Canonization: April 19, 1665
Feast day: January 24

The tumultuous years in Europe after the Protestant Reformation shaped the life of St. Francis de Sales. He was born on August 21, 1567, into a family of nobility of what was then the Duchy of Savoy, which bordered France, Italy, and Switzerland. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Clermont in Paris and later at the University of Padua where he received a double doctorate in civil and church law.

To the great disappointment of his father, Francis gave up a most promising civil career in favor of the priesthood. After his ordination, he was sent as a young missionary to the Chablais region of Savoy to reclaim it for the Catholic faith. While there, Francis proclaimed the Gospel in a gentle and humble way. He consistently showed respect toward everyone, and composed and distributed printed pamphlets explaining the Catholic faith to those who either were unable or refused to attend his sermons. By the end of the Chablais mission in 1598, approximately 15,000 people had been converted to the Catholic faith and Francis recognized that gentle persuasion was a key for evangelization.

Francis became Bishop of Geneva in 1602, Since Geneva was under Calvinist control and would not admit Catholics, Francis followed the tradition of previous bishops and lived 50 miles south of Geneva in the town of Annecy. As bishop, Francis spent his time preaching, teaching, and providing spiritual direction both in person and in writing. Due to his efforts, his diocese became renowned throughout Europe for its efficient organization, zealous clergy, and well-instructed laity.

Over time, Francis’ fame as a spiritual director and writer grew. He was urged by others to collect, organize, and expand on his many letters addressing spiritual topics, and to publish them in 1609 under the title, The Introduction to the Devout Life. In this book he taught that holiness, also called devotion, was possible for all people. He wrote: “True devotion consists in a constant, resolute, prompt, and active will to do whatever we know is pleasing to God.” In 1616 he published his masterwork, Treatise on the Love of God, which describes in more detail the nature and working of God’s love and our human response. Both works are spiritual classics and remain in print today

In 1604, while preaching for the Lenten season in Dijon, Francis met the recently widowed Jane Frances de Chantal who desired to consecrate herself more fully to God. Francis’ friendship with Jane was one of the most important in his life, and six years later, in 1610, Francis and Jane founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, a contemplative order of women dedicated to contemplative prayer.

Francis de Sales died on December 28, 1622, at the age of fifty-five. In addition to the works above, his published letters, sermons, and conferences comprise twenty-six volumes. The enduring value and popularity of his writings led to Francis’s proclamation as a Doctor of the Church in 1877 and the Patron of Writers and Journalists in 1923.

The influence of Francis’s writings is still felt today. His many works, especially Introduction to the Devout Life, continue to be used by people in all walks of life who wish to draw closer to God. Francis’s gentle and persuasive style reminds us that God desires us and patiently waits for our own response.