Francis de Sales
Saint Francis de Sales is the patron of writers and journalists because of how he himself evangelized: when the Calvinists of the Chablais refused to come hear him preach, he wrote out his arguments by hand and slipped the leaflets under doors and even through cracks in the walls, winning back thousands of souls one printed page at a time — a pioneer, in effect, of the religious tract. His gentle, immensely popular books, above all the Introduction to the Devout Life, sealed his reputation as a master of the written word, and Pope Pius XI named him patron of writers and the Catholic press in 1923. He is also invoked for the deaf because, as Bishop of Geneva, he patiently taught a deaf man named Martin a sign language so that he could be catechized and receive the sacraments — one of the earliest recorded efforts of its kind.
Saint Francis de Sales was the Bishop of Geneva and a Doctor of the Church, known for his gentle approach to spiritual direction. Born in 1567 in Savoy, he is best known for his Introduction to the Devout Life, which made the pursuit of holiness accessible to laypeople. He co-founded the Order of the Visitation with Saint Jane de Chantal.
