Vincent de Paul

Vincent de Paul,CM(24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known asSaint Vincent de Paul, was anOccitanFrenchCatholic priestwho dedicated himself to serving thepoor.
In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to thegalleys. After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the superior of what is now known as theCongregation of the Mission, or the "Vincentians" (in France known as "Lazaristes"), which he co-founded.
These Vincentian priests, with vows ofpoverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. Vincent was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when the local clergy's morals were flagging. He was a pioneer in seminary education and also founded theDaughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. He is the namesake of theVincentian Familyof organizations, which includes both of the religious communities he founded.
He was renowned for his compassion, humility, and generosity. Vincent wascanonizedin 1737 and is venerated as asaintin both theCatholic Churchand theAnglican Communion.
Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 in the village ofPouy, in the province ofGuyenneandGascony,Kingdom of France,to peasant farmers. His father was Jean de Paul and his mother was Bertrande de Moras. There was a stream named the "Paul" in the vicinity, and it is believed that this might have been the derivation of the family name. He wrote the name as one word, Depaul (possibly to avoid the inference that he was of noble birth), but none of his correspondents did so.He had three brothers (Jean, Bernard, and Gayon) and two sisters (Marie and Marie-Claudine).He was the third child and demonstrated a talent for literacy early in life. He also worked as a child, herding his family's livestock.At age 15, his father sent him to a seminary, which he paid for by selling the family's oxen.
For three years, Vincent studied at a college inDax, Aquitaine. It adjoined a monastery of theFriars Minor, where he resided. In 1597, he enrolled in theology at theUniversity of Toulouse. The atmosphere at the university was rough. Fights broke out between various factions of students which escalated into armed battles. An official was murdered by two students. Nevertheless, he continued his studies, financing them by tutoring others. He was ordained on 23 September 1600, at the age of nineteen, inChâteau-l'Évêque, nearPérigueux. This was against the regulations established by theCouncil of Trentwhich required a minimum of 24 years of age for ordination, so when he was appointed parish priest inTilh, the appointment was appealed in theCourt of Rome. Rather than respond to a lawsuit in which he would probably not have prevailed, he resigned from the position and continued his studies. On 12 October 1604, he received hisBachelor of Theologyfrom theUniversity of Toulouse. Later he received a Licentiate inCanon Lawfrom theUniversity of Paris.
Vincent wrote a letter in July 1607 and a postscript in February 1608 that described his experience of abduction and slavery. In 1605, Vincent sailed fromMarseilleson his way back fromCastreswhere he had gone to sell property he had inherited from a wealthy patron in Toulouse. He was taken captive byBarbary pirates, who took him toTunis.De Paul was auctioned off as aslave, and spent two years in bondage.
His first master was a fisherman, but Vincent was unsuitable for this line of work due to sea sickness and was soon sold. His next master was aspagyricalphysician,alchemistand inventor. Vincent became fascinated by his art and was taught how to prepare and administer his master's remedies. The fame of Vincent's master became so great that it attracted the attention of men who summoned him toIstanbul. During the passage, the old man died and Vincent was sold once again.His new master was a formerCatholicpriest andFranciscanfromNice, Guillaume Gautier. Gautier had converted toIslamin order to gain his freedom fromslaveryand was living in the mountains with three wives. The second wife, a Muslim by birth, was drawn to and visited Vincent in the fields to question him about his faith. She became convinced that his faith was true and admonished her husband for renouncing his Christianity. Her husband became remorseful and decided to escape back to France with his slave. They had to wait ten months, but finally they secretly boarded a small boat and crossed theMediterranean, landing inAigues-Morteson 29 June 1607.
Early biographies referred to Vincent's letters in describing his capture and enslavement from 1605 to 1607. More recently, however, some biographers have raised doubts about that narrative but have not suggested any alternative account of Vincent's life during those two years. The biographer Pierre Coste, who wroteMonsieur Vincent, a comprehensive biography based on correspondence, interviews, and documents, publicly confirmed the accuracy of Vincent's captivity and enslavement. According toAntoine Rédier, however, Coste privately questioned the reliability of Vincent's letters about his enslavement but kept those doubts private to avoid scandal and potential backlash.Skeptics agree that the letters themselves were written by Vincent, but question Vincent's account of the events of 1605–1607. Pierre Grandchamps and Paul Debongnie have argued that the captivity narrative is implausible, whereas the analysis of Guy Turbet‑Delof strongly supported Vincent's account and concluded as follows: "There is nothing in Vincent's writing, or in other sources, that would lead us to reject his testimony. In conclusion, we must accept one of two alternatives; either Vincent de Paul was a prisoner in Tunis from 1605 to 1607, or we must regard his letter of 24th July, 1607, and the postscript dated 28th February, 1608, as a brilliant fraud which he perpetrated without any possible access to literary or other sources for inspiration."
After returning to France, Vincent went toRome. There he continued his studies until 1609, when he was sent back to France on a mission to KingHenry IV. Once inFrance, he made the acquaintance ofPierre de Bérulle, whom he took as his spiritual advisor. André Duval, of theSorbonneintroduced him toCanfield's "Rule of Perfection".Vincent was by nature a rather irascible person, but he slowly learned to become more sensitive to the needs of others.
In 1612 he was sent as a parish priest to the Church of Saint-Medard inClichy. In less than a year, Bérulle recalled him to Paris to serve as a chaplain and tutor to theGondi family."Although Vincent had initially begun his priesthood with the intention of securing a life of leisure for himself, he underwent a change of heart after hearing the confession of a dying peasant."It was the Countess de Gondi who persuaded her husband to endow and support a group of able and zealous missionaries who would work among poor tenant farmers and country people in general.
On 13 May 1643, withLouis XIIIdead,Queen Annehad her husband's will annulled by theParlement de Paris(a judicial body comprising mostly nobles and high clergymen), making her the sole Regent. Anne nominated Vincent de Paul as her spiritual adviser; he helped her deal with religious policy and theJansenismquestion.
Vincent is the patron of all works of charity. A number of organizations specifically inspired by his work and teaching and which claim Vincent as their founder or patron saint are grouped in a loose federation known as theVincentian Family. The 1996 publicationThe Vincentian Family Treepresents an overview of related communities from a genealogical perspective.
In 1617, Vincent began serving poor families in Paris, bringing them food and comfort. He organized wealthy women of Paris as theConfraternities of Charityto assist with this work, collect funds for missionary projects, found hospitals, and gather relief funds to assist victims of war and ransom 1,200galleyslaves from North Africa.This participation of women would eventually result in, with the help ofLouise de Marillac, the founding of the lay-ledLadies of Charityand theDaughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul(French:Filles de la Charité),asociety of apostolic lifefor women.
In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys.After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned slaves there, he founded what is now known as theCongregation of the Mission, or the "Vincentians" (also known in parts of Europe as the "Lazarists"). These priests, with vows ofpoverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages.
Vincent was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when there was great laxity, abuse, and ignorance among them. He was a pioneer in clerical training and was instrumental in establishing seminaries.He spent 28 years serving as the spiritual director of theConvent of St. Mary of Angels.
Vincent died in Paris on 27 September 1660.
TheSociety of Saint Vincent de Paul, a charitable organization dedicated to the service of the poor, was established in 1833 by French university students, led byFrédéric Ozanam. The society is today present in 153 countries.
In 1705, the Superior General of theCongregation of the Missionrequested that the holy process of Vincent'scanonizationbe instituted. On 13 August 1729 he was declaredblessedbyPope Benedict XIII. He wascanonizednearly eight years later byPope Clement XIIon 16 June 1737.
Vincent's body was exhumed in 1712, 53 years after his death. The written account of an eyewitness states that "the eyes and nose alone showed some decay". However, when it was exhumed again during the canonization in 1737, it was found to have decomposed due to an underground flood. His bones have been encased in a waxen figure which is displayed in a glassreliquaryin the chapel of the headquarters of the Vincentian fathers in Paris,Saint Vincent de Paul Chapel, rue de Sèvres. His heart is stillincorrupt, and is displayed in areliquaryin the chapel of the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris.
In 1737, Vincent'sfeast daywas included in the Roman Calendar for celebration on 19 July, this date being chosen because his day of death was already used for the feast ofSaints Cosmas and Damian. The new celebration was given therankof "Double", and was changed to the rank of "Third-Class Feast" in 1960.The1969 revisionof theGeneral Roman Calendartransferred hismemorialto 27 September, moving Cosmas and Damian to 26 September to make way for him, as he is now better known in the West than them.
Vincent ishonoredwith aLesser Festivalon 27 September in theChurch of England.TheEpiscopal Church liturgical calendarhonors him together withLouise de Marillacon 15 March.
One of the feasts celebrated by the French Deist Church of theTheophilanthropywas dedicated to Vincent.
Niagara UniversityinLewiston, New York,St. John's UniversityinNew York City, andDePaul UniversityinChicago, Illinois, were founded in 1856,1870,and 1898,respectively, by theCongregation of the Missionin the United States. Many high schools are named after Vincent.
Parishes are dedicated to Vincent in Los Angeles;Washington, D.C.;Omaha, Nebraska;Mays Landing, New Jersey;Mt. Vernon, Ohio.Houston, Texas;Delray Beach, Florida;Wheeling, West Virginia,Coventry, Rhode Island,Churchville, New York,Peryville, Missouri,Lenox Dale, Massachusetts,Girardville, Pennsylvania,Arlington, Texas,Denver, Colorado,Malang(Indonesia),Philippinesand elsewhere.
Countless books, films, and monuments have been dedicated to his memory around the globe.