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St. Francis de Sales 1567–1622
rancis was born on August 21, 1567 in the family castle of Sales, Thorens, in the duchy of upper Savoy. He was the firstborn child of Françoise de Sionnaz and Françoise de Boisy. His father was forty-four, and his mother fifteen. There were twelve children born to the family, five of whom died soon after their birth. Francis’ studies were lengthy and were accomplished in three stages: college studies at la Roche and Annecy (where his priestly vocation was born); then at the Jesuit college in Paris; and finally at Padua, where in 1591 he obtained his doctorate in civil and canon law. During these years he also studied theology. He was a gifted young man: of brilliant intellect, persevering, purposeful, serene, affable, irresistibly charming, and above all, consumed with the love of God.
He was ordained priest on December 18, 1593. His early years of priesthood in the Calvinistic district of Chablais were largely coloured by extraordinary missionary zeal. He preached with courage, and his method of gentle and patient dialogue and prayer was to prove a determining factor in the return of Thonon and Chablais to the Catholic faith.
Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1877 by Pope Pius IX
Francis: A Good Shepherd
In him we find a marvellous fusion of two characteristics that are rarely seen together: astute thought and intense activity, all inspired by a spiritual life of extraordinary distinction. The brief summary of Francis’ life above shows clearly what was dominant in his life as pastor, priest and bishop. He died at a relatively young age: 55 years. He had been ordained priest at 26, after long and toilsome years of study at Paris and Padua. There were left to him only 28 years of ministerial activities: five as a priest, four as a missionary in the Chablais, and twenty as Prince-bishop of Geneva.
It should be realised that his service was intense and animated by the fact that he lived in a time fraught with complexities. His apostolic life was closely bound up in the policy of his prince, Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, who wished to eliminate the religious dissensions rampant in his Duchy. However, in 1601, the Treaty of Lyons restored a part of the diocese of Annecy (Gex) to France, and this obliged consultation also with the French Government. Francis had to negotiate with political authorities (Henry IV and his courtiers), and religious authorities (the bishops); he also had dealings with some of the spiritual giants of the day (the extraordinary mystic Mme Acarie, Pierre de Bérulle, Vincent de Paul). Twice he was offered the archbishopric of Paris and he refused to accept it with humility.
Besides all this, he was the bishop of Geneva, but exiled in Annecy. He thus found himself at the centre of divergences between Catholics and Protestants, and the controversies raised by the Reformation. He laboured ceaselessly for reconciliation, for the spiritual return to unity of the faith in his episcopal city.
The Council of Trent had concluded in 1563, four years before Francis was born, but even by 1600 the Catholic Counter-Reformation had not influenced many of the ambitious and ignorant members of the clergy. The monasteries were still in spiritual decline. Moreover, Francis lived in the age when the fruits of the Renaissance were readily available – that imposing era that made such forceful demands on the bettering and perfecting of forms and structures bequeathed by medieval and feudal times. Francis was a ‘modern’ of his day, and seized on these new aspirations. They were, however, difficult times for Francis to carry out his pastoral duties, and to lead his flock along the path of holiness.
The Gospel call to perfection of love and holiness is one and universal, and equal for everyone. However, in practice, individual vocations vary from each other, and each person must respond to individual talents according to particular ability. There are different reasons for this: the diversity of natural aptitudes, character, education, environment, relationships. Such differences occur because of the greater or lesser degree of generosity with which human liberty reacts. Each individual soul needs to be instructed, encouraged, educated according to personal needs. A pastor of souls is well aware that he cannot expect the same result from everyone, and that some have need of more particular attention.