“To be an angel in prayer and a beast in one’s relations with people, is to go lame on both legs.”

For busy people in the world, he advised, “Retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart, even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with other and talk to God.”

Francis was born to a noble family at Chateau de Sales in the Kingdom of Savoy near Geneva, Switzerland in 1567.

From an early age, he desired to serve God. He knew for years that he had a vocation to the priesthood, but kept it from his family as his father wanted him to enter a career in law and politics.

At the age of 13, he attended the University of Paris and at 24, he received his doctorate in law at the University of Padua. To please his father, he also studied fencing and riding. All of that time though, he never lost his passion for God. He studied theology and practiced mental prayers, but kept quiet about this devotion.

While out riding one day, he fell 3 times. Each time, his sword came out of its scabbard and together they both formed a cross on the ground, giving him the sign of God’s Will that he needed.

After much disagreement with his father, he was ordained a priest and elected provost of the Diocese of Geneva in 1593 at the age of 26.

For 3 years he sought to bring back about 60,000 Calvinist back to the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation but none would listen nor open their door to him so he completed pamphlets to explain the True Catholic doctrine and slipped them under the doors. After they witnessed his kindness, they were drawn to him. Upon his return home, it is believed that 40,000 came back to the Church.

He formed alliances with the Pope and King of France and was consecrated as Bishop of Geneva at the age of 35.

During one of his sermons, he witnessed a widow listening closely, someone he had seen in a dream. It was Jane de Chantal, who was a dedicated Catholic, and they became friends. She wanted Francis to take over her spiritual direction but instead was compelled to follow her. They wound up guiding each other and she later became a saint.

After working together for several years, he formed a new religious community and founded The Order of Visitation. He insisted that every Christian, not just clergy, were called to holiness, and sanctity and reflected the teaching of Jesus and the early Church Fathers as a universal call to holiness and sanctity. He gave spiritual direction to lay people and recognized that Catholic marriage and family life is itself a call to holiness.

He believed the worst sin was to judge someone or to gossip about them. Even if we say we do it out of love, we’re still doing it to look better ourselves.

He had always been plagued with illness as the duties of his role were extensive and wore on this physical being. He was greatly wanted by the Pope, Louis XIII and the princess but he became increasingly ill and died on December 28, 1622 after giving a nun his last word of advice: “Humility.”

He was canonized on April 19, 1665 by Pope Alexander VII.

He is the patron saint of authors, the Catholic Press, deaf, editors, journalists, the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware.

For God’s Glory.