This ability to bring God into daily life that attracted Don Bosco to his spirituality. Don Bosco was also impressed with St. Francis de Sales’ tireless efforts to spread an understanding of the Catholic faith, reading that Francis had even stayed up late at night writing multiple copies of papers to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church.; He then went house to house, placing these tracts under the doors of the people in his diocese. Don Bosco took inspiration from St. Francis of Sales’s apostolate, from his kindly goodness, from his humanity and wanted him as the patron of the Salesian Society. Don Bosco desired that his Salesians would use this same gentleness in dealing with young people.

St. Francis de Sales died in Lyons on December 28, 1622. His feast day on January 24th marks the anniversary of the transfer of his remains to Annecy on January 24, 1623. St. Francis de Sales was canonized in 1665 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1877; he was declared the patron of Catholic journalists and writers in 1923.