Saint Vincent de Paul

Born to peasant farmer parents in France in the 16th Century, Saint Vincent de Paul showed much promise for reading and writing at an early age.  At age fifteen, he was able to enter the seminary to continue with the study of theology from the livestock his family sold.  By age twenty, he was ordained a priest.  He was an excellent tutor, having mentored some children of the French nobility.  Aside from teaching, he began to lead missions for peasants on behalf of this noble family.  He realized that he should direct more of his efforts in helping the poor which grew such missions into a ministry of charity.  Soon, he was appointed royal almoner (an official distributor of alms) of King Louis XIII.  Through this, he was able to also build hospitals for the poor and convicts in France.

Saint Vincent de Paul was the founder of the Congregation of Priests of the Mission, a group of priests who served by evangelizing those who resided in the countryside.  Many people had wanted to convert and reform their lives, seeing the work of Saint Vincent and his fellow clergy.  Because of this, he became instrumental in establishing seminaries or re-opening older ones to meet the increased need for priests.  Given his background in teaching, he also pioneered work on clerical training.  The example of Saint Vincent de Paul in serving the poor inspired international ministries to carry on with the work his started up to this day and for that he is referred to as the “Apostle of Charity.”

Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us!

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