Salesian Literature

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

Louis Brisson, a priest of Troyes in France, founded the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.  As a diocesan priest, he was assigned as the full-time chaplain to the monastery of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Troyes. Mother Marie de Sales Chappuis, the superior of that community was convinced that it was, in fact, the will of God that their humble chaplain start a religious order of men to follow the spiritual legacy of St. Francis de Sales.  He resisted.

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However, the presence of God continued to stir within Fr. Brisson, climaxing in an apparition of Jesus Christ.  This moment of prayer provided Fr. Brisson with the impetus to begin his work to gather men as Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, who were founded in 1875.  He also started, with St. Leonie Aviat, the founder of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, to redress the injustices of industrialization as it impacted poor girls in the urban districts of Troyes.  Together, they began schools to ensure that these students would be protected from poverty and conscripted employment.

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