Our Patron

Vincent de Paul was born near Pouy (now St-Vincent de Paul), in Gascony, France, on April 24, 1581. He attended the universities of Dax and Toulouse. Ordained to the priesthood at the age of twenty, for ten years he aimed no higher than a clerical life of ease. During 1609 in Paris he came under the spiritual influence of Pierre (later Cardinal) de Bérulle. His work as chaplain to the Gondi family made him aware of the poverty — spiritual and material — of peasants; his role as chaplain general of the galleys in France made him aware of the terrible lot of the galley slaves. A great change came over Vincent, and he dedicated the rest of his life to the service of the poor.

In 1617 he organized the Ladies of Charity, made up of wealthy women who supplied food and other necessities for distribution to the poor and to the sick. In 1622 St. Francis de Sales appointed Vincent superior of the Parisian convents of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. In 1625 he founded the Congregation of the Mission, the priests we know as Vincentians. With them he originated seminaries for clergy formation, inaugurated programs for continuing clergy education, and fostered formal catechetical instruction of youth. In 1633, with Louise de Marillac, he founded the Sisters of Charity, the first congregation of "unenclosed" women entirely devoted to the poor and the sick. They nursed the poor in hospitals and dispensaries, and in their homes; they cared for the mentally ill, and visited patients after hospital discharge. Vincent was also active in organizing relief work during the religious wars in France.

In his own lifetime Vincent was a legend. Clergy and laity, rich and poor, outcasts and convicts all felt the charisma and selfless devotion of a man entirely consumed by the love of God and his neighbor.