CHARMOISY, LOUISE de. - The “Philothea” of St Francis de Sales, born into the noble de Chastel family around 1587, lady-in-waiting to the dowager Duchess of Guise, married Claude de C., cousin of St Francis de Sales, in Paris in 1600, and followed him to Savoy. Having become the Saint’s penitent (perhaps as early as 1604), she received from him a series of rather extensive spiritual counsels, meditations, and exercises, in which the holy bishop expounded, from time to time and also for the use of other souls, his doctrine of devotion for persons living in the world. Having arranged them, L. de C. showed them to various persons, including the rector of the Jesuits at Chambéry, Fr Giovanni Fourier, who urged the author to revise these writings and have them printed.
The first edition of the Introduction à la vie dévote appeared in Lyons at the end of 1608 or at the beginning of 1609; subsequent editions (from the summer of 1609 onward) became more complete and systematic, and somewhat softened their original personal character. The traditional thesis, vigorously contested by D. Mackey, which sees the Introduction as an occasional work, composed of letters and notes fortunately preserved and arranged, must in any case be taken « cum grano salis ».
Widowed in 1618, Luisa de C. took part in the process of beatification of Francesco di Sales in 1632; she died at Villy on 1 June 1645.