Here is an article Brian wrote for RoL.

January 24th marks the feast day of a great saint and doctor of the Church, Francis de Sales, (1567-1622).
I always viewed St. Francis de Sales as a humble and gentle man, a man who practiced kindness to a heroic degree. I am sure many would agree with this. However, after learning more about his life, I discovered that he was also a man of great courage. This courage is beautifully illustrated during his stint as a missionary from 1594-1598.
Born in the later half of the sixteenth century amidst the Protestant Reformation, Francis was not expected to become a religious. Being the eldest son of the de Boisy family, Francis was expected to marry, take over and manage the family estate and hold a seat in the local government. Of course none of this came to pass. Instead, Francis heard and responded to His Master’s call and was ordained a priest in 1593.
After serving the people of his diocese for roughly a year, Francis volunteered to be a missionary. His mission territory was the region of the Chablias, located near Lake Geneva. This region was considered mission territory for two reasons. First, it was densely populated with Calvinists who were vehemently anti Catholic. Second, those Catholics who lived in the region were few in number and were unable to practice their faith openly for fear of persecution.
Before accepting the assignment, Francis knew the trials and dangers that awaited him. Nevertheless, with the Bible and Rosary in one hand and the Catechism in the other, he entered the Chablias on foot. His resolve and courage to bring the Catholic faith to the people of the region, even when his life was threatened, reminds me of the passage from St. John’s Gospel, “…zeal for my Father’s house will consume me.” (Jn 2:17).
At first, Francis met a great deal of resistance and had little success in converting the Calvinists, but that soon changed. Guided by the light of the Holy Spirit, Francis decided that the best way to reach the Calvinists was by writing and distributing tracts. These tracts explained and defended the Catholic faith and quickly became his chief tool of evangelization.
Overtime, Francis converted the population of the Chablias from Calvinism to Catholicism. In fact, when Francis first started his missionary apostolate there were towns with fewer than ten Catholics. When his missionary apostolate was near its completion, there were towns with fewer than ten Calvinists.
The four years of missionary activity shows how even a gentle and kind man, can be a saint of enormous courage. Let us ask St. Francis de Sales to intercede for us and help us practice the virtue of courage in our daily journey with God.
God bless.