San Francesco di Sales

"We will call ourselves Salesians"

 

Don Bosco was inspired by his name and his spirituality when he founded the first form of Congregation in 1854.
the model of the educator attentive to the care of young people from the less well-off classes,
with a method based on dialogue, docility and joy

Francis was born in Savoy on 21 August 1567. Ordained bishop of Geneva (1602), he devoted all his apostolic activity to bringing the population of Chablais, who had passed over to the Protestant Reformation, back to the Catholic faith. Since his academic studies, his pre-eminent theological interests had begun to emerge, culminating in the discovery of his priestly vocation, which however disappointed his father's expectations. In 1593 he received priestly ordination and celebrated his first Mass on 21 December. He was a zealous priest and tireless worker. Given the limited results obtained from the pulpit, he dedicated himself to the publication of leaflets, which he himself slipped under the doors of houses or posted on the walls.

Learn more