St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal

St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious

St. Francis de Sales, 1567-1622, and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1572-1641, worked together to found the Congregation of the Visitation, a religious order of nuns that follows the teachings and spirituality of St. Francis de Sales.

St. Francis de Sales


St. Francis de Sales was born in August 21, 1567, the eldest of thirteen children at the Chateau de Sales in Savoy - in the south of France. He studied in Paris when he was 14 years old, and then went to the University of Padua where he obtained his doctorate in law at 24 years old. He decided to be a priest despite the opposition of his father, and even when he was offered a high government position. At the age of 26 years, he was ordained a priest on December 18, 1593.

The pope appointed St. Francis de Sales as the provost of the chapter of Geneva even if St. Francis de Sales was reluctant to take up its responsibilities. This and other duties engaged him in a very active life of teaching and preaching.

St. Francis de Sales had a lot of zeal in caring for the poor and preaching to many with much enthusiasm. His singular and effective style in preaching won a large following. At a certain point of his life, Francis volunteered to be in a dangerous mission to restore the Catholic faith to the people of Chablais. The people of Chablais converted to Calvinism. The efforts of St. Francis de Sales to bring Chablais back to the Catholic fold made him the target of two assassination attempts.

It was during this time that St. Francis de Sales also wrote tracts of writing which set the Church teachings in direct opposition to the faith of the Calvinists. Despite all this danger and opposition, Francis de Sales was able to firmly reestablish Catholicism among the people. It was his simple message of God's love that did the work of reconverting Chablais from Calvinism to Catholicism.

Claude de Granier, bishop of Geneva, proposed to the pope that Francis de Sales be appointed coadjutor of the see of Geneva. So Pope Clement VIII invited St. Francis de Sales to Rome to examine him for this appointment. After Francis proved himself knowledgeable before an illustrious panel, his appointment was confirmed, and the pope made St. Francis de Sales coadjutor of Geneva.

When Claude de Granier passed away in 1602 A.D., St. Francis de Sales was elevated from coadjutor to bishop of Geneva. He was 35 years old at the time. As bishop, he preached and heard many confessions. A well-known story says that while he was preaching in Dijon in 1604 A.D., St. Francis de Sales met the widow, Jane Frances de Chantal. This spiritual encounter led both of them to eventually found the order of the Visitation nuns in 1610 A.D.

St. Francis de Sales continued his writings. His famous work is the "Introduction to the Devout Life". On December 27, 1622 A.D., he unfortunately suffered a paralyzing stroke. He died the next day, December 28, 1622 A.D. at the age of 55.

St. Francis de Sales was beatified in 1661 A.D. at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Alexander VII. He was canonized by the same pope in 1665 A.D., and declared doctor of the Church in 1877 A.D.

St. Francis de Sales was made patron saint of journalists by Pope Pius XI. He is also the patron saint of authors, other writers, and the deaf.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal


Jeanne Françoise Fremyot, later to be known as St. Jane Frances de Chantal, was born of a rich family in Dijon, France in 1572 A.D. At the young age of 20, she married Christopher de Rabutin, (Baron de Chantal) - an officer of the French army. After her husband's death, she went back to her father's home, bringing her children with her.

In 1604 A.D., St. Jane Frances de Chantal met St. Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director. In 1610 A.D., after providing for the welfare of her children, she founded a religious order together with Francis de Sales. This religious order is called the Congregation of the Visitation. Through her leadership, and also under the spiritual direction of St. Francis de Sales, the Visitation Order prospered in holiness and good works.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal died in 1641 A.D. and was buried at Annecy, France, beside the tomb of St. Francis de Sales.

Salesian spirituality


In the way of life and philosophy of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, the human person was created by God and was made for Him. The root of this principle lies in the desire or insistence of the good. They believe that even if humans have been wounded by sin in the Fall, they affirm the teaching of the Church that God's image and likeness was not effaced by it. There is still that central impulse within each human person to return back to God. And it is in the heart (seen as the dynamic core of the person) that this God-directedness is located.

In Salesian spirituality, God is Love. And the heart of God is the Source and womb of that Love. The heart of God, which is filled with great love, is intent upon calling all of God's creation to Himself - yearning for union with all humankind.

To effect the union with humankind, the mediator between the heart of God and humanity, is the heart of Christ. For Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, Jesus is a living presence - a reality lived more deeply as one's life unfolds. Christ's presence comes to live in people's hearts so that all hearts may find union with the Lord.

Excerpts from writings


As soon as a person gives a little attention to divinity, a sweet feeling within the heart is experienced, which shows that God is God of the heart...If some misfortune strikes fear into our heart, it immediately turns to divinity...This pleasure, this confidence that the human heart naturally has in God certainly comes from nowhere else than the congruity between God's goodness and our soul...We are created in the image and likeness of God. (from Treatise on the Love of God)

'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.' Good God! How amorous the divine heart is of our love! Wouldn't it have been enough to give us permission to love Him as Laban permitted Jacob to love his fair Rachel and to gain her by services? But no! He makes a stronger declaration of His passionate love for us and commands us to love Him with all our power... (from Treatise on the Love of
God)

Edited from the following resources:

• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
• Doctors of the Church, by Fink
• Spiritualities of the Heart, various writers
• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press,
  Inc.