Feast Day: September 27
Patron of Charitable Societies
St. Vincent was born of poor parents in the village of Pouy in Gascony, France, about 1580. He enjoyed his first schooling under the Franciscan Fathers at Acqs.
Such had been his progress in four years that a gentleman chose him as sub-preceptor to his children, and he was thus enabled to continue his studies without being a burden to his parents. In 1596, he went to the University of Toulouse for theological studies, and there he was ordained a priest in 1600.
In 1605, on a voyage by sea from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell into the hands of African pirates and was carried as a slave to Tunis. His captivity lated about two years, until Divine Providence enabled him to affect his escape. After a brief visit to Rome he returned to France, where he became preceptor in the family of Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Goigny, and General of the galleys of France. In 1617, he began to preach missions, and in 1625, he lay the foundations of a congregation which afterward became the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists, so named on account of the Priory of St. Lazarus, which the Fathers began to occupy in 1633.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the works of this servant of God. Charity was hie predominant virtue. It extended to all classes of persons, from forsaken childhood to old age. The Sisters of Charity also owe the foundation of their congregation to St. Vincent. In the midst of the most distracting occupations his soul was always intimately united with God. Though honored by the great ones of the world, he remained deeply rooted in humility. The Apostle of Charity, the immortal Vincent de Paul, breathed his last in Paris at the age of eighty. His feast day in september 27th. He is the patron of charitable societies.
St. Vincent de Paul - Important Dates
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1581 |
Vincent was born 24 April in Pouy (modern day St. Vincent de Paul), southern France, about four miles northwest of Dax. |
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1595 |
Vincent went to Dax for about two years as a boarder with the Franciscans to study for the priesthood. |
|
1597 |
Vincent pursues university degree in Toulouse, residing at the College de Foix. |
|
1600 |
He was ordained to the priesthood 23 September at the age of 19 by the very aged Bishop of Perigueux, Francois de Bourdeille in the village chapel of Chateau-l'Eveque. |
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1604 |
Vincent received the diploma of Bachelor of Theology from the University of Toulouse. |
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1608/9 |
Vincent arrived in Paris and took Pierre de Berulle as spiritual director. |
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1612 |
On 2 May he took possession of the church of Clichy, located north of Paris. The parish has about 600 parishioners, mostly peasant folk. |
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1613 |
At the advice of Berulle, Vincent entered the service of the Gondi family as tutor to their children and Chaplain of the Gondi Estates. |
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1617 |
On 25 January, at the request of Madame de Gondi, Vincent preached his sermon on general confession at the church of Folleville, France. This has traditionally been regarded as the first sermon of the mission. In the same year Vincent left the Gondi estates and traveled to Châtillon-les Dombes (eastern France), where he was named pastor 29 July. After encountering the needs of a poor sick family in August and inspiring an outpouring of generosity by parishioners, on 8 December he canonically established a group of lay women to provide organized material service to the poor: the Confraternities of Charity. The group evolved into the Ladies of Charity, an organization of lay women who offer care, concern, and relief to the poor. At the insistance of Madame de Gondi and through the influence of Berulle, Vincent returned as chaplain to the Gondi estates in December. |
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1619 |
In February Vincent was appointed Chaplain-General of the Galleys in Paris; he was able to stop many abuses to the galley slaves. |
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c. 1623 |
Vincent met Louise de Marillac (Vincent 42 and Louise 32). |
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1624 |
Vincent was named principal of the College de Bons Enfants, which later became the first Motherhouse (maison mère) of the Community. |
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1625 |
At the age of 44, Vincent formally founded the Congregation of the Mission 17 April with the financial help of Madame de Gondi to evangelize the rural poor. In 1632 Vincent made Saint-Lazare ("Lazarists" is a common European name for Vincentians) in Paris the community Motherhouse. This house was ransacked on 13 July 1789 by insurgents who stormed the Bastille the next day. In 1792, during the French Revolution, the buildings were confiscated; they were demolished at the beginning of the twentieth century. The present Motherhouse at 95 rue de Sèvres was transferred to the Congregation by the French State in 1817 in compensation for the old Saint-Lazare. |
|
1633 |
29 November Vincent co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Louise de Marillac, to help the Ladies in their service of the sick and the poor -- doing the harder work to which the Ladies of Paris were not accustomed or suited. They were given official approbation in 1655 by the Archbishop of Paris. Vincent also began his Tuesday Conferences in July of this year. |
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1658 |
St. Vincent gave the Community (Little Company) the rule by which it was to be governed. |
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1660 |
Vincent died in Paris 27 September at the age of 79. Louise died the same year 15 March at the age of 69. |
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1729 |
Pope Benedict XIII declared Vincent to be Blessed 13 August. |
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1737 |
Pope Clement XII declared Vincent to be a Saint 16 June. Louise was declared a Saint in 1934. |
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1833 |
Frederic Ozanam founded the St. Vincent de Paul Society and was mentored in his approach to serving the poor by Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity in the Moufftard district of Paris. |
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1885 |
Pope Leo XIII declared Vincent to be the Patron of Charitable Endeavors that emanate from him in any way whatever. |
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