Saint Vincent de Paul

Saint Vincent was born in France into a poor family. From a very young age, he was entrusted with tending cattle, sheep, and pigs. Through his closeness to nature and the simplicity of rural life, he learned humility and simplicity.

He began his schooling at the age of twelve and excelled in the study of French and Latin. His uncle, who was a priest, recognized his abilities and encouraged him to pursue the priesthood. At the age of sixteen, he received the first stages of Holy Orders and was ordained a priest at the age of twenty.

Circumstances later led him to Marseille. While returning by sea, he was captured by pirates and sold into slavery in Tunis. The last of his masters later took him to Paris, where Vincent regained his freedom.

There, a friend obtained for him a position in the service of Queen Margot, where he was entrusted with distributing alms to the poor.

He later met a prominent spiritual figure whom he chose as his spiritual director. He was appointed parish priest of Clichy and subsequently became a private tutor to a prominent family connected with the royal fleet.

Later, the necessary resources were placed at his disposal to establish the Congregation of the Mission, dedicated especially to evangelizing rural communities. Its members later became known as the Lazarists.

He also founded the Confraternities of Charity, which expanded their mission to provide both material and spiritual assistance to the poor and to defend the dignity and rights of the destitute and those excluded from society.

Saint Vincent also devoted particular attention to abandoned children, establishing homes for them and entrusting their care to the Daughters of Charity. He also founded a shelter for beggars.

He was subsequently appointed Chaplain General of the Royal Fleet and began visiting those condemned to forced labour, offering them assistance, proclaiming the Gospel, and providing spiritual guidance and consolation.

During the Thirty Years’ War in Europe, he organized the daily distribution of food to thousands of people and provided shelter for many young women in order to protect them from violence.

He established a house in Rome and sent priests there to preach to the people. He also sent missionaries to the island of Madagascar, where the Lazarists contributed to the spread of Christianity, as well as to Tunisia and Algeria to assist travellers and others who had fallen into captivity.

Saint Vincent spent about thirty years at the Lazarist house, directing and overseeing the work of his spiritual sons and daughters, particularly the Daughters of Charity, wherever their communities had been established.

Having faithfully fulfilled the mission God had entrusted to him, Saint Vincent passed into eternal life after a lifetime devoted to serving and evangelizing the poor and tirelessly combating poverty, suffering, and disease.

Today, the Church honours him as the patron saint of charitable works and, in France, as a patron of works dedicated to public assistance and the care of the poor.

The Church celebrates his feast on September 27.

Prepared by Rita, of the Sawt el Rab team