A fruitful life
In the time of Francis de Sales, the idea prevailed that holiness was reserved for people withdrawn from the world, men and women religious, members of the clergy. Now, Francis tells us in the Introduction to the Devout Life: “It is an error, and even a heresy, to want to banish the devout life (devotion is the search for holiness) from the company of soldiers, from the shop of craftsmen, of the court of princes, of the household of married people. Wherever we are, we can and must aspire to the perfect life”.
He will also explain concretely to Jeanne de Chantal what holiness consists of: “True holiness lies in the dilection (great love) of God and not in making nonsense of imagination, of delight, which nourishes self-esteem, dispel obedience and humility… But it is a matter of practicing true meekness and submission, self-denial, flexibility of heart, love of our abjection (unworthiness) , to condescension (benevolence) towards others: this is the true and most lovable ecstasy of the servants of God”. (EA. XXI, 185).
This is why François de Sales insisted with the Pope that the Duke of Savoy, Amédée IX (1435-1472) be beatified. And he will indeed be in 1677. Here are some elements of his life: Duke of Savoy, he was born in Thonon-les-Bains on February 14, 1435. At the age of seventeen, he married Yolande of France, the sister of the King of France Louis XI. They had eight children and formed a united and happy couple. Artisans of peace and justice according to the Beatitudes, they work tirelessly together for the good of their subjects, avoiding wars, fighting profiteers and ensuring the fate of the poorest. Above all, Amédée left the memory of great charity towards the poor. “Everywhere it is better to be rich rather than poor, except with my brother Amédée: he puts the poor in the spotlight and the rich on the sidelines”, said his brother the Duke of Milan, François Sforza. Affected by epilepsy, he accepted this disease as a participation in the suffering of Christ. He was greatly assisted by his wife in the exercise of power. But too affected by the disease, he then abdicated in favor of his wife. He devoted much of his time to prayer and he was a great pilgrim of the Holy Shroud who was then in Chambéry. His relatives were saddened to see their lord so often humiliated by his incurable illness. He answered them: “You should rather rejoice, it is the humiliations and the cross that give access to the Kingdom of God”. He died in great serenity on March 30, 1472…
Following an insistent request from François de Sales to the pope, in 1612, he was beatified in 1667 by Pope Innocent XI. He rests, along with his wife Yolande of France, in the cathedral of Vercelli (Italy). Be just, love the poor and the Lord will keep our country in peace Geneva (l’Ecu d’Or).
In 1596, François de Sales, had the audacity to confront in public discussion the minister La Faye in Geneva; in the crowd Anne-Jacqueline, a devout Catholic, was praying for the young priest. The following year, sent by the Pope to try to convert Théodore de Bèze, François returned to Geneva and Anne-Jacqueline was able to open her soul to him. Giving her Communion, he told her that his angel served as cleric, since then she felt inclined to invoke the Guardian Angel of Françis de Sales, she felt his protection several times. He advised her to stay in Geneva to help the Catholics, which she did heroically. She obtained the conversion of her mistress who was dying, but she asked her husband to marry this irreproachable servant.
Anne-Jacqueline then fled to Annecy near her spiritual father who admired her devotion animated by constant prayer. In 1608, she announced to Françis that she would be a nun in the Institute he was going to found. And, on June 6, 1610, she is there… Among the noble ladies who begin the Visitation, the face of this mountain dweller stands out. Without her candid and strong presence, which animates her with her picturesque faith and her courageous activity, the picture of the first days of the Visitation would lose some of its freshness. On her death on October 25, 1623, Jeanne de Chantal expressed her affection in these lines: “Here is our dear Sister who has just passed on to Our Lord. You know the fidelity of this poor Sister, and how humble, devout and laborious; finally, it was the incomparable! For his part, Françis de Sales will praise her, saying: “The tower of this house (the gallery) is guarded by a saint”.
Saint François de Sales and Saint Vincent de Paul
Vincent was 37 years old when he met Francis in 1618, four years before his death. One was born in a stately castle, the other under a thatched roof. One grew up in a well-to-do environment and was highly educated, the other kept the herds of his father. The two men will immediately have a lot of admiration and great confidence in each other. “I don’t know a holier priest than Monsieur Vincent”, said Françis de Sales. And Monsieur Vincent echoed him by saying: “I don’t know a holier bishop than Françis de Sales” Jeanne de Chantal created a house of the Order of the Visitation in Paris in 1619, and stayed there for a few years to ensure this new foundation. . Françis de Sales, who must return to Annecy, leaves the capital relieved, because he has found in Vincent de Paul, a director for his dear daughters. “Don’t be afraid”, he will say to Jeanne de Chantal, “I have found you Vincent de Paul, he is my angel, my seraph. He is the friend of my soul, he is another myself. I can go and die in peace, my daughters will not be orphans”. Vincent de Paul declares, at the process of beatification of Françis de Sales: “Revisiting in my mind the words of the Servant of God, I felt such admiration that I was led to see in him the man who best reproduces the Son of God living on earth”. For more than thirty years, Vincent de Paul will be close to the Visitandines. And they saw their holy founder revive in him. He himself often read to them the writings of Françis de Sales and Jeanne de Chantal. “They are in heaven”, he said to them, “let us invoke them, they will work miracles”. On the day of Jeanne de Chantal’s death, he told them: “I saw her soul rise from the earth in the form of a globe of fire, then another soul, that of Françis de Sales, come from the heaven in front of her also in the form of a globe of fire, and after having come together, between together and losing oneself together in the infinite globe of the divine essence”. These two holy souls will be waiting there, the soul of Vincent de Paul, the holy friend, the best of friends