ST. FRANCIS DE SALES COLLEGE NAGPUR, India

An Introduction

St. Francis De Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, was born on August, 21, 1567 at the Castle of Sales, near Annecy in Savoy. He was ordained in 1593, and became Bishop of Geneva on December 28, 1622. He died at Lyons, France, December at the age of 56. Few could have imagined, as he breathed his last, that his widest influence was just commencing; yet such was the case. For while he touched the lives of thousands during his life, hundreds of thousands and millions have inspired by his wise and loving counsels since his death. Today among the faithful, after the lapse of three centuries, he is still the beloved counselor of an ever widening circle of admirers and clients. St. Francis is the Apostle of Cheerfulness and Hope. His words are full of holy optimism, and so replete with commonsense that no one can read them without encouragement.