Apostolic Letter
Sabuadiae gemma
"The Jewel of Savoy"
of Pope Paul VI
To the Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries of France, Switzerland and the Piedmont Region, commemorating the Four-Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Saint Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church
To Our beloved Sons, Achilles Cardinal Lienart, Bishop of Lille; Maurice Cardinal Feltin, former Archbishop of Paris; Paul Marie Cardinal Richaud, Archbishop of Bordeaux; Joseph Cardinal Lefebvre, Archbishop of Bourges; Joseph Marie Cardinal Martin, Archbishop of Rouen; Jean Cardinal Villot, Archbishop of Lyons; Charles Cardinal Journet; to Our reverend Brothers, Michael Pellegrino, Archbishop of Turin; Francis Charriere, Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg; Jean Sauvage, Bishop of Annecy, and to Our reverend Brothers, the Archbishops, Bishops, and Ordinaries of France, Switzerland, and the Piedmont Region. Beloved Sons and Reverend Brothers, Paul VI sends Greetings and His Apostolic Blessing.Fourth Centenary
St. Francis de Sales, the gem of Savoy and Switzerland, is looked upon as
the greatest glory of Annecy, a city famous for its mountains, lakes, and
countryside, and even more so for the annals of its sacred and civil history.
The village of Thorens in the neighboring countryside of Annecy has the
privilege of being his birthplace. Since this year marks the four-hundredth
anniversary of his birth it has been decided, and justly so, to honor his
memory publicly by various celebrations, convocations, and observances. Our
venerable Brother, Jean Sauvage, the Bishop of Annecy, informed Us at the
proper time of the forthcoming celebrations. Because of the renown of this
saint and the importance of the event, he has also made known his desire to
proceed in such a way that as many as possible will come from throughout
France and elsewhere to participate in the joyful observances. We praise,
admire, and approve everything that this diligent Pastor has proposed.
Moreover, following the example of Our predecessor, Pius XI, of happy memory,
who honored the three-hundredth anniversary of the death of St. Francis de
Sales by writing the encyclical Rerum Omnium, We also want to send you this
letter, beloved Sons and venerable Brothers, manifesting to everyone Our
great interest in the celebrations to be held according to the desires of the
Bishop of Annecy. Our wish from this moment is that they be successful. We
most willingly write this letter because since Our youth We have held the
Bishop of Geneva in high esteem which has only increased with the years. Thus
We are happy to contribute to the glory of his name. Therefore, We earnestly
encourage you to take this splendid opportunity to honor, knowingly and with
reflection and piety, the Doctor of divine love and evangelical gentleness.
Our good wishes, anticipating the future, move Us to predict varied and
abundant benefits will result.
His Incomparable Influence
Certainly in your countries more than elsewhere this holy Doctor of the
Church was always "a lamp alight and shining,"1 casting the bright
rays of his heavenly light on all sides . Even now he provides you with an
object of study that becomes richer each day. This is probably so because
before all else he was one of your countrymen - beyond Savoy, where he spent
the greater part of his life, he labored in Paris, Lyons, Burgundy, Geneva,
and Turin. But it is especially true because, having a certain innate bond of
kinship with these illustrious nations, he displayed in them in the realm of
the Christian life, even with respect to those persons known for their
eminent virtue, such an influence that, in his time and afterwards, very few
if any are comparable to him . Certainly by the example of his virtue, the
prudence of his counsels, the discipline of his asceticism , he was the
master of the clergy in France and exerted a great influence on the renewal
of the true and pure priestly spirit . His influence was greatly felt by St.
Vincent de Paul in the foundation of the Congregation of the Missions and of
the Daughters of Charity. By his magnificent authority and the warmth of his
spirit, which was said to be almost divine, he helped Pierre de Berulle, St.
John Eudes, and John Olier, all three of whom were educators of the French
clergy and for whom he was a precursor. Your nations assuredly possess in him
an eminent master of great dignity. Esteem for spiritual things, the
evaluation of them, as well as the formation of Christian morals find in the
Salesian grace the pure salt that is agreeable to them. Now that the cycle of
time brings back his memory, will not that memory, while moving us to reflect
upon it, pour forth a generous gift of light, warmth, wisdom and gentleness?
Certainly it will, and what is even greater, this gift will be suitable,
under many aspects, to the needs of the present time.
His Teaching in Our Time
The experience of the past and that which can be read about it clearly show
that the Ecumenical Councils have produced favorable results both during
their sessions and after their conclusion when truly holy churchmen and
pastors recognized for their virtue devoted themselves to bringing the
statues and decrees of the councils to fulfillment by themselves becoming the
living embodiments of the law which they proposed. That just such men,
distinguished by their holiness, might come forth into the light and before
the public eye, is that for which all good men plead and wait in their hidden
desires. Perhaps it will be from your very midst that the dawn of this
brilliant light will come. Whatever happens, one must be confident. We
possess a teacher, an author, a doctor who will help you and many others who
share with you the charge of the episcopal office. He will lead the way and,
going before you, will conduct you to true, holy, and worthwhile
accomplishments. We have no doubt that the truth which he teaches when
studied as it ought to be will conquer all. No one of the recent Doctors of
the Church more than St. Francis de Sales anticipated the deliberations and
decisions of the Second Vatican Council with such a keen and progressive
insight. He renders his contribution by the example of his life, by the
wealth of his true and sound doctrine, by the fact that he has opened and
strengthened the spiritual ways of Christian perfection for all states and
conditions in life. We propose that these three things be imitated, embraced,
and followed.
His Outstanding Virtue
When considering the character and form of the virtues of St. Francis de
Sales , one hesitates to attempt to describe them because their nature and
principal properties are not immediately perfectly apparent. One star differs
from another, one pearl from another, one tree from another, because all that
is beautiful is distinguished by its appearance. But beauty is manifested in
the most perfect way when a harmonious variety of many beautiful things are
gathered together. Thus in a splendid garden, the shrubs, the trees, and the
flowers with their individual scents and colors glow with beauty. However,
the sight is still more beautiful if all the other beautiful things are
completed by a well-balanced and proper arrangement so that the ensemble
makes the beauty, delicacy, and charm of each even more pronounced. In this
very way, all the individual virtues are united in one ensemble by St.
Francis de Sales, moving those who contemplate him to admire and appreciate
him. Wherefore, it immediately comes to Our mind to apply to St. Francis de
Sales that which St. Gregory Nazianzus said in a, fervent discourse about St.
Athanasius: "In praising Athanasius, I will be praising virtue itself.
For speaking of him and praising virtue are really one and the same thing,
for he possessed all the virtues, or more correctly I should say, still
possesses all of them together. For truly all those live in God who lived
according to God even though they have migrated from this life."2 An
acute perception of mind, a solid and clear reasoning, a penetrating
judgment, an almost incredible good will and kindness, a gentle and loveable
suavity of speech and expression, a calm ardor of an ever active spirit, a
rare simplicity of manners, a serene and tranquil peace, an ever firm and
secure moderation nevertheless not separated from strength gentleness
emanates from his strength - by which he was accustomed to love
affectionately, and also to take a firm stand in order to achieve what he
wished, a lofty elevation of mind and a love for beauty, wishing to show
others the most beneficial goods both spiritual and cultural, an immense love
of souls and a love of God, radiant as the sun, which surpassed all his other
virtues, all of this elevated and increased by the superabundance of divine
graces; such are, along with others like them, the characteristics with which
the portrait of St. Francis de Sales is sketched.
The Various Forms of His Pastoral Ministry
Endowed with so many gifts of nature and of grace, he gave himself entirely
to the service of the Church and having received a field to cultivate he made
it bear fruit by virtue of the great care he bestowed on it. He bore the
labors of the pastoral ministry undertaken even amid dangers and perils; he
composed works rich in doctrine; he preached and renewed sacred eloquence; he
reformed many monasteries that had grown lax in religious observance, and,
together with St. Jane de Chantal, with whom he was joined by a bond of
spiritual and supernatural friendship, he founded the Institute of the
Visitation of Holy Mary. This Institute, blessed by virtue of his care and
renown, increased and spread so rapidly by the help of divine grace, that by
the time the holy bishop was taken from this place of exile to heaven there
were already a large number of foundations throughout the country. He applied
all his zeal to cultivating and disseminating holiness, because he thought
that by doing so he would be able to greatly help the Church in his own
corrupt age. As a result of his endeavor, he left behind an example which
would serve future ages as a model and a mirror in which they should
continually scrutinize themselves.
Fundamental Points of His Teaching
His teachings, very much in tune with the needs of our time, are just as
remarkable as his virtuous life. Here are some particular points which seem
to be the more important and constitute the fundamental points of Salesian
doctrine. The Church, if it is considered under the historical aspect, can
not appear as manifestly holy unless it posses holy priests. The priest, more
than any other Christian, is another Christ; his sanctity radiates from
Christ, eternal high-priest and perfecter of faith. The priest is also a
living sign of the grace of Christ. Honor and devotion to the Virgin Mary,
necessary for all the faithful, are especially so for the priest, because
independently of other excellent reasons the Virgin Mary appears as the
archtype of our love for God, Christ and the Church , and this unique and
most gentle Virgin, Mother of Grace and exemplar of all virtues, offers us in
an excellent way a model of evangelical perfection.
The Doctor of Divine Love
In the concert of the virtues, Charity occupies the first place, not only
because it is of a superior rank, but also because it gives to the other
virtues efficiency and harmony, since virtue is the order of love. In man, by
a law of God the Creator, the soul commands the body, and among the faculties
of the soul, the will, which has love for its king and master, is supreme. By
Charity then, when it is resplendent , ardent, and active, we attain the
summit of Christian perfection and we are united to God, sovereign good and
source of beatitude, and, because God is Charity, we become deiform,
participating in a certain way in the divine nature. A fraternal communion
assembles us, binds us and joins us to one another in the Body of Christ, the
Church in heaven and on earth, in which the cohesive element is found to be
Charity. One can reasonably say that the Treatise on the Love of God is
substantially contained in this famous definition of Charity: Charity, then,
is a love of friendship, a friendship of direction, a direction of
preference. This preference is incomparable, supreme and supernatural. It is
present in the entire soul like a sun to beautify it by its rays, in all the
soul's spiritual faculties to perfect them, and in all its powers to
restrain them. But it is present in the will as on its throne, to reside
there and make it cherish and love its God above all things. Ah, how happy is
that spirit into which this holy dilection has been poured, for all good
things come to it in its company.3 Now it seems We should explain in a few
words why St. Francis de Sales appears as a new doctor of the spiritual life
quite suited to the present age. It is not because he breaks the bonds and
cords with the preceding centuries that he is called new and modern; on the
contrary, his doctrine remains profoundly anchored in the fullness of the
faith of the Church, in tradition and in the teaching of the Fathers of the
Church, and in the domain of asceticism and mysticism, he shows that he owes
not a little to St. Ignatius Loyola, Louis of Granada, St. Teresa of Avila,
and indirectly to St. John of the Cross, and finally to the masters of the
Italian school. Nevertheless he applied himself to placing the old in a new
light; he wisely strove to adapt it to the use and advantage of a new age,
and to fashion it harmoniously and tastefully . He also employed the lessons
of beauty, thus passing from the true to the good by the path of pure beauty.
When still a young man, he was formed in the liberal arts by John Maldonat at
Paris, and by Anthony Possevin at Padua and he studied the humanities
thoroughly. As a result he united the cult of humanism with the mystical
ascent and ardor, and in so doing promoted and developed in himself and in
his disciples the varied and harmonious progress of all the faculties of
man.4 Yet he did so in such a way that it can not be said that it is the cult
of humanism that suddenly vanishes in the mystic flower, but much rather the
love of God, descending from above, which without destroying the powers of
nature sublimates them, orders them among themselves with art, and makes them
express the divers forms of beauty and perfection of human nature.
The Universal Vocation to Holiness
That is why rather than speak as has been done of devout humanism, it would
be better to speak of a christocentric superhumanism , applied to the total
holiness of man. And since We have thus touched upon the subject of holiness,
it is apropos at this moment to treat briefly the opinion, which ought to be
done away with once and for all, of those who hold that true holiness , that
which the Church proposes, does not concern all those who profess the
Christian religion but is prescribed and suitable only to some isolated
individuals or those bound by the profession of religious vows. This old
error would reappear in the hidden or openly displayed artifices of some who,
themselves confused and confusing others, falsely distinguish Christian
perfection from evangelical perfection and posit an absurd difference among
the acts of charity of religious, priests, and laity, or by their false
interpretations twist the meaning of the decrees of the recent Ecumenical
Council, in which it has been clearly established and declared that it is
greatly desirable that the ensemble of the faithful including the laity
strive wholeheartedly for holiness of life since they are capable of
attaining it with the help of divine grace.5 The Bishop of Geneva presents
this variety of the forms of holiness under the name and quality of devotion.
The love of God, "when it has attained that degree of perfection in
which it causes us to act not only well, but carefully, frequently, and
promptly, is called devotion."6 St. Francis de Sales, enflamed by the
violence of a holy desire, urgently exhorted and aroused all Christians
regardless of differences of sex, age, fortune, or condition in life, to
cultivate and reap the fruits of this devotion. Holiness is not the
prerogative of one group or of another or of any one person, but an
invitation and a command addressed to all those who bear the name of
Christian. "Friend, go up higher."7 All are bound to ascend the
mountain of the Lord, although not by one and the same path. The practice of
devotion must differ for the gentleman and the artisan, the servant and the
prince, for the widow, young girl or wife. Further, it must be accommodated
to their particular strength, circumstances, and duties. Is the solitary life
of a Carthusian suited to a bishop? Should those who are married practice the
poverty of a Capuchin? If workmen spent as much time in church as religious,
if religious were exposed to the same pastoral calls as a bishop, such
devotion would be ridiculous and cause intolerable disorder .... True
devotion, Philothea, never causes harm, but rather perfects everything we do;
a devotion which conflicts with anyone's state of life is undoubtedly
false.8 On this subject it is good to consider another of the saint's
profound thoughts. He interprets in an allegorical fashion the command given
by God to the earth "to produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and
fruit trees bearing fruit, each according to its kind."9 We know from
experience that plants and fruit trees have not reached full growth and
maturity until they have brought forth seeds and pods that serve to raise up
other trees and plants of the same kind. Our virtues never come to full
stature and maturity until they beget in us desires for progress, which, like
spiritual seeds, serve for the production of new degrees of virtue. I think
that that earth which is our heart has been commanded to bring forth plants
of virtue bearing the fruits of holy works, "each one after its kind,
" and having as seeds, desires and plans of ever multiplying and
advancing in perfection. A virtue that does not produce the seed or kernel of
such desires has not yet come to its full growth and maturity.10
The Spirit of Ecumenism
In its Decree on Ecumenism, the Council has stated: It is, of course,
essential that doctrine be clearly presented in its entirety. Nothing is so
foreign to the spirit of ecumenism as a false conciliatory approach which
harms the purity of Catholic doctrine and obscures its assured genuine
meaning.... Furthermore, Catholic theologians engaged in ecumenical dialogue,
while standing fast by the teaching of the Church and searching together with
separated brethren into the divine mysteries, should act with love for truth,
with charity, and with humility. In the conversations he fostered with
Christians of another confession, St. Francis de Sales anticipated by several
centuries our time and our practices. His method and his manner of acting are
for us a vivid light and an example to be imitated. In him the highest
sanctity was united to the greatest affability and good will. Free of all
aggressiveness in discussion, he loved those who had gone astray, while he
corrected their errors. For his diversity was not a version: he approached
light with another light. Persistent in love, prayer, and the concern to
enlighten, he knew how to wait a long time. He knew how to lead gradually to
the fullness of truth those who had wandered from it, from that truth from
which one can not wander and which no one has the power to diminish. What
result and success did he have? By his efforts in the Chablais alone 72,000
came back to communion with the Apostolic See.
Model for Writers and Journalists
Even more than the art of dialogue, he had a remarkable talent for writing.
The books which he wrote are marked with an authentic wealth of doctrine, a
profundity of thought, a natural beauty adorned with grace! That which he
treats proceeds with measure: he pleases, instructs, moves in the highest
degree. When he writes, the reader has but one fear, as did the listener when
he was preaching; it is that he will finish much too soon. His language
possesses that quality which is an outstanding value of this art - an
undecaying immortality, which Pindar cleverly expressed: "If a man has
expressed something well, it will echo down through the ages, for the
influence of great works is immortal, making its way across every land and
sea."12 He was made the heavenly patron of Catholic writers and
journalists in order to instruct them by his example, urge them by his
authority never to allow themselves to be swayed by the enticements of
onetary rewards nor to be deceived by prejudiced opinions, but possessed with
the spirit of Christ, adhering to the truth with simplicity and honesty, to
exercise their function for the common good, and in this way to deserve well
of the Catholic religion which they serve. If they act in this way, they will
obey in a praise worthy manner the Decree on the Instruments of Social
Communication (ch. 14) of Vatican Council II, and will not miserably betray
the hope, filled with expectation, that has been placed in them.
His Doctrine on the Church
There would be one remarkable trait missing in the portrait of the holy
Bishop of Geneva if one passed over in silence the excellence and wealth of
his doctrine on the Church, its mystery, greatness, nature, and authority.
How zealous was his respect for the mother and mistress of the Churches where
the doctrine of truth is rooted in the chair of unity a praise moreover which
is common to all the saints how filled with submission to her was he in his
assiduous and loveable zeal. He explained so clearly what the foundations of
the Church are and where they are to be found that his doctrine seems quite
useful for interpreting and developing the dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium of the Ecumenical Council. From among the many other points which can
be read but which we omit here, we retain this: Our Lord is foundation and
founder, foundation without other foundation, foundation of the natural,
Mosaic and Evangelic Church, foundation perpetual and immortal, foundation of
the militant and triumphant, foundation by his own nature, foundation of our
faith, hope, and charity, and of the efficacy of the Sacraments. St. Peter is
foundation, not founder of the whole Church; foundation but founded on
another foundation, which is Our Lord; foundation of the evangelic Church
alone, foundation subject to succession, foundation of the militant not of
the triumphant, foundation by participation, ministerial...not lord, and in
no way the foundation of our faith, hope, and charity, nor of the efficacy of
the Sacraments .... But in authority and government St. Peter precedes all
the others as much as the head surpasses the members; for he has been
appointed ordinary pastor and supreme head of the Church, the others have
been delegated pastors entrusted with as full power and authority over all
the rest of the Church as St. Peter, except that St. Peter was the head of
them all and their pastor as of all Christendom. Thus they were foundations
of the Church equally with him as to the conversion of souls and as to
doctrine; but as to the authority of governing, they were so unequally, as
St. Peter was the ordinary head not only of the rest of the whole Church but
of the Apostles also. For Our Lord had built on him the whole of his Church,
of which they were not only parts but the principal and noble parts.13 The
comparison which St. Francis de Sales establishes between Abraham and St.
Peter is also worthy of being weighed, intelligently examined, and profoundly
considered. Each was a rock, each a father of believers, that is, of a
posterity, which is the recompense for faith in Christ, to the one promised
to be as numerous as the sands of the sea and the stars shining in the
heavens, and to the other as an immense flock of lambs and sheep. But if
Abraham was so called because he was to be the father of many nations, so the
same can be said of St. Peter because upon him as upon a strong rock, the
multitude of Christians was to be founded: by this comparison, St. Bernard
called the office of St. Peter the Patriarchate of Abraham.14 May these
prayerful thoughts, these designs of a Christian life, and this will to
affirm the plenitude of the Catholic faith, be by virtue of your diligence
that which enriches the solemnities planned for the four-hundredth
anniversary of the birth of St. Francis de Sales. By the reciprocating
character of the Communion of Saints, this great Doctor will respond to your
homage with the patronage of his merits and the aid of his merciful and
efficacious intercession before God. May this very wise director of souls
obtain for you the meekness and gentleness of our Divine Redeemer, who has
taught us to be meek and humble of heart and has promised us that, if we are
such, we will possess the earth. May the doctor of the spiritual ways lead
numerous followers on the noble and right paths which he has made easy by his
apt counsels. May he enflame the fire of charity and the zeal for the
salvation of souls, teaching those who honor him not to love in words and
speech but in deed and truth. May he help those who belong to the episcopal
order of which he is the glory and exemplar in the faithful discharge of
their duty May he watch over with loving vigilance the Institute of the
Visitation, which he founded. May he keep under his affectionate and
attentive protection the Salesian family of St. John Bosco and others who
have sought from him the principles and forms of the spiritual life. May he
obtain for Catholic writers and journalists and move them to desire an honest
conscience and good faith to seek the truth and to come as close to it as
possible. May he by his salutary intercession show his favor to Annecy and to
Savoy, his birthplace, and obtain for them a resplendent renewal of the piety
of former times. May he obtain by the power of his prayer an increase of
light and evangelical peace for Geneva, his episcopal seat, for Switzerland,
and for the Piedmont Region. Finally for all those who in his honor take part
in the celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary may he obtain a growth
in "the tree of the desire of sanctity, " in accord with that which
he desires in his letters of direction.16 Finally for everyone may his
intercession obtain the best gifts in abundance. While We greatly desire that
St. Francis de Sales, according to his own custom and manner, may also be a
guide for Us amid so many difficult and unforeseen preoccupations in the
accomplishment of Our ministry which demands honesty, firmness, and
gentleness, We most affectionately bestow on you, beloved Sons and venerable
Brothers, for yourselves and for your clergy and the people confided to your
direction, Our Apostolic Blessing, sign and pledge of the gentle effusion of
heavenly grace.
Given at Rome in St. Peter's, January 29, 1967, the fourth year of Our Pontificate.
Notes
1. Jn 5:3 5.
2. Oratio XXI, In laudem magni Athanasii episcopi Alexandrini, 1, PG 35,
1082-1083.
3. Treatise on the Love of God 2:22 (Annecy Edition 4:165).
4. Letter 418 (AE 13:330). Cf. Letter 1867 (AE 20:216).
5. Cf. Conc. Vat. II, Const. dogm de Ecclesia Lumen Gentium, Cap. V, n. 40:
AAS 57 (1965), pp. 44-45; Decretum Apostolicam actuositatem, cap. I, n. 4:
AAS 58 (1966), pp. 840-842; Constitutio pastoralis Gaudium et Spes, pars II,
Cap. I, n. 48, AAS 58 (1966), pp. 1067-69.
6. Introduction to the Devout Life 1:1 (AE 3:15).
7. Lk 14:10.
8. Introduction to the Devout Life 1:1 (AE 3:19-20).
9. Gen 1:11.
10. Treatise on the Love of God 8:8 (AE 5:82).
11. Conc. Vat. II, Decretum de oecumenismo Unitatis redintegratio, cap. II,
n. 11: AAS 5 7 (1965), p. 99.
12. Pindarus, Isth. Od. IV, no. 45-47.
13. Controversies 2:6:2 (AE 1:237-238 and 239).
14. Cf. Ibid. (AE 1:230); S. Bernadus Claraevallensis, De Consideratione,
lib. II, cap. 8, n. 15: PL 182, 751.
15. Cf. 1 Jn 3:18.
Translated by Neil Kilty, OSFS. The Latin text of this Apostolic Letter appeared in l'Osservatore Romano of January 29, 1967.