by Antonio ESCUDERO
Mary in the life and thought of Francis de Sales
Paths and contexts of Marian devotion
St Francis de Sales Conference
18-20 November 2022
SFDS-2002-Parte-2-Aula-Escudero-ENG.pdf
Summary
Francis de Sales fully embraces the traditional teaching on the mother of Jesus in the themes of divine
and virginal motherhood, original holiness, exclusion of sin, glorification and the role of salvation. The
uniqueness of his teaching lies in the incorporation of Marian discourse into his spiritual doctrine, so that
the evocation of Marian experience illuminates the life of the devotee, and devotion to God’s love
procures an evocative perception of Mary of Nazareth.
Francis de Sales was a Christian and a pastor who loved beauty, with an extraordinary aesthetic
sensitivity, capable to an exceptional degree of wonderment for creation, for humanity and for God. The
bishop of Geneva observes in the Mother of the Lord the excellent figure of spiritual harmony, which
the holy doctor traces back to the experience of God’s love, and becomes a strong centre of attraction
for anyone who recognises and decides for this path of faith and charity. For Francis de Sales, Mary of
Nazareth presents the power of humility and the beauty of love.