Vincent de Paul (1581–1660)

Biography

His parents were farmers and struggled to feed their six children. Vicente collaborated in the family economy, taking care of a small herd of sheep. They put him to study with the Franciscans. A farmer, upon seeing his good qualities, had him as a tutor for his children and sent him to study in Zaragoza and Toulousse. At the age of 19 he received the priesthood. He served as a parish priest in Paris. He founded the Congregation of the Mission, intended for the training of the clergy and the service of the poor, and also, with the help of Saint Louise de Marillac, he founded the Congregation of Daughters of Charity. "For a monastery," he tells them, "you will have the wards of the sick; for a cloister, the streets of the city; for bars, the fear of God and for a veil, holy modesty." As a priest in the Parish of Chatillon les Dombes he realized the idea of ​​fraternal mercy within the community, in a completely new way. With a sermon he moved the hearts of his parishioners, in such a way that many dedicated themselves to the personal care of the sick and to visiting the poor, sharing their goods with them, thus creating two ecclesiastical brotherhoods for men and women: "THE SERVANTS OF THE POOR" and "THE HELPERS OF THE POOR", which served as a model for future Vincentian and Elizabethan associations. Apart from organizing the brotherhoods mentioned above, it cares for and defends those condemned to the galleys. Know his pitiful life. This is how he manages to change the legislation and provide more humane treatment for them. His apostolic zeal launches him everywhere. He founded the "CONGREGATION OF THE PRIESTS OF THE MISSION", to reform the Clergy, direct Seminars and give missions. The center is San Lázaro, so in the future they would be called "Lazaristas". Where there was a need, Vicente was there. "It is not permissible to get lost in theories, he wrote, while nearby there are children who need a glass of milk to survive. The poor will be our judges. We can only enter heaven on the shoulders of the poor." And he still had time to convert Jansenists and Huguenots, to direct holy souls, like Saint Joan of Chantal. Due to his works and foundations, he is one of the great benefactors of humanity. He also wrote letters, memoirs, conferences. And the man of action always appears, the friend of the poor, the organizer of charity, the apostle, the saint. His Sons and Daughters, and the St. Vincent de Paul Conferences, founded by Ozanam, continue his work. His friends would remember his last words: "after giving everything for Our Lord, we have nothing left to give. We will put the key under the door and quietly leave." He died in 1660. His remains are venerated in the Lazarist Chapel in Paris.