4 
F A 
gether and piibliHied at Paris in 1641, by Jolin de la 
flaye, in one voTiime folio. 
FRANCIS DF. BOR'GIA, a Romilh faint, born in 
Spain, about the year 1511. He was .the grandfon of 
pope Alexander VI. and hereditary duke of Candia. He 
obtained the viceroy.fhip of Catalonia, and from his birth 
and connedfions mi”ht have expected the higheft honours 
vt liirlt the king of Spain had to beftcw ; but he grew dif- 
gufted with the world, and determined to embrace the 
tcclefiallical life. One circnmftance that contributed to 
produce this refolution was the lofs of his wife, by whom 
he had a numerous offspring. Relinquifhing to others the 
care of their education, he became a member of the fo» 
ciety of Jefus in 1548, and itt was raifed to the poll 
of general of that order. He refilled feveral ecclefiaftical 
dignities, as well as the high honour of the cardinalate ; 
and dedicated his whole time to the advancement of the 
interefis of the Jefuits. Pope Pius V. knowing his talents 
tor buftnefs, and etuire devotednefs to the Roman fee, 
obliged him to accompany his nephew cardinal Alexan- 
drintis, whom he fent legate into Spain, and Portugal, 
and afterwards into France. He died at Rome, in 1572, 
in the (ixty-fecond year of his age, and was canonized by 
pope Clement X. iti 1671. He was the author of feveral 
theological and devotional pieces, written in the Spanifh 
language. They were trandated into Latin by father 
Alphonfus Deza, a jefuit, and publilhed at BruITels in 
1675, in folio. 
FRANCIS DE JF,SUS-MARI'A,alearnedSpanifli car- 
inelite monk, of the reformed order of St.Therefa, who 
flourilhcd in the 17th century, was a native of Burgos, in 
Old Caflille. He taught theology with much applatife 
in the univerfity of Salaftianca, and difcharged the office 
of definitor-general of his order with great reputation. 
He died in 1677. He was the author of Curfus Theologia 
nioralis Salmanticenfis, publifficd at Salamanca in 1665, in 
folio, and afterwards reprinted at Lyons, and Madrid ; 
Commentaries on the Apocalypfe, publifhed at Lyons in 
1648 and 1649, in two volumes folio. 
FRANCIS DE PAU'LO, a Romifh faint, founder of 
the order of Minims, born at Paulo, a town of Calabria, 
in 1416. In confcqnence of a vow made by his parents 
fo devote him to a religious life, he entered into the Fran- 
cilcan convent at St. Mark’s, the epifcopal town of the 
province, w'here he continued for one year. Afterwards 
he engaged in various pilgrimages, and finally adopted 
the hermit’s life, in a folitary fpot not far from his native 
town. Finding that in this fituation he was expofed to 
too many vifitors, he retired to a defect on the fea-coaft, 
where he conftrucled a cell among th'e rocks. The fame 
of his fandlity drew after him difciples, who built a cha¬ 
pel and a (mail hermitage adjoining to his cell ; btit their 
numbers rapidly increafing, a monaftery was built upon 
the fame fpot, of which the original denomination was 
that of Hermits of St. Francis. After his inliitute had re¬ 
ceived the approbation of pope Sixtus IV. in 1473, 
Francis de Paulo was nominated the fuperior-general. 
At a fubfeqficnt period he revifed and altered his regu¬ 
lations, and obtained pope Alexander Vlth’s confirma¬ 
tion of them in their new form ; on which occafion the 
name of the order was changed to that oi Minims, becaufe 
that out of his profound humility Francis wifhed.him- 
felf and followers to be diflinguifhed by the diminutive 
appellation of Fratres Minimi. The rules of his order 
were extremely rigorous, enjoining on the members a 
perpetual Lent, and great feverity of perfonal difcipline. 
Francis praftifed to an extreme the abftinence 5 nd morti¬ 
fications which he prcfcribed to his followers ; on no oc¬ 
cafion taking any wine, meat, fifh, or milk; contenting 
himfelf with bread and water; never tailing food till after 
iuF.fet; going barefoot; lleeping on the door of his cell, 
without any other pillow than a (lone or a block of wood ; 
and wearing a rough hair-cloth next his Ikin, under a 
coarfe and mean upper drefs. So great was the fuperfti- 
tio.a of the limes, that he acquired the higheft charadter 
FRA 
for piety and virtue by thefe aufterities. His fame foon 
(pread over Europe, in different parts of which many mo- 
nafteries were eredled for friars of his order. So high was 
the opinion entertained of his fandlity, that when Louis 
XI. of France was attacked by a dangerous diftemper, he 
fent for Francis out of Calabria, hoping to obtain a cure 
by virtue of his prayers. This journey he refufed to un¬ 
dertake, until commanded to do fo by the pope. He was 
received by Louis with the greateft honour, and had 
apartments affigned to him in the palace of Pleffis-les- 
Tours, where the king then refided. After the death 
of that monarch, hrs fucceffbr Charles VIII. built a con¬ 
vent for Francis and his monks in the park belonging t« 
th.e palace. In this convent Francis died, in 1507, at the 
advanced age of ninety-one years. He was canonized by 
pope Leo X. in 1519. In Paris the friars of his order 
were called Bons-Hommes, probably after the name of Bon- 
Homme, given by the kings Louis and Charles to their 
founder; and in Spain Fathers of the ViElory, on account 
of a memorable defeat of the Moors by Ferdinand V. 
which it is pretended was foretold by St. Francis. 
FRANCIS DE SA'LES, another faint of the Romilh 
calendar, and founder of the religious order of the Vifita- 
tion. He was defcended from one of tlie mdft ancient and 
noble families in Savoy, and born at the caftle of Sales, 
near Geneva, in 1567. In his'early years his mind was 
ftrongiy impreffed with virtuous and pious principles, and 
he recommended himfelf to univerfal efteem by the fweet- 
nefs of his difpofition, and amiablenefs of his manners. 
His early claflical education he received at the college of 
Annecy; whence he was removed to the univerfity of 
Paris, where he was perfected in the learned languages, 
and went through his courfe of philofophy, and alfo part 
of a theological courfe under the Jefuits. Among th.e 
other profeffbrs whofe ledtures he attended was the fa¬ 
mous John Maldonat. Afterwards his father fent him to 
the univerfity of Padua, to ftudy jutifprudence under the 
celebrated Guy Panciroli. Having taken his degree of 
dodlor in law, he returned into Savoy, and was admitted 
an advocate of the fenate of Chamberry ; but he foon re¬ 
nounced his legal profeffion, and embraced the ecclefiaf¬ 
tical. After having taken orders, and being made pro- 
voft of Annecy, he fpeedily acquired great reputation as 
a preacher; and as he was polfelTed of an ardent zeal for 
the converfion of profelytes, he was fent into the valleys 
of his diocefe, to.endeavour to bring back the difciples of 
Zuingle and Calvin into the papal fold. His labours are 
(aid to have been attended with wonderful fuccefs; in 
confequence of which he was judged to be the moft pro¬ 
per perfon to I'ucceed to the epifcopal dignity in that dio¬ 
cefe. With this view the bilhop of Geneva chofe him for 
his coadjutor: an appointment which he was defirous of 
declining, but was obliged to accept of it by the injunc¬ 
tion of pope Clement VIII. and was confecrated to it un¬ 
der the title of biftiop of Nicopolis. Soon afterwards he 
had occafion to take a journey, to Paris, where Henry IV. 
made him confiderable offers, in order to retain him in 
his kingdom; but he preferred his humble appointment 
in Savoy to the fplendid bifiioprics of which he might 
have had his choice in France, together with a cardinal’s 
hat, and returned to his native country in 1602. It was in 
the fame year that the death of the bilhop of Geneva called 
him to the lull exercife of the epifcopal fundlions in that 
diocefe, when he applied himfelf with great diligence to 
the reformation ofabufes among the clergy, and the mo- 
naftic inftitutions, and united to the charatler of a vigi¬ 
lant ecclefiaftical fuperintendant, that of the good pallor, 
and beneficent friend of his flock. He vilited the fick, 
relieved the poor, and was always ready to afford his 
affiitance, in temporal as well as Ipiritual matters, to all 
w ho applied to him. And he exhibited in'his own life, 
a commendable pattern of piety, purity, candour, and 
unaffected fimplicity and urbanity. In 1610 he eftablifhed, 
in conjunction with madame le Chantal, the order of the 
Vifitation, for female devotees, of which the firft inftitu, 
tion 
