"I am nothing if not a man," St. Francis de Sales once wrote, and these words best sum up one of the greatest and most human of all saints.

A nobleman of Savoie and Bishop of Geneva, Francis de Sales charmed into a more Christian way of life not only the hardy people of his native mountains and valleys, but the learned and sophisticated men and women of the French capital. Henry IV described him as "a rare person indeed; devout, learned and a gentleman in the bargain... He does not know the art of flattery; his mind is too sincere for that. He is gentle, good and humble - deeply pious but without useless scruples." Yet Francis’ charm was but the outward expression of a toughness and holiness, shown in his extraordinary apostolate and of his leadership of the great mystical revival of 16th and 17th century France. His friendship with St. Jane de Chantal, whom he directed, forms one of the most attractive stories in the lives of the saints. Together, the two saints founded the Visitation of Holy Mary, a cloistered order of nuns.

The patron saint of writers and journalists, St. Francis de Sales takes his place among the great writers of French literature. His great work, Introduction to the Devout Life, was an immediate bestseller, and has remained so. It was a pioneer book in showing that the Christian life is not the prerogative only of priests, brothers and sisters, but a call to everyone, of whatever rank of state of life, of whatever spiritual insight. Less well known, but even more important, was his great work on mysticism, The Treatise on the Love of God, considered by some to be the greatest work of genius in theology since St. Thomas Aquinas.

To the innumerable people who have come to know him well, Francis de Sales reveals himself as a delightful saint full of spiritual heroism, charity and outstanding personal attraction.