Saint Francisca Salesia is the co-founder of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales alongside Blessed Louis Brisson.

Léonie Aviat was born in Sézanne on 16 September 1844 to the shopkeepers Theodore Aviat and Emilie Caillot; she was baptized on the following day her local parish church.

In 1845 she attended the convent school of the Visitation in Troyes as a boarder. While attending the school from 1845 to 1860 she was taught – and received spiritual guidance – from the Servant of God Marie de Sales Chappuis (the superior) and the holy priest Blessed Louis Brisson (the chaplain). Aviat received both her First Communion and her Confirmation from Bishop of Troyes Pierre-Louis Coeur on 2 July 1856.

She expressed her intention to become a religious however both her parents wanted her to wed a certain rich man. In 1866 she made a spiritual retreat for spiritual discernment about her future. She approached both Brisson and Chappuis who advised her to wait, so she deemed this to be the will of God. This vocation solidified further when she visited one of the factories where glasses were made and repaired in Sézanne: the sight of the workman doing their jobs under their supervisor inspired her to be with them to counsel and guide them towards God while affirming the importance of their work.

She entered religious life on April 11, 1866, she took the veil on October 30, 1868 taking the name of Sister Frances de Sales. She made her final vows on October 11, 1871.

With Father Louis Brisson and Mother Marie Therese de Sales Chappuis she founded the Sister Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales in Troyes, France. Their mission was dedicated to helping young women who came to them during the Industrial Revolution. She took the Salesian Rule for the Congregation.

She became the first Superior General of this congregation and served two separate terms in office, the first being from 20 September 1872 until 8 October 1879, when she gladly stepped down. On one occasion in 1873 she was credited with curing the abscessed heel bone of a postulant, using a relic of St. Francis de Sales.

Due to religious persecution and anti-religious legislation, she was exiled from France on April 11, 1904. She rebuilt her congregation in Perugia, Italy and the Order was approved by Pope Saint Pius X in 1911.

On 26 December 1913 she became bedridden with a high fever, that worsened on 9 January 1914 when se received the last rites. She died of bronchopneumonia on 10 January 1914. On 9 April 1961 her remains were removed from their resting place in Perugia to Troyes to the church of Saint Gille that her order managed; her remains were inspected on 11 April 1961 as part of the sainthood process.

The beatification process opened in 1929 in an informative process that continued until its closure in 1934, while an apostolic process was later inaugurated in 1959 and was concluded later in 1961. On 1 July 1936 her spiritual writings were found orthodox, leading to her being named Servant of God by Pope Pius XII on 9 April 1957. On 14 January 1967 the Congregation for Rites validated both the informative and apostolic processes in Rome while the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and their consultants issued their approval to the cause on 20 March 1978. The C.C.S. approved the cause's merits on 23 May 1978. The confirmation of her model life of heroic virtue allowed for Pope John Paul II to proclaim her as Venerable on 1 December 1978.

The miracle for her canonization was from the healing of the paralyzing spinal disease of a 14 year old girl from Philadelphia. Here are words from Pope John Paul II's homily at her beatification: " She dedicated her life to educating young working women. Union with the redemptive sacrifice of Christ by the daily practice of self denial was Mother Francois’s central orientation throughout her life. Her sole desire to be, as she said, ‘God’s little instrument.’”

"May my love unceasingly offer something to my Divine Jesus."

Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Peter Orseolo
2. Saint Paul the Hermit
3. Saint William of Bourges
4. Saint Agatho, Pope
5. Saint Marcian of Constantinople