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This year is the centenary of the proclamation of St Francis de Sales as patron of Catholic journalists by Pius XI with the Encyclical, Rerum Omnium Perturbationem.
The spirit of St Francis de Sales is at the heart of our mission.
In his message for this year’s 57th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Francis described St Francis de Sales as: “A brilliant intellectual, fruitful writer and profound theologian.”
Francis was Bishop of Geneva at the beginning of the XVII century during difficult years marked by heated disputes with Calvinists.
“His meek attitude, humanity and willingness to dialogue patiently with everyone, especially with those who disagreed with him, made him an extraordinary witness of God’s merciful love,” said Pope Francis.
In our more than 30 years in Catholic media, we have worked in all aspects of digital and print communications. It is an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling apostleship, and we have always been guided by a simple, well-known phrase of St Francis de Sales: “Be what you are, and be that well.”
In an age when academic writing was de riguer, St Francis knew that if you’re going to communicate with the greatest number of people, you have to speak in the most understandable of language, and do that with gentleness. Thus the writings of St Francis are marked by the translation of the most complex theologies into the simplest of language. It was this principle that has made his writings so universally admired and respected.
This also made him the natural choice to be the patron of Catholic journalists – after all, our job is to take the complexities of life and make them understandable widely. And for Catholic communicators in particular, everything about St Francis reminds us that communication means little if it isn’t motivated by love.
As Pope Francis said in this year’s Communications Day message: “I dream of an ecclesial communication that knows how to let itself be guided by the Holy Spirit, gentle and at the same time, prophetic, that knows how to find new ways and means for the wonderful proclamation it is called to deliver in the third millennium.
“A communication which puts the relationship with God and one’s neighbour, especially the neediest, at the centre and which knows how to light the fire of faith rather than preserve the ashes of a self-referential identity. A form of communication founded on humility in listening and parrhesia in speaking, which never separates truth from charity.”
In his inimitable way, Francis de Sales caught this command in the simple phrase “heart speaks unto heart”, which was later to become the personal motto of Saint John Henry Newman: Cor ad cor loquitur. (Many of you will also remember this as the title of the late Pope Benedict’s historic 2010 visit to the UK.)
As Catholic communicators we decided to take “be what you are, and be that well” as our guiding motto. At first it seemed as just a simple call to ‘stick to what you know, and do it well!’ Over time our understanding of St Francis’ phrase has deepened immensely, as we’ve measured and examined each thing we’ve achieved against his words. Much more now his simple message is about the love for others that you put into what you do.
As Pope Francis said in his Communications Day message: “communication should never be reduced to something artificial, to a marketing strategy … but is rather a reflection of the soul, the visible surface of a nucleus of love that is invisible to the eye.”
Over 18 months we’ve been very touched by the invaluable support and encouragement we’ve received. We hope we’ve provided a useful service to the Catholic community, and made some small contribution to a wider appreciation and understanding of Catholicism and the joys of having a faith.
As we start out into 2023 we are launching a new digital initiative – www.thecatholicdirectory.co.uk – supported with regular Directory E-News mailings. We hope our communications will act as a portal and encourage conversations within the Catholic community and wider world.
The site will also provide a wide range of news, information, services and details on Catholic organisations across the UK, as well as carrying clergy notices, Catholic job vacancies and a very helpful Mass Finder facility.
As St Francis de Sales once noted: “Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily.” We do hope that you will find our latest ‘little’ initiative helpful and informative.
JOSEPH AND CATHERINE KELLY