Francis de Sales

Francis de Sales was born on 21 August 1567 in the Château de Sales into the noble Sales family of the Duchy of Savoy, in what is today Thorens-Glières, Haute-Savoie, France. His father was François de Sales, Lord of Boisy, Sales, and Novel. His mother was Françoise de Sionnaz, the only child of the prominent magistrate, Melchior de Sionnaz, and a noblewoman. He was baptized Francis Bonaventura, after two great Franciscan saints. His father wanted him, the first of his six sons, to attend the best schools in preparation for a career as a magistrate. He, therefore, enjoyed a privileged education in the nearby town of La Roche-Sur-Foron, and at the age of eight at the Capuchin college in Annecy.[1]

St Francis de Sales, by Giovanni Battista Lucini

In 1583, De Sales went to the Collège de Clermont in Paris, then a Jesuit institution, to study rhetoric and humanities.[1] As a nobleman, he was accompanied by his servant and by a priest tutor, Abbé Déage. To please his father, he took lessons in the gentlemanly pursuits of riding, dancing, and fencing. De Sales is described as intelligent and handsome, tall and well built with blue-grey eyes, somewhat reserved and quiet, and a welcome guest in the homes of the nobility among whom his father had connections.

In 1584 Francis de Sales attended a theological discussion about predestination, convincing him of his damnation to hell. A personal crisis of despair resulted. This conviction lasted through December 1586. His great despair made him physically ill and even bedridden for a time. Sometime in either late December or early January 1587, with great difficulty, he visited the old parish of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Paris, where he prayed the "Memorare" before a famed statue of Our Lady of Good Deliverance, a Black Madonna. He consecrated himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary and decided to dedicate his life to God with a vow of chastity. He then became a tertiary of the Minim Order.

Sales ultimately concluded that God had good in store for him, because "God is love", as John's First Epistle attests. This faithful devotion to God not only expelled his doubts but also influenced the rest of his life and his teachings. His way of teaching Catholic spirituality is often referred to as the Way of Divine Love, or the Devout Life, taken from a book he wrote of a similar name: Introduction to the Devout Life'.

In 1588 Sales completed his studies at Collège de Clermont and enrolled at the University of Padua in Italy, where he studied both law and theology.[2] He took Antonio Possevino, a priest in the Society of Jesus, as his spiritual director.

In 1592, de Sales received his doctorate in law and theology and made up his mind to become a priest. He made a pilgrimage to Loreto, Italy, famous for its Basilica Della Santa Casa (Shrine of the Holy House) and then returned home to Savoy. The Senate of Chambéry admitted him as a lawyer. Meanwhile, his father secured various positions for Francis, including an appointment as a senator. His father also chose a wealthy noble heiress as his bride. But Francis refused to marry, preferring to stay focused on his chosen path. His father initially refused to accept that Francis had chosen the priesthood rather than fulfill his expectations with a political-military career. Claude de Granier, then Bishop of Geneva, intervened and after signing over to his younger brother his rights of family succession, Francis was ordained in 1593. Immediately he received a promised appointment as provost of the cathedral chapter of Geneva.[2]

In his capacity as provost, Francis de Sales engaged in enthusiastic campaigns of evangelism in an area that had become almost completely Calvinist. Despite de Sales' zeal, courage and patience he met at first with absolute failure at Thonon-les-Bains, the capital of the Chablais province, where local Huguenots refused to hear the eloquent preacher.

At first, Francis lived for his own protection in a fortress garrisoned by the Duke of Savoy's soldiers. Several times he escaped death at the hands of Huguenot assassins. As local Protestants refused to speak to him or hear him, Francis began writing pamphlets which argued against Calvinism and both nailed them on walls and slipped them under doors. In response to this and to Francis' subsequent ministry, ten of thousands of the Calvinists of Chablais voluntarily converted to the Roman Catholic Church, which their parents and grandparents had abandoned seventy years before. Francis' theological pamphlets were later gathered together and published as The Catholic Controversy, which has been said to contain some of the most effective theological arguments against Protestantism ever published.

Francis traveled to Rome and Paris, where he forged alliances with Pope Clement VIII and Henry IV of France.

In 1599 he was appointed coadjutor bishop of Geneva. In 1601, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Henry IV, where he was invited to give Lenten sermons at the Chapel Royal. The morals at court reflected those of the King, which were notoriously bad, yet King Henri became personally attached to Francis and is said to have observed, "A rare bird, this Monsieur de Genève, he is devout and also learned; and not only devout and learned but at the same time a gentleman. A very rare combination."

While in Paris, he also met Cardinal Berulle and was, for a time, Madame Acarie's confessor. They consulted with him on matters such as the introduction of St. Teresa's Carmelites into France and plans for the reforming of monasteries and convents. He was consulted on matters of conscience by persons at court.

Arms of St Francis de Sales

In 1602, Bishop Granier died, and Sales was consecrated Bishop of Geneva by Vespasien Gribaldi, assisted by Thomas Pobel and Jacques Maistret, O.Carm. as co-consecrators. He resided in Annecy (now part of modern-day France) because Geneva remained under Calvinist control and therefore closed to him. His diocese became famous throughout Europe for its efficient organization, zealous clergy and well-instructed laity, an achievement in those days.[3]

He worked closely with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, which was very active in preaching the Catholic faith in his diocese. They appreciated his cooperation so much that in 1617 they made him an official associate of the Order, the highest honor possible for a non-member. It is said that at Evian, on the south shore of Lake Geneva, St. Francis of Assisi appeared to him and said: "You desire martyrdom, just as I once longed for it. But, like me, you will not obtain it. You will have to become an instrument of your own martyrdom."[4] During his years as bishop, de Sales acquired a reputation as a spellbinding preacher and something of an ascetic. His motto was, "He who preaches with love, preaches effectively." His goodness, patience and mildness became proverbial.[5]

These last qualities come through in Sales' books, the most famous of which was Introduction to the Devout Life, which – unusual for the time – was written specially for laypeople. In it he counseled charity over penance as a means of progressing in the spiritual life. Sales also left the mystical work, the "Treatise on the Love of God", and many highly valued letters of spiritual direction, including those with Jane Frances de Chantal compiled in the Letters of Spiritual Direction.[6]

Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, medal 1867

Along with St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Sales founded the women's Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in Annecy on 6 June 1610. Despite his friendship with Denis-Simon de Marquemont, the archbishop nonetheless restricted the freedoms of de Sales' new order in 1616 by ordering that its members live cloistered lives.[7]

Sales also established a community of men, an Oratory of St. Philip Neri, at Thonon-les-Bains, with himself as the superior or Provost. This work, however, was crippled by his death, and that foundation soon died out.[8]

In December 1622 de Sales was required to travel in the entourage of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, for the Duke's Christmas tour of his domain. Upon arrival in Lyon, de Sales chose to stay in the gardener's hut at the Visitandine monastery in that city. While there he suffered a stroke, from which he died on 28 December 1622.[9]

In the 19th century, his vision for religious communities was revived. Several religious institutes were founded during that period for men and women desiring to live out the spiritual path which de Sales had developed.

• The Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (M.S.F.S.), founded by the Abbé Pierre Mermier in 1838, were the first congregation to adopt his spirituality in the 19th century.
• The religious institute of the Salesians of Don Bosco (S.D.B.), founded by John Bosco in 1859 (approved by the Holy See in 1874), is also known as the Society of St. Francis de Sales, and is placed under his patronage.
• The Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.) were founded by Léonie Aviat and Louis Brisson, under the spiritual guidance of the Marie de Sales Chappuis in 1866.
• The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.) were later founded by Brisson for men, also under the guidance of Marie de Sales, in 1875.[3]
• The Paulist Fathers in the United States count him as one of their patrons.

Mosaic of Sales on the exterior of St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis, Missouri

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a society of priests founded in the 20th century, also has St. Francis de Sales as one of their three primary Patrons. One of the major apostolates of the Institute in the United States is the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis, Missouri.[14]

Vincent de Paul met Francis de Sales in Paris in 1618 or 1619. Francis de Sales' spirituality and writings, especially An Introduction to the Devout Life, and Treatise on the Love of God, were to have a profound influence on Vincent.[5]

His writings on the perfections of the heart of Mary as the model of love for God influenced Jean Eudes to develop the devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.[15]

• St Francis College, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, England
• St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, Toronto, ON, Canada
• St Francis De Sales Catholic School, Houston, TX
• St. Francis de Sales Catholic School Riverside CA
• St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, Lake Zurich, IL
• St Francis de Sales School, Morgantown, West Virginia
• St Francis de Sales School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• DeSales High School in Louisville, Kentucky
• DeSales University, located in Center Valley, Pennsylvania (formerly Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales)
• Mount de Sales Academy, Catonsville, Maryland
• Mount de Sales Academy, Georgia
• Saint Francis de Sales Seminary Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Salesianum School, Wilmington, DE, United States
• St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, OH, United States
• St. Francis de Sales High School in Chicago, IL, United States
• St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, OH, United States
• St. Francis de Sales College, in Mount Barker, South Australia, Australia
• St. Francis de Sales – St. Stephen School, in Geneva, NY, United States
• St. Francis de Sales School, in Nagpur, India, managed by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales
• St. Francis de Sales School, in New Delhi, India, managed by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales
• St. Francis de Sales School, in Dhemaji, India, managed by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, is named after him.
• St. Francis de Sales School, Nizamabad, Telangana, India.[16]
• St. Francis de Sales School (Wellington, New Zealand)
• St. Francis de Sales High School, Francis Nagar, Korutla
• St. Francis de Sales School for the Deaf in Brooklyn, New York, NY, United States
• St. Francis de Sales College, in Nagpur, India
• The three seminary departments in the Archdiocese of Lipa are named after St. Francis de Sales (St. Francis de Sales Minor, Major, and Theological Seminary)
• St Francis de Sales College, Bengaluru, India
• St. Francis de Sales elementary school, Lake Geneva, WI, United States
• St. Francis de Sales School, Salisbury, MD, United States
• St. Francis de Sales Regional Catholic School, Herkimer, NY, United States
• St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, Lockport, NY, United States (formerly St. Francis de Sales High School)

• Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales
• Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales
• Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
• Salesians of Don Bosco (or Society of Saint Francis de Sales)

• The island of St. François Atoll
• Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center in Hartford, CT, United States.
• St. Francis de Sales Broadcast Center in Batangas City, Philippines houses two radio stations under the Catholic Media Network: 99.1 Spirit FM and ALFM 95.9 Radyo Totoo

• Introduction to the Devout Life Frederick Pustet & Co. (192X)
• Set Your Heart Free Readings from De Sales
• Spiritual Conferences from Oblates of St. Francis de Sales
• An Abridgment of the Interior Spirit of the Religious of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary George Templeman (1834)
• The Mystical Flora of St. Francis de Sales; or, The Christian Life Under the Emblem of Plants M.H. Gill & Son (1877)
• Maxims and Counsels of St. Francis de Sales for Every Day in the Year M.H. Gill & Son(1884)
• Of the Love of God Rivington's (1888)
• The Secret of Sanctity, According to St. Francis de Sales and Father Crasset, S.J. Benziger Brothers (1893)
• Letters to Persons of the World Benziger Brothers (1894)
• The Catholic Controversy Burns and Oates (1909)
• Letters to Persons in Religion Burns and Oates (1909)