Giclée Print - St. Francis de Sales by J. Lonneman

Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622) was bishop of Geneva, Switzerland at the time of the Counter Reformation. Francis is renowned as a gifted preacher and writer who believed that holiness was possible for everyone and not just for monks and nuns, a radical idea at the time. He wrote his most famous book, Introduction to the Devout Life, for these ordinary people in 1608. In it, he counseled busy lay people to "retire at various times into the solitude of your own heart, even while outwardly engaged in discussions or transactions with others, and talk to God."