July 19th
St. Vincent de Paul (1581 -1660)
St. Vincent de Paul was a French Catholic priest who dedicated his life to serving the poor.
Early Life and Education
Vincent was born in 1581 in the village of Pouy. His father, Jean, and his mother, Bertrande, were peasant farmers. He was the third of six children and helped tend to the family's livestock. Vincent showed intelligence early - so much intelligence that the neighbors noticed and told that Jean de Paul he was a fool to set such a boy to tend sheep. His father scraped together the money and sent him to the Franciscans' school at Dax, the nearest town.
Five years later, he took minor Orders. He desired further studies and set his heart on university training and a degree. His father sold a yoke of oxen to start Vincent on a career at the University of Toulouse to study theology, but Vincent also had to finance his studies by tutoring.
At the opening of the 17th century, he was ordained and appointed parish priest at Tilh - a very good position. However, another priest claimed that it had been promised to him by Rome. Vincent did not want to contest the matter in court, so he resigned from the position and continued his studies. He received his Bachelor of Theology from the University of Toulouse, and later he received a Licentiate in Canon Law from the University of Paris.
Kidnapping and Enslavement
Although some historians doubt the claim, according to some letters, Vincent was kidnapped by Turkish pirates and made a slave. An old woman of his aquintance had died and left him her property. The chief part of the inheritence was owed to the old lady by a man who fled to Marseilles to escape payment. Vincent was determined to to pursue his debtor. Vincent received part of the payment, and then a friend suggested they return home by sea. This is when they were pursued by Turkish pirates who attacked the ship. Vincent was taken as a prisoner. When Vincent's first master died, he was given to the man's nephew who was a Frenchman who had apostatized. Vincent was successful in converting him back to Christianity and the two men escaped together.
In the Gondi's House
Back in France, Vincent met Pierre de Bérulle, the chaplain to King Henry IV of France, and took him as his spiritual advisor. Bérulle was occupied with the founding the French Congregation of the Oratory, which would go on to do good work for the clergy of France.
Vincent served as parish priest in Clichy until Bérulle recalled him to Paris to serve as a chaplain and tutor to the prominent Gondi family. They were very wealthy and their home in Paris was magnificent. Upon presenting the children to Vincent, Madame de Gondi told him that she would rather her children be saints than noblemen. Vincent later said that dealing with the obstinacy and tempers of the children was what taught him how to be patient and gentle.
The Work of Saving Souls
It was at Vincent's suggestion that Madame de Gondi began to undertake works of charity. he de Gondis usually spent part of the year at their country house in Picardy, and Madam de Gondi was delighted to visit the poor and sick in the country, and to tend to them with her own hands.
Vincent was called to the bedside of dying peasant, and, finding the man still conscious, he urged him to make a general confession. t was upon hearing theman's dying confession that Vincent was moved to greater zeal in saving souls. The following Sunday he preached a sermon in the church on the necessity of General Confession. Crowds flocked to the confessional in such numbers that Vincent had to ask the nearby Jesuits in Amiens to help. Vincent looked back in later life to this first mission sermon as the beginning of his work for souls.
Vincent saw his work of tutoring the Gondi children as a failure. Although he had had positive effects on the parents, the children's behavior remained terrible. Meanwhile, his zeal for souls ardently desired to be exercised so he asked Fr. de Bérulle to send him to a lonely, humble place to work for the poor. His requested was granted and he was sent to the country parish of Châtillon.
Ladies of Charity Vincent found the country parish in a bad state. The church building badly needed cleaning, the clergy were too lax and ignorant. Vincent set to work immediately and began to have a very positive effect on the people. The ladies of the parish were moved with curiosity about this new priest who was having such a strong influence on the people. Vincent begged them to think of the suffering poor around them. Two rich women in particular were touched by Vincent's words and began immediately to give themselves in the service of the poor. Vincent saw that the hearts of the people were ready to give, but that their charity required organization, so he founded the first confraternity of the "Ladies of Charity," who were to work for the relief of the poor.
Meanwhile, the de Gondi's were writing letters to Vincent, asking him to return. After consulting with Fr. de Bérulle, it was decided that Vincent should return to the de Gondi's house, and Vincent promised to remain there during the lifetime of the Countess.
Galley Work As Vincent went about works of charity in Paris, it occurred to him to visit the dungeons where the men who had been condemned to the galleys were confined. M. de Gondi was General of the King's Galleys. Upon seeing the horrible state of the galleys and the condition of the men there, Vincent went to M. de Gondi and urged him to do whatever he could to improve their condition, for he would answer to God for them. Not only did Vincent work to convert the galley prisoners, but he raised money to build a hospital where the prisoners could be nursed to health. The good works of Vincent reached Louis XIII, who made him Almoner to the King's ships, with all the honors and privileges of a naval officer and a salary. This enabled Vincent to carry his mission even farther. Through the generosity of friends, hospitals were being built, and men and women were offering themselves to help in Vincent's works of charity.
Mission Work It was the Countess de Gondi who persuaded her husband to endow and support a group of missionaries to work among poor farmers and country people. She offered Vincent the money necessary to form a group of priests who would devote their lives to evangelizing the peasants on her estates. The new Congregation was to consist of a few good priests who, renouncing all thought of honor and worldly advancement, were to devote their lives to preaching in the villages and small towns of France. In March, 1625, the foundation was made, and Vincent de Paul was named the first superior. Vincent would send his missionary priests out in groups of twos and threes and urged them to concentrate all their thoughts and prayers on their work: they were to live for the mission. For two weeks, the mission priests would tirelessly preach, visit the sick, and reconcile enemies. Preaching missions, providing relief to the poor, and establishing hospitals was to became his passion.
Two months after the signing of the contract of the foundation, Madame de Gondi was taken ill and died.
The Grey Sisters Although Vincent had founded the "Ladies of Charity," and the women were eager to help in the work, the care of the sick demanded ceaseless labor and an amount of time which few wives and mothers could give. There was a widow, Louise le Gras, who had gathered young women from the country to help her in her labors. These young girls from the country were willing to help without payment and Louise le Gras was willing to train them. Thus, the Daughters of Charity were born. "The saintliness of a Daughter of Charity," said Vincent, "rests on faithful adherence to the Rule; on faithful service to the nameless poor; in love and charity and pity; in faithful obedience to the doctor's orders . . . It keeps us humble to be quite ordinary . . ."
One passage of their Rule says: "For the greater honor of Our Lord, their Master and Patron, the Sisters of Charity shall have in everything they do a definite intention to please Him, and shall try to conform their life to His, especially in His poverty, His humility, His gentleness, His simplicity and austerity."
They were called the "Grey Sisters" by the poor. Their work was not confined to the hospitals, but they went far and wide on all kinds of errands of mercy. Overall their work included setting up soup kitchens, organizing community hospitals, establishing schools and homes for orphans, offering job training, educating the young, and improving prison conditions. The Daughters of Charity differed from other religious congregations of that time in that they were not cloistered.
Service to the Queen
When Louis XIII was on his deathbed, it was Vincent de Paul, the humble mission priest, who was at his side. After his death, his wife, Queen Anne, had her husband's will annulled, making her the sole Regent of France. He helped her deal with religious policy and the Jansenist heresy sweeping through France.
Death
In the year 1660, after a life of zealous work in the service of Our Lord, St. Vincent de Paul died a peaceful death. He was heard to murmur softly, "Confido"—"I trust"; and with these words on his lips, as a child puts his hand into his Father's, he gently gave up his soul to God.
This is the account of his life as recorded in the liturgy for the day:
"Vincent de Paul, a French-man, was born at Pouy, near Dax, in Aquitaine, and as a child he fed his father's flock, but afterwards pursued the study of the humanities at Dax, and of Divinity first at Toulouse, then at Sarragossa. Having been ordained priest, he took his degree as Bachelor of Theology; but falling into the hands of the Turks was led captive by them into Africa. While in captivity he won his master back to Christ, by the help of the Mother of God, and escaped together with him from that land of barbarians, and undertook a journey to the shrines of the apostles. On his return to France he governed in a most saintly manner the parishes first at Clichy and then of Chitteong.
The king next appointed him chaplain of the French gallons, and his zeal in striving for the salvation of both officers and convicts was marvelous. St Francis de Sales gave him as superior to his nuns of the visitation, whom he ruled for 40 years, with such prudence as amply to justify the opinion the Holy Bishop had expressed of him, that Vincent was the most worthy priest he knew.
He devoted himself with unwearing zeal, even in extreme old age, to preaching to the poor, especially to country people; and to this apostolic work he bound both himself and the members of the congregation which he founded, called the Secular Priests of the Mission, by a special vow which the Holy See confirmed. He labored greatly in promoting regular discipline among the clergy, as is provided by the seminaries for clerics which he built and by the establishment, through his care, a frequent conferences for priests, and of exercise's preparatory to holy orders. It was his wish that the houses of his institution should always lend themselves to these good works, as also to the giving of pious retreats from Lehman. Moreover, with the object of extending the reign of faith and Love, he sent evangelical laborers not only into the French provinces but also into Italy, Poland, Scotland, Ireland, and even into barberry and to the Indies. On the demise of Louis the 13th, whom he had assisted on his deathbed, he was made a member of the Council of conscience, by Queen Anne of Austria, mother of Louis the 14th. In this capacity he was most careful that only worthy men should be appointed to ecclesiastical and monastic benefits, and strove to put an end to civil discord and duels, and to the errors then creeping in, which had alarmed him as soon as he knew of their existence; moreover, he endeavored to enforce upon all a due obedience to the judgments of the Apostolic See.
His paternal love brought relief to every kind of misfortune, the faithful groaning under the Turkish yoke, destitute children, incorrigible young men, virgins exposed to danger, nuns driven from their monasteries, fallen women, convicts, sick strangers, invalid workmen, even madmen, and innumerable beggars. All these he aided and received with tender charity into his hospitable institutions which still exist. When Lorraine, Champagne, Picardi, and other districts were devastated by pestilence, famine, and war, he supplied their necessities with open hand. He founded other associations for seeking out and aiding the unfortunate; amongst others the celebrated Society of Ladies, and the now widespread institution of the Sisters of Charity. To him also is due the foundation of the Daughters of the Cross, of Providence, and of Saint Genevieve, who are devoted to the education of girls.
Amid all these and other important undertakings his heart was always fixed on God; he was affable to everyone, and always true to himself, simple, upright, humble. He ever shunned riches and honors and was heard to say that nothing gave him any pleasure, except Christ Jesus, whom he strove to imitate in all things.
Worn out at length, by mortification of the body, labors, and old age, on September 27th, in the year of salvation 1660, the 85th of his age, he peacefully fell asleep, at Paris, at St Lazare, the mother House of the congregation of the mission. His virtues, merits, and miracles having made his name celebrated, Clement the 12th enrolled him among the Saints, assigning for his annual feast July 19th. Leo the 13th, at the request of several bishops, declared an appointed this great hero of charity, who has deserved so well of the human race, the peculiar patron before God of all the charitable societies existing throughout the Catholic world, and of all such as may hereafter be established."
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