St. Francis of Sales (in French, St François de Sales), seventeenth-century bishop of Geneva and Roman Catholic saint, was born into a Savoyard noble family on 21 August 1567. After studying the humanities, rhetoric, theology, and law at La Roche , Annecy, Paris, and Padua, he famously refused to be married to the wealthy heiress his father chose as his bride, preferring a clerical career. The intervention of Claude de Granier , the sitting bishop of Geneva, won him ordination and appointment as provost of the Chapter of Geneva in 1593.

Since the Reformation, the seat of the bishop of Geneva had been located in Annecy in Savoy, due to Calvinist control of Geneva. Francis, in his capacity of provost, engaged in aggressive campaigns of evangelism against the Protestants of Savoy, winning approval. He also traveled to Rome and Paris, where he forged alliances with Pope Clement VIII and the French King Henri IV.

In 1602, Bishop Granier died, and Francis was consecrated bishop of Geneva himself. During his years as bishop in exile in Annecy, he garnished a reputation as a zealous preacher and something of an ascetic; in particular, he was known as a friend of the poor. He died on 28 December 1622 in Paris, where he had traveled in the entourage of the duke of Savoy.

Francis of Sales was beatified in 1661 by Pope Alexander VII, who then canonized him in 1665. In 1877, Pope Pius IX proclaimed him a doctor of the Universal Church. In 1923 Pope Pius XI proclaimed him a patron of writers and journalists.

Francis is buried in Annecy, where his tomb is reputed to work miracles. His heart was kept as a relic in Lyons, whence, during the French Revolution, it was moved to Venice, where it is venerated today.

Along with Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Francis founded the women's Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Annecy on 6 June 1610. The order of the Salesians of Don Bosco, founded by Giovanni Melchior Bosco in 1874, is named for him.

Sales is also recognized as exemplary in the Church of England, where his feast day is January 24.

Based on Catholic Encycolpedia entry, abbreviated and rewritten for NPOV.