INTRODUCTION TO THE DEVOUT LIFE

| Part-I | Part-II | Part-III | Part-IV | Part-V |

Preface by the Translators, Biographical Note, Preface by SFS, Introduction to IDL

St.Francis de Sales: ABiographical Note

This short biographical note is meant for those who have not yet come into contact with the life and writings of St. Francis de Sales.[1]

Childhood

St. Francis de Sales was born on 21st August 1567 at Thorens, not far from Geneva in Switzerland and Annecy in the France. Thorens then belonged to the Duke of Savoy. Later Savoy became a part of France through a referendum.[2]

The parents of Francis were Francis de Sales, generally known as M. de Boisy and Francoise de Sionnaz commonly known as Madame de Boisy.

M. de. Boisy, by his life, example and firm guidance taught Francis to be an honest, sincere, frank, straightforward and courageous boy with a great sense of justice, kindness, generosity and integrity. From his father, he learned a manly devotion while from his mother, he inherited a kind, compassionate and affectionate heart and tender devotion.

Education

In 1573, Francis was sent to a school at La Roche not far from Thorens.

From 1575, he continued his studies in the school of Chappuis at Annecy.

On 17th December 1575, he made his First Communion and received Confirmation.

On 20th September 1578 Francis received tonsure as he desired to become a priest and belong to the church entirely. To receive tonsure at an early age was a custom followed in those days to which his father reluctantly consented.

In September 1578, M. de Boisy sent Francis with his cousins to Paris for higher education. He procured the services of a diocesan priest, Fr. Deage, to accompany them, stay with them and be their tutor during their studies. Francis joined the college of Clermont run by the Jesuits.

There he studied literature, philosophy and learned arts befitting nobles like fencing, riding, dance etc. This he did to fulfil the wishes of his father. He followed courses in theology for his own satisfaction.

From December 1586 to January 1587, Francis underwent a terrible crisis, a temptation, a trial. There were several causes: his natural tendency to anxiety and the problem of predestination, keenly discussed in theological circles in those days. Above all, there was a mystical dimension to the trial: an unselfish, pure love of God and total surrender to him in which lay the answer to his problems as he was being tempted to despair of his salvation.

One day in January 1587, Francis went into the church of Saint Etienne des Grès. He went to the chapel of our Lady and knelt down in front of the statue. He was inspired to make an unconditional surrender of his salvation to God, using the words; “O God, Just Judge and Merciful Father, at least in this life will I love You, if it is not given to me to love You in life everlasting”. Then he saw there a card with the prayer Memorare: “Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary...” He took it and earnestly prayed it. He was instantly healed. The temptation vanished. Strength and confidence returned to him.

In 1588, Francis completed his studies in Paris and returned to Savoy.

On 26th December 1588, he was sent to Padua, to pursue his studies further. He had only a short stay at home. In Padua, he studied civil and ecclesiastical law. He also followed courses in theology. Fr. Possevin s.j. (1534-1611) was chosen by him as his spiritual director.

In January 1591, Francis became very seriously ill and received viaticum. There was scarcely any hope of recovery. All the same, he was healed.

On 5th September 1591, he completed his legal studies for a Doctorate in law and passed the examination with such great success that he won the admiration of his own professors and of all present. Then he went on pilgrimage to Loretto and on an educational tour to some towns in Italy.

In February 1592, Francis returned to Savoy. He wanted to become a priest. His father was strongly opposed to it.

On 24th November 1592, not to displease his father, he enrolled himself as an advocate at the Bar of Chambery.

It was while returning from Chambery on horseback that his belt got unbuckled and his sword fell to the ground. His sword came out of the scabbard with its point directed towards him. Francis understood this to be a clear sign that God wanted him to put aside the sword in order to become a Priest.

On 7th March 1593, the document appointing Francis as Provost 1was signed by Roman authorities, through the mediation of Louis de Sales, his cousin and supported by his own Bishop, Mgr. de Granier.

On 7th May, the document was brought to Annecy by Louis de Sales. Then Louis de Sales together with Francis approached M. de Boisy to seek his permission. Finally, the great old man gave in to the persuasion of Louis de Sales and others and granted his son permission to follow his vocation to the priesthood.

On 18th September 1593, Francis was ordained deacon, and on 18th December 1593, he was ordained priest by his own Bishop Mgr. de Granier, and after three day’s recollection, on 21st December, he celebrated his first mass. After Christmas, he was installed as Provost.[3]

As a priest he devoted himself to the spiritual renewal of Annecy. He preached in a simple style, taught catechism and tried to form a dedicated and devoted laity. The ideal of a priest as a man of God, a man of the church and a man of the people blended harmoniously in his life and activity. This ideal was soon to be put to the test.

The district of Chablais in Savoy under the Duke of Savoy had embraced Calvinism. The Duke requested the Bishop to send missionaries to Chablais to win the people back to the Catholic faith. Bishop de Granier entrusted this mission to Francis. Louis de Sales volunteered to work with him.

On 14th September 1594, both Francis and Louis left for Chablais and reached the castle of Les Allinges. Thonon was the headquarters of the district, a few kilometers away from the castle of Les Allinges perched on a small hill. Thonon was not safe for the missionaries as the Calvinists were in no mood to tolerate the presence of catholic missionaries. So they had to stay in the castle with the soldiers and go daily to Thonon in the morning and come back in the evening.

The initial work was extremely hard. They regularly visited the few catholics in the town of Thonon and began instructing them. Francis also began to contact the Calvinists. The Calvinist ministers forbade the people to receive the catholic priests and even to listen to them. Calumnies against Francis were circulated. There was constant threat to his life. No one came to listen to him. Every door was closed to him.

Then Francis took a new initiative. He began to write short notices explaining catholic teaching and left them at the door of the houses of the Protestants.

From January 1595 to January 1596, he wrote these articles which was later published as a book, the Controversies. This was one of the most trying periods of his life. He prayed, fasted and did penance, perhaps a little more than his body could support. He was very much disappointed by the uselessness of his work as no effects were seen. There was utter poverty, no money. His bishop was too poor and continued to encourage him. The Duke gave him no financial support. M. de Boisy had disapproved his taking up the mission and did his best to persuade him to come back. So he did not help him in any way. Antoine Favre, an intimate friend of Francis, continued to encourage him. Finally, the perseverance and hard and courageous work of Francis began to bear fruit.

Slowly a change for the better began. People began to discuss with him. They flocked to his sermons. Conversions followed. Within few years, the whole district returned to the catholic fold.

On 1st October 1596, Pope Clement VIII, asked Francis to meet Theodore de Beze, the successor of Calvin in Geneva, and try to bring about his conversion. Francis met de Beze in Geneva three times during the year 1597 but these meetings met with no success.

From 1594, Bishop de Granier was thinking of making Francis his Co-adjutor Bishop, and from 1596, the Duke too wanted the same. It was time for ad limina visit to Rome. Bishop de Granier did not enjoy good health. So he decided to send Francis to Rome.

In November 1597, Francis was to leave for Rome but he fell very seriously sick. Only by the end of January 1598, he regained health. The journey was postponed. There were works to be immediately attended to.

So only in November 1598, Francis could leave for Rome. After Christmas, the Pope Clement VIII gave him audience.

On 22nd March 1599, Francis, passed brilliantly the examination in the presence of the Pope for nomination to a bishopric. Among the examiners were the great and learned men of the day, the Cardinals Frederic Borromeo, Bellarmin (later declared saint and doctor of the church), Baronius and Borghese. At the end of the examination the Pope, so much impressed by Francis’ answers, came down and embraced him.[4]

On 25th March, the same year, Francis was admitted to assist at the mass of the Pope. He had a deep mystical experience of the mystery of the incarnation during the eucharistic celebration especially after his holy communion.[5]

On 1st June 1599, Francis was back in Annecy. He continued his ministry.

In 1602, Francis was sent to Paris to meet King Henry IV to treat with him some ecclesiastical affairs.

He had several interviews with the king. Francis made a profound impression on the king and the court. But his mission was not a success. Later Francis was accused of conspiracy against the king. He met the king and cleared up all suspicion. In September of the same year, he left Paris for Annecy. On the way, he learned that Mgr. de Granier had passed away.

In the beginning of November 1602, Francis received the papal bulls of his nomination as Bishop, which due to poverty, he had not asked for earlier.

On 8th December 1602, Francis was consecrated Bishop of Geneva in the Church of Thorens. The time of the consecration was for Francis, a time of deep spiritual experience of the Holy Trinity.

The Bishop of Geneva was chased away from the see of Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. In 1536, the citizens of Geneva embraced the Reformation. Geneva became a republic. From that time, the Bishops appointed to the see of Geneva stayed in Annecy with the hope of returning to the centre of the diocese when the situation changed. They kept the title of Bishop of Geneva.[6]

The Bishop

Francis was rather unlike many of the Bishops of his own days as well as our own. He was easily accessible to everyone. He devoted his whole attention to pastoral work without at the same time neglecting administrative affairs. He taught catechism to children and adults, preached as often as occasions arose. He heard confessions regularly and gave spiritual direction to numerous persons, men and women of various ranks living in different life-situations, and wrote numerous letters of direction. At the same time, he was equally available to princes, dukes, Bishops, clergy, religious both men and women and to the people at large especially the poor and the sick.

Due to the poverty of the diocese, he was not able to establish a major seminary which he had planned to. A project at Thonon which he envisaged as an institution of higher education with a kind of technical school to impart skills in trades could not function well due to financial problems and lack of personnel and other causes which complicated the project. Perhaps he was ahead of time and the church had to wait for St. John Bosco.

Amidst all these activities, he led a life of prayer and contemplation. It is impossible to describe the varieties of activities in which Francis was engaged and the numerous problems and issues he had to tackle in a short biographical sketch. A detailed description will be found in E.J. Lajeunie, St. Francis de Sales, The Man, The Thinker, His Influence, Vol. 1 and 2.

Such a life and activity told on his health. While returning from Avignon in France, where he had gone at the invitation of the Duke of Savoy, he stopped at Lyons. The royal court of France and that of the Duke of Savoy were meeting there. Francis stayed with the Visitation sisters, of the Order he had founded.

On 27th December 1622, Francis had an attack of apoplexy and he passed away on 28th December, the feast of Holy Innocents about 8 O’ clock in the evening.

On 28th December 1661, Francis de Sales was beatified by Pope Alexander VII.

On 19th April 1665 Blessed Francis de Sales was canonized by the same Pope.

On 16th November 1877, Pope Pius IX declared him doctor of the church.

There are several striking aspects of his life which make him a man for our times.

St. FRANCIS DE SALES, THE MAN

1. A Student for Ever

Francis knew that growth in genuine spiritual life and virtues depended not only on the grace of God but also on studies. Amidst his intense activity as Bishop and Pastor, he spent long hours in study. He wrote in his personal rule: “As to inner life and especially to studies, a Bishop, shall endeavour everyday to learn something useful and appropriate to his profession”.[7] What he learned he shared through his evangelizing activity.

2. The Evangelizer

As an evangelizer, Francis used his vast knowledge gained through an intense life of prayer and study to explain the faith of the Church and enlighten the people. In this regard he took various initiatives like writing pamphlets, organizing conferences and above all preaching.

3. The Preacher

There was perfect harmony between the preaching of St. Francis and his life and activity. St. Vincent de Paul who knew him personally and listened to him said: “All his actions were as many sermons”.[8] St. Francis preached with love and charity and reacted against artificiality: “All you have to do...is just speak with feeling and sympathy, with simplicity, frankness and confidence. Be in love with the doctrine you are teaching and conveying to your listeners. The supreme art is to have no art”.[9]

Preaching leads to change of heart. Spiritual direction follows up the change of heart and leads to change of life and growth.

4. The Spiritual Director

St. Francis believed and taught that a spiritual director was necessary to guide people to the perfection of love without going astray, wasting time and strength. St. Jane de Chantal who followed his spiritual direction says: “I know that several priests, abbots, religious, ecclesiastics, gentlemen and lawyers, princes and princesses, and persons of every rank rich and poor from different provinces have sought him out for that purpose”.[10]

The letters of spiritual direction written by him to his directees are a mine of wisdom and spiritual and psychological insights.

St. Francis cherished an intimate friendship with his directees.

5. The Friend

An important aspect of his spiritual direction was his close friendship with his directees. This friendship earned him their confidence. It made the sacrifices he demanded from them less hard.

Though he was firm and strict with his directees, he wanted a holy freedom and frankness to reign every where. We must have no other law or constraint except that of love, the law of charity.[11]

Giving spiritual direction necessitated giving something in writing for the reference, guidance and constant use of his directees.

6. The Author

The most popular book of St. Francis and the best seller of his times was the Introduction to the Devout Life.

In 1608 it was published by him to help both his directees and christians to lead an authentic Christian life. (For more details see pages 42-43). While the Introduction laid a very good foundation for christian life, it did not explain in detail the growth and experience of divine love.

From 1609 to 1616, Francis, used all the free moments available to the writing of the Treatise on the Love of God. In August 1616, it was published.

The experience of St. Francis himself and that of St. Jane de Chantal and the First Sisters of the Visitation Order he founded form the background of his book, Treatise on the Love of God.

His numerous sermons, letters, booklets etc., have been published. The Spiritual Conferences are the notes of his familiar instruction and talk taken down by the Visitation Sisters. All these together form 26 volumes, published by the Visitation Sisters of Annecy, the Order founded by him, The Index prepared by Alphonse Denis, a monk, is the 27th.

7. The Founder

The objectives of St. Francis in founding the congregation of the Visitation of Holy Mary was to offer the possibility of leading a religious life to humble weak women who because of their age or some physical weakness, cannot have access to austere reformed monasteries. They are offered this opportunity provided they are healthy in mind and willing to live a life of humility, obedience, simplicity, gentleness and resignation. Thus he did not neglect the cripples, the one-eyed, the hunchbacks, the lame in body or the lame in the soul. They must strive to achieve a strong love.[12] The co-foundress was Madame de Chantal, a widow who later became St. Jane de Chantal.

The Visitation of the Holy Mary was founded on 6th June 1610. Originally, the Visitation as intended by the Founders was not be a cloistered Order. The care of the sick was undertaken. Due to the objections of Mgr. Denis-Simon de Marquemont (1572-1626), Archbishop of Lyons,[13] St. Francis agreed to make the Visitation a formal religious order.

St. Francis’ activity extended to every field of human life. He brought peace and harmony in conflicting situations.

8. The Mediator, Peace-Maker

St. Francis listened to the contenders with patience and impartiality. His gentleness and kindness brought calm to the angry, made them see reason and accept his decisions.

He brought peace not only to individuals and families but also among quarrelling schools of theology. He encouraged theologians to discuss frankly and charitably[14] and discouraged the Pope from settling theological questions simply by the use of his authority.

The few aspects of the person St. Francis de Sales mentioned above give an insight into his rich personality, which cannot be exhausted in a short sketch like this. In conclusion another very relevant characteristic of his may be mentioned.

9. A Man of Synthesis and Harmony

St. Francis achieved a wonderful harmony in his own life and thought. Philosophy, theology and mysticism blended harmoniously in him. The very first sentence of the first chapter of the first book of the Treatise on the Love of God expresses his concern for synthesis and harmony, and that is our conclusion of this short biographical note:

Introduce unity into diversity, and you create order; order yields harmony, proportion; harmony where you have perfect integrity begets beauty. There is beauty in music when voices, which are true, clear, distinct, blend to produce perfect consonance, perfect harmony”.[15]

Fr. Antony Mookenthottam msfs

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[1] For a scientific and scholarly biography of St. Francis de Sales, See, E.J. Lajeunie, St. Francis de Sales, The Man, The Thinker, His influence, Vol. I, Tr. Rory O Sullivan OSFS, SFS Publications, Vinayalaya, Bangalore, 1986; Vol. II, 1987.

[2] See, Francis Moget, The Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales of Annecy, SFS Publications, Vinayalaya, Bangalore, 1985, p. 8, Fr. Moget gives a description of Savoy.

[3] The post of Provost is more or less equivalent to that of the Vicar General of a diocese today. The Provost was the person next in rank to the Bishop.

[4] Lajeunie, Vol. 1, p. 358

[5] ibid., p. 363.

[6] So the Bishop of Geneva was still addressed Monsieur de Geneve in French and often in writings mentioned as M. de Geneve.

[7] Lajeunie, Vol. 2, p. 35.

[8] Lajeunie, Vol. 2, p. 56.

[9] Pulpit and Pew. A study in Salesian Preaching , presented by Vincent Kerns, SFS Publications, Bangalore, 1976, p. 64.

[10] Lajeunie, Vol.2, p. 262.

[11] Francis de Sales Selected Letters, Tr. Elizabeth Stopp, Faber & Faber, Ltd., London 1960, p. 67- 74.

[12] Lajeunie, Vol. 2, p. 294-295.

[13] Lajeunie, Vol. 2, p. 325.

[14] ibid., p. 167-168.

[15] Saint Francis de Sales, The Love of God, A Treatise . Tr. & abridged, Vincent Kerns, SFS Publications, Bangalore 1982, p. 3.