St. Francis de Sales

The great Doctor of the Church and bishop of Geneva, St. Francis de Sales, was not only a faithful devotee of the Guardian of the Redeemer but his avid proponent as well.

St. Francis de Sales made St. Joseph the special Patron of the religious order he founded, the Order of the Visitation. In addition to naming at least one of his parishes in his honor, he set Joseph as the model of the interior life and contemplative prayer for his own spiritual daughters–and in particular for the novices, who were to look upon St. Joseph as their novice “master” and guide (A Manual of Practical Devotion to the Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, translated by Fr. Patrignani, p. 78).