A Spiritual Calling in Baudet

A prediction of greatness does not give Baudet a clear route to his future. In John Bentley's Baudet, a mysterious older woman foretells an exceptional life, but the young man begins with a more immediate plan: leave Vordan in 1673 and establish himself in Marseilles.

From a tavern to the abbey

Baudet finds lodging in a tavern and befriends Father Philippe, who serves a church in the poor quarter of Panier. Across the harbor stands the Abbey Saint Victor, the place toward which his future with the Benedictine Order is drawing him.

These locations make his search for purpose concrete. He arrives needing somewhere to live and people to know. His potential religious vocation develops within those new surroundings, rather than beginning with a settled understanding of who he should become.

A calling complicated by other demands

Criminal and sexual temptations challenge Baudet, and his conflict with Prior Delbert places difficulty inside the religious setting as well. Entering that world does not remove the need to make decisions about conduct, allegiance, and ambition.

The prediction remains a possibility Baudet has to live toward. Friendship with Father Philippe, the pull of Saint Victor, and conflict with Prior Delbert all shape the choices available to him. Marseilles gives him the new beginning he wanted, though the religious life emerging there demands more than simply leaving his village behind.