Hajja Salesjana April-June 2022

‘Catholic League’, were not always averse to armed intervention. Second phase of his education: introduction to theology and personal interior crisis In Paris, Francis pursues his passion for theology, borrowing lecture notes from his tutor, a theology student at the Sorbonne. He attentively follows the De Auxiliis controversy concerning predestination and the relationship between divine grace and free will. In December 1586 (at 19 years of age), sensitive by character and immersed in a complex social environment, Francis experiences an interior crisis: he believes he is predestined to eternal damnation. Entrusting himself to Mary’s intercession, (praying before the image of the 'Black Virgin' of Paris, venerated at the time at the church of Saint-Étienne-des-Grès, he overcomes his anxiety and in 1588 completes his studies. Third stage of his education: legal studies in Padua His father is adamant that Francis complete his legal training in Padua. There, Francis meets Antonio Possevino, a Jesuit who becomes his spiritual guide, and Lorenzo Scupoli, a Theatine priest. Upon completion of his law degree, Francis makes a personal pilgrimage to Loreto before returning to the family castle at La Thuile, France, in 1592. He spends the following months 'dismantling' his noble career (prepared for him by his father) as a senator of Savoy and pursuing his deep-rooted vocational aspirations which had surfaced in 1578. Meanwhile, the bishop of Geneva, Msgr De Granier, exiled in Annecy, had secured a papal bull from Clement VIII appointing Francis 'Provost of the Cathedral 27 hajja Annecy Chaateau de Sales April - Ġunju 2022