Bishop of Geneva, Doctor of the Universal Church; born at Thorens, in
the Duchy of Savoy, 21 August, 1567; died at Lyons, 28 December, 1622.
His father, François de Sales de Boisy, and his mother, Françoise de
Sionnaz, belonged to old Savoyard aristocratic families. The future
saint was the eldest of six brothers. His father intended him for the
magistracy and sent him at an early age to the colleges of La Roche and
Annecy. From 1583 till 1588 he studied rhetoric and humanities at the
college of Clermont, Paris, under the care of the Jesuits. While there
he began a course of theology. After a terrible and prolonged temptation
to despair, caused by the discussions of the theologians of the day on
the question of predestination, from which he was suddenly freed as he
knelt before a miraculous image of Our Lady at St. Etienne-des-Grès, he
made a vow of chastity and consecrated himself to the Blessed Virgin
Mary. In 1588 he studied law at Padua, where the Jesuit Father Possevin
was his spiritual director. He received his diploma of doctorate from
the famous Pancirola in 1592. Having been admitted as a lawyer before
the senate of Chambéry, he was about to be appointed senator. His father
had selected one of the noblest heiresses of Savoy to be the partner of
his future life, but Francis declared his intention of embracing the
ecclesiastical life. A sharp struggle ensued. His father would not
consent to see his expectations thwarted. Then Claude de Granier, Bishop
of Geneva, obtained for Francis, on his own initiative, the position of
Provost of the Chapter of Geneva, a post in the patronage of the pope.
It was the highest office in the diocese, M. de Boisy yielded and
Francis received Holy Orders (1593).
From the time of the Reformation the seat of the Bishopric of
Geneva had been fixed at Annecy. There with apostolic zeal, the new
provost devoted himself to preaching, hearing confessions, and the other
work of his ministry. In the following year (1594) he volunteered to
evangelize Le Chablais, where the Genevans had imposed the Reformed
Faith, and which had just been restored to the Duchy of Savoy. He made
his headquarters in the fortress of Allinges. Risking his life, he
journeyed through the entire district, preaching constantly; by dint of
zeal, learning, kindness and holiness he at last obtained a hearing. He
then settled in Thonon, the chief town. He confuted the preachers sent
by Geneva to oppose him; he converted the syndic and several prominent
Calvinists. At the request of the pope, Clement VIII, he went to Geneva
to interview Theodore Beza, who was called the Patriarch of the
Reformation. The latter received him kindly and seemed for a while
shaken, but had not the courage to take the final steps. A large part of
the inhabitants of Le Chablais returned to the true fold (1597 and
1598). Claude de Granier then chose Francis as his coadjutor, in spite
of his refusal, and sent him to Rome (1599).
Pope Clement VIII ratified the choice; but he wished to examine
the candidate personally, in presence of the Sacred College. The
improvised examination was a triumph for Francis. "Drink, my son", said
the Pope to him. "from your cistern, and from your living wellspring;
may your waters issue forth, and may they become public fountains where
the world may quench its thirst." The prophesy was to be realized. On
his return from Rome the religious affairs of the territory of Gex, a
dependency of France, necessitated his going to Paris. There the
coadjutor formed an intimate friendship with Cardinal de Bérulle,
Antoine Deshayes, secretary of Henry IV, and Henry IV himself, who
wished "to make a third in this fair friendship" (
être de tiers dans cette belle amitié).
The king made him preach the Lent at Court, and wished to keep him in
France. He urged him to continue, by his sermons and writings, to teach
those souls that had to live in the world how to have confidence in God,
and how to be genuinely and truly pious - graces of which he saw the
great necessity.
On the death of Claude de Granier, Francis was consecrated Bishop
of Geneva (1602). His first step was to institute catechetical
instructions for the faithful, both young and old. He made prudent
regulations for the guidance of his clergy. He carefully visited the
parishes scattered through the rugged mountains of his diocese. He
reformed the religious communities. His goodness, patience and mildness
became proverbial. He had an intense love for the poor, especially those
who were of respectable family. His food was plain, his dress and his
household simple. He completely dispensed with superfluities and lived
with the greatest economy, in order to be able to provide more
abundantly for the wants of the needy. He heard confessions, gave
advice, and preached incessantly. He wrote innumerable letters (mainly
letters of direction) and found time to publish the numerous works
mentioned below. Together with St. Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded
(1607) the Institute of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin, for young
girls and widows who, feeling themselves called to the religious life,
have not sufficient strength, or lack inclination, for the corporal
austerities of the great orders. His zeal extended beyond the limits of
his own diocese. He delivered the Lent and Advent discourses which are
still famous - those at Dijon (1604), where he first met the Baroness de
Chantal; at Chambéry (1606); at Grenoble (1616, 1617, 1618), where he
converted the Maréchal de Lesdiguières. During his last stay in Paris
(November, 1618, to September, 1619) he had to go into the pulpit each
day to satisfy the pious wishes of those who thronged to hear him.
"Never", said they, "have such holy, such apostolic sermons been
preached." He came into contact here with all the distinguished
ecclesiastics of the day, and in particular with St. Vincent de Paul.
His friends tried energetically to induce him to remain in France,
offering him first the wealthy Abbey of Ste. Geneviève and then the
coadjutor-bishopric of Paris, but he refused all to return to Annecy.
In 1622 he had to accompany the Court of Savoy into France. At
Lyons he insisted on occupying a small, poorly furnished room in a house
belonging to the gardener of the Visitation Convent. There, on 27
December, he was seized with apoplexy. He received the last sacraments
and made his profession of faith, repeating constantly the words: "God's
will be done! Jesus, my God and my all!" He died next day, in the
fifty-sixth year of his age. Immense crowds flocked to visit his
remains, which the people of Lyons were anxious to keep in their city.
With much difficulty his body was brought back to Annecy, but his heart
was left at Lyons. A great number of wonderful favours have been
obtained at his tomb in the Visitation Convent of Annecy. His heart, at
the time of the French Revolution, was carried by the Visitation nuns
from Lyons to Venice, where it is venerated to-day. St. Francis de Sales
was beatified in 1661, and canonized by Alexander VII in 1665; he was
proclaimed Doctor of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX, in 1877.
The following is a list of the principal works of the holy Doctor:
-
- (1) "Controversies", leaflets which the zealous
missioner scattered among the inhabitants of Le Chablais in the
beginning, when t hese people did not venture to come and hear him
preach. They form a complete proof of the Catholic Faith. In the first
part, the author defends the authority of the Church, and in the second
and third parts, the rules of faith, which were not observed by the
heretical ministers. The primacy of St. Peter is amply vindicated.
- (2) "Defense of the Standard of the Cross", a demonstration of the virtue
-
- of the True Cross;
- of the Crucifix;
- of the Sign of the Cross;
- an explanation of the Veneration of the Cross.
- (3) "An Introduction to the Devout Life", a work intended to lead
"Philothea", the soul living in the world, into the paths of devotion,
that is to say, of true and solid piety. Every one should strive to
become pious, and "it is an error, it is even a heresy", to hold that
piety is incompatible with any state of life. In the first part the
author helps the soul to free itself from all inclination to, or
affection for, sin; in the second, he teaches it how to be united to God
by prayer and the sacraments; in the third, he exercises it in the
practice of virtue; in the fourth, he strengthens it against temptation;
in the fifth, he teaches it how to form its resolutions and to
persevere. The "Introduction", which is a masterpiece of psychology,
practical morality, and common sense, was translated into nearly every
language even in the lifetime of the author, and it has since gone
through innumerable editions.
- (4) "Treatise on the Love of God", an authoritative work which
reflects perfectly the mind and heart of Francis de Sales as a great
genius and a great saint. It contains twelve books. The first four give
us a history, or rather explain the theory, of Divine love, its birth in
the soul, its growth, its perfection, and its decay and annihilation;
the fifth book shows that this love is twofold - the love of complacency
and the love of benevolence; the sixth and seventh treat of affective love, which is practised in prayer; the eight and ninth deal with effective
love, that is, conformity to the will of God, and submission to His
good pleasure. The last three resume what has preceded and teach how to
apply practically the lessons taught therein.
- (5) "Spiritual Conferences"; familiar conversations on religious
virtues addressed to the sisters of the Visitation and collected by
them. We find in them that practical common sense, keenness of
perception and delicacy of feeling which were characteristic of the
kind-hearted and energetic Saint.
- (6) "Sermons". - These are divided into two classes: those composed
previously to his consecration as a bishop, and which he himself wrote
out in full; and the discourses he delivered when a bishop, of which, as
a rule, only outlines and synopses have been preserved. Some of the
latter, however, were taken down in extenso by his hearers. Pius
IX, in his Bull proclaiming him Doctor of the Church calls the Saint
"The Master and Restorer of Sacred Eloquence". He is one of those who at
the beginning of the seventeenth century formed the beautiful French
language; he foreshadows and prepares the way for the great sacred
orators about to appear. He speaks simply, naturally, and from his
heart. To speak well we need only love well, was his maxim. His mind was
imbued with the Holy Writings, which he comments, and explains, and
applies practically with no less accuracy than grace.
- (7) "Letters", mostly letters of direction, in which the minister of
God effaces himself and teaches the soul to listen to God, the only
true director. The advice given is suited to all the circumstances and
necessities of life and to all persons of good will. While trying to
efface his own personality in these letters, the saint makes himself
known to us and unconsciously discovers to us the treasures of his soul.
- (8) A large number of very precious treatises or opuscula.
Migne (5 vols., quarto) and Vivès (12 vols., octavo, Paris) have
edited the works of St. Francis de Sales. But the edition which we may
call definitive was published at Annecy in 1892, by the English
Benedictine, Dom Mackey: a work remarkable for its typographical
execution, the brilliant criticism that settles the text, the large
quantity of hitherto unedited matter, and the interesting study
accompanying each volume. Dom Mackey published twelve volumes. Father
Navatel, S.J., is continuing the work. We may give here a brief résumé
of the spiritual teaching contained in these works, of which the Church
has said: "The writings of Francis de Sales, filled with celestial
doctrine are a bright light in the Church, pointing out to souls an easy
and safe way to arrive at the perfection of a Christian life."
(Breviarium Romanum, 29 January, lect. VI.)
There are two elements in the spiritual life: first, a struggle
against our lower nature; secondly, union of our wills with God, in
other words, penance and love. St. Francis de Sales looks chiefly to
love. Not that he neglects penance, which is absolutely necessary, but
he wishes it to be practised from a motive of love. He requires
mortification of the senses, but he relies first on mortification of the
mind, the will, and the heart. This interior mortification he requires
to be unceasing and always accompanied by love. The end to be realized
is a life of loving, simple, generous, and constant fidelity to the will
of God, which is nothing else than our present duty. The model proposed
is Christ, whom we must ever keep before our eyes. "You will study His
countenance, and perform your actions as He did" (Introd., 2nd part, ch.
i). The practical means of arriving at this perfection are: remembrance
of the presence of God, filial prayer, a right intention in all our
actions, and frequent recourse to God by pious and confiding
ejaculations and interior aspirations.
Besides the Institute of the Visitation, which he founded, the
nineteenth century has seen associations of the secular clergy and pious
laymen, and several religious congregations, formed under the patronage
of the holy Doctor. Among them we may mention the Missionaries of St.
Francis de Sales, of Annecy; the Salesians, founded at Turin by the Venerable Don Bosco,
specially devoted to the Christian and technical education of the
children of the poorer classes; the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales,
established at Troyes (France) by Father Brisson, who try to realize in
the religious and priestly life the spirit of the holy Doctor, such as
we have described it, and such as he bequeathed it to the nuns of the
Visitation.
MACKEY, OEuvres de St François de Sales (Annecy, 1892-); CHARLES-AUGUSTE DE SALES, Histoire du Bienheureux François de Sales (2nd ed., Paris, 1885); CAMUS, Esprit de S. François de Sales (2d ed., Paris, 1833); and in Collection S. Honore d'Eylau (Paris, 1904); Vie de S. François de Sales by HAMON (Paris); PÉRENNÈS (Paris); DE MARGERIE (Paris); STROWSKI, St. François de Sales (Paris); Annales Salesiennes in Revu Mensuelle (Paris, 1906, etc.). MACKEY has given an English translation of the Letters to Persons in the World, and of the Letters to Persons in Religion (London); he has also published noteworthy articles on St. Francis de Sales as an Orator (London) and St. Francis de Sales as a Director in Am. Eccl. Rev. (1898).
Raphael Pernin (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Born
on the Greek island of Aegina, Luke belonged to a family of farmers.
Saracen raiders forced his family to leave their homeland for Thessaly,
where Luke worked in the fields and tended sheep. He was a dutiful
child, but his charity towards the poor often frustrated his parents:
Luke would often give his own food and clothing to those less fortunate.
He was so charitable that God blessed him, and his family’s crops
flourished, but his parents still did not approve.
In
1597, Hideyoshi, a powerful Japanese official, listened to the gossip
and lies of a Spanish merchant. The merchant said that Paul and the
missionaries were traitors of Japan, and were spies for Spain and
Portugal. Hideyoshi cut off the left ears of twenty-six Catholics,
including Paul Miki, smeared their cheeks with blood as a warning to
others and paraded them through towns before executing them. Priests,
brothers, laymen, catechists, doctors, servants, old men and innocent
children were bound to crosses and raised into the air, a lance trust
into their sides, killing them. Hideyoshi crucified the martyrs on a
hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, above Nagasaki. They were
canonized in 1862.
Very
little is known about St. Agatha, other than that she was martyred in
Sicily during the persecution of Emperor Decius in 251. According to
legend, Agatha dedicated her life to Our Lord at a young age and refused
any man who wanted to marry her. Agatha was arrested after refusing the
advances of Quintian, a powerful man of high rank, and was imprisoned
in a brothel. Throughout the month she spent being tortured in the
brothel, Agatha would pray, “Jesus Christ, Lord of all, you see my
heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am. I am your sheep: make
me worthy to overcome the devil," and was preserved from being
violated.
Agatha
was removed from the brothel and again advanced upon by her captor.
Again, she refused him, saying she was dedicated to God alone. Her
captor then sent her to prison, and had her tortured repeatedly. He
refused her any medical care, but God comforted her in the form of a
vision of St. Peter. Agatha was tortured yet again, and this time her
body was grossly mutilated. She died with this prayer on her lips:
"Lord, my Creator
, you have always protected me from the cradle; you have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer.”
John
de Britto, was born in Lisbon on March 1, 1647 to a noble Portuguese
family. His father died while serving as Viceroy of Brazil. Growing up,
John was a playmate to the future King of Portugal, Pedro II. At
fifteen, the young nobleman applied to join the Society of Jesus into
which he was duly accepted. His talent for academic excellence was soon
noted by his superiors; however, John’s great admiration and devotion to
St. Francis Xavier urged him to apply to serve in the Indian missions.
Amid strong opposition from his family, in 1673 John traveled to Madura
in southern India.
Very
few facts are known about St. Blaise. It is believed that he lived in
the early fourth century, and was of a noble and wealthy Christian
Armenian family. While he was still very young, Blaise was made a
bishop. Although the Edict of Toleration (311), granting freedom of
worship in the Roman Empire was already five years old, there was still
much persecution of Christians in Armenia. God instructed Blaise to
escape his enemies by fleeing to the mountains, where he lived as a
hermit.
Forty
days after the birth of Jesus, St. Joseph again helped his virgin wife
onto the donkey only now she carried the creator of the universe in her
arms. Slowly they made their way to Jerusalem to comply with the Mosaic
Law. In their case, there was really no need for “ransom” or
“cleansing”, Jesus being God, and Mary being a virgin before, during and
after the birth of her divine Son (CCC 496-507, 510). Yet, before the
eyes of men, unaware of these circumstances, the holy family wished to
give an example of humility and obedience by submitting to the age-old
mandate. The fact that St. Joseph offered two doves is evidence of their
poverty.
Henry
Morse was born to protestant parents in Suffolk, England, in 1595, and
left his home to study law in London where he learned of the Catholic
Faith and converted at the age of 23. Henry traveled to Rome where he
was ordained a priest.
The
youngest of a poor farming family of Piedmont in northern Italy, John
Melchior Bosco was born on August 16, 1815. He lost his father at the
age of two, and his saintly “Mamma” Margarita brought up three sons in
extreme poverty and want.
Intelligent
and talented, John Bosco received his first instruction from a priest
who, perceiving his gifts, took him under his wing. Supported by his
mother and facing many difficulties, he pursued the priesthood, and at
twenty-two was ordained in the diocese of Turin.
St. Gildas is considered to be the first British historian quoted by the Venerable Bede and Alcuin.
Thomas
Aquinas was born about 1225 in the castle of Rocca Secca, into the
noble lineage of the family of Aquino. His father, Landulf, was a knight
and his mother, Theodora, a countess.
Finally
his mother relented. Returning to the Dominicans they found that he had
made so much progress on his own, that he was soon ordained. Sent to
study in Cologne under St. Albert Magnus, his great size and silence
earned him the encomium of “the Dumb Ox” but hearing his brilliant
defense of a difficult thesis, St. Albert responded, "We call this young
man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound
throughout the world."
Timothy and Titus were two of St. Paul’s favorite and most trusted disciples.
Titus
was Greek and a convert from paganism; he is mentioned in several of
the Pauline epistles. He is seen as a peacemaker, administrator and
great friend of the Apostle Paul. When St. Paul was having trouble with
the community at Corinth, Titus was the bearer of his severe letter and
with tact, firmness and charity succeeded in smoothing things out, which
gave St. Paul great joy.
Then
Christ Our Lord instructed him to arise and proceed to Damascus where
he would learn what was expected of him. On arising Saul found that he
was blind, and was led into the town to the house of a man called Judas.
Wulfstan
(Wulstan) was a native of Warwickshire, England. After his priestly
ordination, he became a novice at the monastery of Worcester where he
edified all by the innocence and sanctity of his life. He was assiduous
at prayer, often watching all night in church.