunnen enjoyed early prominence when, in 1865, King Ludwig II, a great admirer of William Tell, travelled to Brunnen. Regularly at midnight, he would have himself rowed out on the Urnersee to listen to alpine horn music, played at his command, against the backdrop of fairytale mountain scenery.

The 114 sq km (44 sq mi) lake has been called the heart of Switzerland and it is surrounded by four cantons: Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. 'Lake Lucerne' is a name given by English speakers; its real name is the Lake of The Four Cantons (Vierwaldstättersee in German, Lac des Quatre Cantons in French).

Mention Switzerland and may images come to my mind. White cross against a red field. Swiss army knife. Luxury watches such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Omega, IWC, and Longines. Chocolates with the brand names of Toblerone and Lindt. Nestle. Not only the chocolate bar but Milo and Nescafe as well. Bear Brand milk. The cities of Geneva, Lucerne, Bern, Basel and Zurich. Snow-capped mountains like the Matterhorn. Crystal clear lakes like Lake Geneva and Lake Lucerne. And then you have personalities such as William Tell, Zwingli and in modern times, Federer.

I was given the opportunity to visit Switzerland twice. The first time was part of the program “In the Footsteps of St. Francis de Sales” and the other was to do Holy Week ministry among the Pinoys there. Thanks to Fr. Johann for this.

Geneva was part of the itinerary in the program “In the Footsteps of St. Francis de Sales” because he was appointed as bishop of Geneva. But having been under the Calvinists for a considerable period of time, St. Francis de Sales could not take possession of his cathedral in Geneva. Instead, he had to be content to take possession of a similarly named church at Annecy just like his other predecessors.

We visited three places in Geneva. The first was the Reformation Wall. It was a memorial to personalities of the reformation. Among them were John Calvin along with William Farel, Ronald Knox and Theodore Beza. The second was the cathedral of St. Peter which was supposed to be the church of the Catholic bishop of Geneva. But since the time of Calvin, it had become the church of the Calvinists. 

Our final visit was at the headquarters of the World Council of Churches. What I found surprising was an altar on which were placed an open bible, a metal cross, a candle and an icon of Mary with Jesus! Protestants allowing an icon and an icon of Mary and Jesus at that! I think they had to make a concession to the Orthodox Church that loves Mary very dearly.