He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation.

He therefore enjoyed a privileged education in the nearby town of La Roche-Sur-Foron, and at the age of eight at the Capuchin college in Annecy.

De Sales is described as intelligent and handsome, tall and well built with blue-grey eyes, somewhat reserved and quiet, and a welcome guest in the homes of the nobility among whom his father had connections.

Sometime in either late December or early January 1587, he visited the old parish of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, Paris, where he prayed the "Memorare" before a famed statue of Our Lady of Good Deliverance, a Black Madonna.

He made a pilgrimage to Loreto, Italy, famous for its Basilica Della Santa Casa (Shrine of the Holy House) and then returned home to Savoy.

His father also chose a wealthy noble heiress as his bride, but Francis refused to marry, preferring to stay focused on his chosen path.

His father initially refused to accept that Francis had chosen the priesthood rather than fulfill his expectations with a political-military career.

[1] The cathedral chapter recommended that although he was only twenty-seven years of age, the provost be named Grand Penitentiary of the diocese, with the result that de Sales found himself taking many more confessions.

Accompanied only by his cousin, the Canon Louis, they made their base the fortress of Allinges to which the Governor of the Province, Baron d'Hermance, insisted they return each night.

[7] They consulted with him on matters such as the introduction of Teresa of Ávila's Carmelites into France and plans for the reforming of monasteries and convents.

His diocese became famous throughout Europe for its efficient organization, zealous clergy and well-instructed laity, an achievement in those days.

[8] He worked closely with the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, which was very active in preaching the Catholic faith in his diocese.

It is said that at Evian, on the south shore of Lake Geneva, Francis of Assisi appeared to him and said: "You desire martyrdom, just as I once longed for it.

[10] These last qualities come through in de Sales' books, the most famous of which was Introduction to the Devout Life, which, unusually for the time, was written for laypeople, especially for women.

[11] Along with Chantal, de Sales founded the women's Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in Annecy on 6 June 1610.

Upon arrival in Lyon, de Sales chose to stay in the gardener's hut at the Visitandine monastery in that city.

[15] The Roman Catholic Church celebrates de Sales' feast on 24 January, the day of his burial in Annecy in 1624.

[18] In 1923, Pope Pius XI proclaimed him a patron of writers and journalists because de Sales made extensive use of broadsheets and books in spiritual direction and in his efforts to convert the Calvinists of the region.

The Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, founded by the Abbé Pierre Mermier in 1838, were the first Religious congregation to adopt his spirituality in the 19th century.

Several religious institutes were founded during that period for men and women desiring to live out the spiritual path that de Sales had developed.

One of the major apostolates of the Institute in the United States is the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales in St. Louis, Missouri.

[10] His work Treatise on the Love of God, also heavily features in the writings of Paul of the Cross, founder of the Passionists.