History of the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales

St Francis(1567-1622) was the Bishop of Geneva. He was declared patron of writers and Doctor of the Church. He was chosen to be the spiritual patron of the MSFS.
Fr Peter Mermier founded the Missionaries of St Francis de Sales in 1838 to renew the church in France after the Chruch was expelled from the country during a civil war. With a band of priests Fr Mermier went from church to church catechizing the faithful.
Fr Basil Luyet was a biology teacher in our Secondary School in Geneva who did research on Freezing things that was so advanced he was invited to do research at the University of Wisconsin. His earnings enabled the order to establish a foundation in the United States in 1975.
The Missionaries of St Francis de Sales number 1,200 Priests and Brothers in the World. We offer ourselves to Bishops in need to serve the church. If we are not trained in a discipline needed by a Bishop we will study to help in any way possible. Bishop Rey(right) was the first Bishop helped by Fr Mermier when he founded the order. Bishop Rey helped Fr Mermier get the order approved by Rome. He was the Bishop of Annecy, France, where St Francis de Sales was Bishop.