We all know St. Francis de Sales. He is the one those schools and churches are named after. He is a saint. He wrote books. Didn’t he?
Well, today, you learn about a most gentle, eloquent and, to tell the truth, handsome, man who was all about the love of God.
Francis was born August 21, 1567, the oldest of thirteen children of Francois de Sales and his wife Francoise de Sonnaz. The father was the Lord of Boisey, Sales and Novel, an area alternately owned by Switzerland and France through the ages. The mother was the only child of Melchior de Sonnaz, a very rich nobleman and magistrate. The family lead a life of luxury and were very involved in politics. Lord de Sales planned a life of government work for his oldest son and he was sent to the best schools, including the Capuchin College in Annecy at the age of 8.
When he was 16, Francis was sent to the College of Clermont in Paris, one of the excellent Jesuit schools at the time. Here he studied rhetoric and humanities. Francis was a typical nobleman’s child. He was sent to college with a personal servant and a priet tutor. He engaged in the noble arts of riding, fencing and dancing after regular classes. He was remembered as being a reserved, intelligent, though quiet youth.
His second year at the college was a turning point in the young man’s life. He attended a theological discussion of predestination. Convinced, after listening to the discussion, that he was destined to hell, the gentle man, still a teenager, went into a deep depression, a crisis of despair. It affected him not only psychologically but also physically. He was in this state for two years until late 1586-early 1587. Still very sick, Francis went to the Church of St. Etienne des Gres where there was a famous statue of Our Lady of Good Deliverance. He knelt in front of the statue, prayed the Memorare, consecrated himself to her and dedicated his life to God, taking a vow of chastity. The psychological hold of fear began to dissipate. The young man began to study God. He determined that God is Love. He decided that God had good things planned for him. This stopped his doubts and despair. This line of reasoning influenced his approach to life and teaching. His spiritual teaching he referred to as the Way of Divine Love.
Francis finished the College de Clermont in 1588 and next went to the Universty of Padua, Italy to study law and theology, in preparation for his predetermined career in politics. There he met Antonio Possinino, a middle aged Jesuit priest, who became his spiritual advisor. Possinino was not only an educator, but a papal legate at one time, the creator of an encyclopedia and a debator. His high intellectual pursuits showed Francis a direction to take.
In 1592, Francis received a doctorate in law. Before returning home, he made a pilgrimage to Loreto, at the shrine of the Holy House. On his return, Francis was admitted to the bar by the Senate of Chambrey. In keeping with his own plans, Lord de Sales got Francis various positions, intending him to become a senator. He even got his son a wealthy heiress to marry. Francis declined on the basis of his vow of chastity. Then he announced his desire to become a priest. Lord de Sales balked at this. This is when the bishop of Geneve stepped in. He saw a promising career for the young man and negotiated with the father. Francis was ordained the next year and immediately received an appointment as provost of the cathedral chapter (advisors to the bishop).
Geneve and its environs had become staunchly Calvinist. So much so that the bishop had to live 30 km away in Annecy. Provost was obviously not a full time job, so Francis set out to convert the citizens. He wrote, printed and distributed pamphlets in a series of campaigns to evangelize. He lived in the fortress of Allinges and traveled throughout the diocese talking to whomever would listen. Some did not like his words and he escaped several assassination attempts. Others listened and were impressed. He won the respect of some and the conversion of others.
When, in 1599, Bishop Claude de Granier of Geneve wanted to name Francis his coadjuter (associate bishop), Pope Clement VII asked to meet this young man to examine him. Francis won over the pope and forged an alliance with him.
Soon after, he was asked to go to Paris on a diplomatic mission to meet King Henry IV. Henry was a Calvinist who suffered from a lack of morals. He was named the Green Gallant on account of the number of children fathered with various mistresses. The morals at court reflected the king’s own. Henry was impressed by Francis’ devotion, intellect and gentlemanly demeanor. The king, late in life, converted to Catholicism. Francis was asked to do a series of Lenten sermons at the Chapel Royale which led to his doing spiritual and conscience counseling to a number of courtiers. While in Paris, he met Cardinal Berulle, a statesman and leader of the new spiritual movement. Briefly, Francis was also a spiritual advisor to Mme Acarie, who together with Berulle and Francis helped bring the Discalced Carmelites into France. Francis also advised Berulle on reforming the monasteries and convents.
In 1602, Bishop Granier died and Francis was consecrated bishop of Geneve. His talents of organization and teaching were reflected in the diocese. It was a model of efficient organization. The clergy, urged by their bishop, was zealous. The laity was given every opportunity to be educated in the Faith. Francis developed a great relationship with the Friars Minor Capuchins, who preached in the diocese. Francis, himself, was a spellbinding preacher, not at all forceful, but, instead, patient and mild. His motto was “He who preaches with love, preaches effectively”.
St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of Catholic writers, the Catholic press and journalists because he used broadsides and books in both his efforts to evangelize the Calvinists and in teaching spiritual direction.
In writing, St. Francis spoke to the layman. He was succinct, counseling charity over penance in progressing in spiritual life. His major works are:
1. Introduction to the Devout Life, written for the laity. He assured the readers, “It is an error, or rather, a heresy, to say devotion is incompatible with the life of a soldier, a tradesman, a prince or a married woman…It had happened that many have lost perfection in the desert who had preserved it in the world.”
2. Controversies were the leaflets used to evangelize the Calvinists. It includes his complete proof of the Catholic Faith.
3. Defense of the Standard of the Cross, a series of essays on the Cross.
4. Treatise on the Love of God, in twelve volumes
5. Spiritual Conferences, a series of letters on religious virtues
6. Sermons from his years as a priest and bishop
Writing reaches many. St. Francis de Sales affected more people than his law career would ever have reached. God used him in the best of ways. Pray for us, St. Francis!
© Debbie McCoy, 2017
Debbie McCoy
Debra Booton McCoy is a cradle Catholic and is a native of central New York. She works in the health care field and spends her spare time writing and enjoying her family, two grown children, and husband Bob. Debra is a published author, having written a column for a women’s monthly newspaper in the mid-1990s and published her first book in 2014, an edited version of a French book from the 1800s, “A Catholic Mother Speaks to Her Children” by Marie, Countess de Flavigny. This is an advice book for children. She is finishing the edit of “Conferences for Boys”, by Fr. Reynauld Kuehnel, the first of four books by this priest. Debra started a Catholic publishing company in 2013, Lanternarius Press, with the purpose of adding another moral compass to print media.You can visit her website at lanternariuspress.net or visit Lanternarius Press on Facebook
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