His main thesis is that everyone, in his or her own way, in the place where he lives and works, can be happy and become a saint. Holiness for the Savoyard saint was not reserved only for monks, religious or priests. On the contrary, the path of holiness was open to all. Four centuries after his death, to this day, this is still a very current theme.
On the occasion of the fourth centenary of the death of Saint Francis de Sales, the Institute of Spiritual Theology of the Salesian Pontifical University is organizing a course on the History and Spirituality of Saint Francis de Sales.
The course consists of three main parts:
Historical part: St. Francis de Sales is placed in his time, the historical, social and economic environment to deepen and learn about his life, from birth to school education in Paris, moments of spiritual crisis, university study in Padua, the mission in Chablais, and the bishop's life until his sudden death in Lyon.
Literary part: it introduces the writings of St Frances. A selection of letters, pamphlets, sermon passages are read and analyzed. Large parts of the Introduction to the Devout Life, lectures to the Visitandines, and chapters of the Treatise on the Love of God are discussed.
Thematic part: through the choice of some themes, we try to deepen our knowledge of the legacy of St. Francis and explore its main ideas. For example, his teaching about spiritual direction, the meaning of friendship, how to behave in moments of sadness is illustrated. This analysis is conducted by comparing the ideas of Francis de Sales with the thinking of other authors, both ancient and contemporary.
The course is open to all those who, on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the death of Saint Francis de Sales, wish to learn more about his life and writings. It will be held every Tuesday afternoon from February 22nd to May 17th, from 3.00 pm to 5.25 pm, in Italian at the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome. At this time it is already certain that the course on Francis de Sales will be filmed and put on one of the university's YouTube channels, and the possibility of having the course online as well is being studied.
The teacher is Professor Wim Collin, a Flemish Salesian. He is currently an adjunct professor in the Institute of Spiritual Theology of the Faculty of Theology at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. He teaches courses on the spirituality of St. John Bosco, the history of the Salesian congregation, the history of the nineteenth century in Turin, the methodology of scientific work.
Participation is free and you can register by email at the address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
