January 24
The saints and feasts remembered on January 24, each with a short life, a Bible passage and a prayer.
Saint Francis de Sales
Gentle bishop who taught that anyone can live a holy everyday life
Francis de Sales was born in 1567 into a noble family in Savoy. His father hoped he would be a lawyer, and he did earn a law doctorate at Padua, but he chose the priesthood and was ordained in 1593.
His first mission was hard: preaching in the Chablais, near Lake Geneva, where people had become Calvinist and many refused to hear a Catholic priest. Francis walked from village to village and wrote short leaflets; tradition says that when doors stayed shut, he slipped them underneath. In 1602 he became bishop of Geneva, though he had to live in Annecy. In 1610, with Jane Frances de Chantal, he founded the Visitation sisters.
He died in Lyon in 1622. His Introduction to the Devout Life, which grew out of letters of advice to a married woman, taught that parents, workers and soldiers can live close to God right where they are. It is still read today, and he was named a Doctor of the Church in 1877.
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28–30 · BSB
A prayer
Gracious God, you gave Francis de Sales a patient and gentle heart, and through him you showed ordinary people that they could love you in their daily work and homes. Teach us to speak the truth with kindness, to stay calm when we meet resistance, and to find you in the tasks of each day. Amen.
The lives are written with AI help from public-domain histories and checked before publishing; the prayers are ours. Bible quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), in the public domain. How we write.