What Was Saint Francis de Sales Known for?

St. Francis de Sales had a path paved in front of him from birth; one that flowed easily from a childhood of privilege into an esteemed course of education. As the eldest son of a French noble family, it was assumed that he would follow a scholarly track and become a respected magistrate in the court.

Had it not been for an interruption of conscience in his formative years, that may indeed have been the path he chose, and he might have faded into history as another man of law in a long line of transient power. Instead, he respectfully rejected the life that was expected of him and dutifully followed the Holy Spirit to become a great writer, evangelist, doctor of the church, and ultimately a saint.

Born in France in 1567, Francis de Sales was brought into the world in the midst of the Protestant Reformation. The second French War of Religion broke out that year, one of several civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. Nevertheless, Francis received a Catholic upbringing and was granted an affluent education as a member of the noble class, aimed at preparing him for a prestigious public life. 

It was that very education that the Holy Spirit would use to get his attention. While attending a theology discussion at the age of nineteen, Francis was introduced to the Calvinist precept of predestination. He wrestled with the notion that he could be predestined to live out eternity in hell, but the burden only strengthened his own faith life. Later that year he consecrated himself to Mary, dedicated his life to God, and made a personal vow of chastity. He widened his studies to include law and theology and received doctorate degrees in both fields from the University of Padua in 1592. By this time, he felt fully called to the priesthood, a belief he had been aware of but unwilling to admit for years. 

His father, however, had been further paving his way, securing both a senate seat and a wealthy bride for Francis. There was an entire life of comfort and prestige waiting for him. 

All he had to do was say yes. 

He did say yes, but he said it to the maker of saints instead of the secular world. Giving his “yes” to God meant telling his father no, which was met with all the resistance one might imagine after such a carefully cultivated pedigree. His father’s reluctant consent came only after Francis was recommended for the position of Provost of the Chapter of Geneva, the highest office in the diocese. He was ordained in 1593 after signing his noble title and right of succession over to his younger brother. 

While researching the life of St. Francis de Sales, one could easily go right from this abandonment of family lineage to his active and admirable priesthood. But there is power in pausing here to recognize the sacrifice Francis was making to embrace his call to Holy Orders. It must have been no small feat for this oldest son to thwart the engrained cultural expectation of familial duty and devote his life to a cause that was under attack in the Reformation. The freedom we are tempted to assume he experienced in finally being released to accept his vocation was only won through a sacrifice of the freedoms already guaranteed to him through his standing in life.

Although Francis de Sales turned away from his privileged path, the skills and confidence he developed through his education were not wasted in his calling. In studying the humanities, rhetoric, theology, and law, he developed a desire to find truth and translate it for the greater understanding of the public. In his priesthood, he quickly became known for effective preaching and was appointed to the post of Grand Penitentiary of his diocese. Within a year of this appointment, he once again chose the path of more resistance when he volunteered for the dangerous and undesirable role of missionary to Chamblais, a region of France that was under Calvinist control at the time. 

The adversity he encountered as a missionary inspired Francis to authentically live out his belief that “nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength”. There were tens of thousands of Calvinists in the region and Francis wanted to convert them all; not to win notoriety among his diocese or to prove himself a great evangelist, but because he sincerely loved them and wanted to draw them closer to the truth. This love was apparent as he went about his mission engaging the Corporal Works of Mercy along with his disciplines of prayer and study. He was even granted access to the Calvinist writings, which were forbidden by the church at that time. St. Francis de Sales knew he needed to understand hearts before he could turn them, and he began publishing and distributing leaflets with the simple aim of bringing clarity to Catholic doctrine.

Francis’ writings did successfully convert tens of thousands of Calvinists, but he would not be long in the mission field. In 1599 he became coadjutor bishop of Geneva, and was appointed as bishop in 1602 after Bishop Granier passed away. He would serve the church effectively and gently in that capacity until he suffered a stroke that led to his death in 1622. 

Four centuries later, St. Francis de Sales’ writings are still relevant works that highlight the simplicity of biblical truth as experienced through the complexity of a human lens. His Introduction to the Devout Life would render the entire Self-Help shelf irrelevant, and among his other books there are also thousands of letters he wrote as a spiritual advisor. He is fittingly the patron saint of writers and journalists, as he used the pen to reveal God’s love to so many.

May St. Francis de Sales inspire us to look at the trajectory of our own lives and question it; to quiet the demands of the world so that we might hear God’s desire for us; to be discontent with comfort and bold in our goals; and to never stop striving for a deeper knowledge of and love for our God.