Vincent de Paul

French religious leader and social reformer

• Born: April 24, 1581
• Birthplace: Pouy, France
• Died: September 27, 1660
• Place of death: Paris, France

Most renowned for his charitable and educational work, Saint Vincent de Paul founded the Congregation of the Mission, the Confraternities of Charity, and, with Saint Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity. He also helped in the revival of French Catholicism, and the Roman Catholic Church has named him the universal patron of its charitable institutions.

Early Life

Saint Vincent de Paul was born the third of six children in a peasant family and spent his childhood in poverty. His education, financed through the sacrifices of his parents and his own work as a teacher, included studies in the humanities under Franciscan teachers at Dax, France, from 1595 to 1597, and in theology at the University of Toulouse, where he earned a baccalaureate degree in 1604. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1600. There are unconfirmed stories about his having been captured by Barbary pirates at sea in 1605 and enslaved in Tunis for two years before escaping by ship in 1607.

From 1607 to 1608, Vincent was at Avignon and Rome, and at this time his aspirations were not particularly saintly: He hoped to obtain an ecclesiastical benefice that would enable him to retire to his home and support his mother. While in Rome, he attracted the attention of Pope Paul V , who sent him on a mission to the French court of Henry IV. Arriving in Paris in 1608, Vincent met Pierre de Bérulle, an eminent and otherworldly priest who became Vincent’s confessor and spiritual guide and who influenced him profoundly. Between 1609 and 1620, Vincent gradually reoriented his life goals from the material to the spiritual. Beginning in 1610, he served as almoner to Queen Marguerite of Valois, the former wife of Henry IV, and in 1612 he became pastor of the parish of Clichy, near Paris. He served in this position until 1626, working, according to what he regarded as his special vocation, among the poor peasantry of the countryside.

During this period, Vincent also served as chaplain (from 1613 to around 1625) to the family of Philippe-Emmanuel de Gondi, general of the French galleys. This position afforded Vincent the opportunity to work among the peasants on the Gondi estates, to begin organizing the charitable efforts of women of means, and to alleviate the sufferings of galley slaves. He directed the charitable works of Madam Gondi, who persuaded him to deliver, on January 25, 1617, the sermon on general confession that he considered the first sermon of his mission. For five months in 1617, Vincent ran the parish of Chatillon-les-Dombes near Lyons, where he found his first Confraternity of Charity, an organization of pious laywomen who ministered to the sick and the poor. He returned to the Gondi estates late in 1617 with plans to evangelize all of their lands, preaching many missions and organizing charitable confraternities. He also worked to bring spiritual and physical comfort to convicts condemned to forced labor on galleys, and his work was so successful that King Louis XIII made him royal chaplain of the galleys, in charge of all other fleet chaplains, on February 8, 1619.

Vincent was frail in physique; he has been described as sunny, smiling, and humble in facial expression; accounts of his personality reveal patience, kindness, prudence, energy, and courage. His friend and first biographer, Louis Abelly, reports that Vincent was deeply devoted to the divine presence and that each time he heard a clock strike he would make the sign of the cross and renew his awareness of God’s presence.

Life’s Work

Vincent’s success on the Gondi territories led to his founding, on April 17, 1625, of the Congregation of the Mission (also known as Vincentians and Lazarists), with the help of a gift of forty-five thousand livres from the Gondi family. The purpose of the congregation was to preach missions to poor peasants. It was approved by the archbishop of Paris in April, 1626, given legal existence by the king of France in May, 1627, and finally approved by the Holy See in Rome in 1633. On January 8, 1632, Vincent took over the priory of Saint-Lazare in Paris, and it was there that the congregation’s activities were centered until the time of the French Revolution. From Saint-Lazare, 550 missions to the rural poor were organized before Vincent died in 1660. The congregation grew in size and influence; in 1642, a permanent house was opened in Rome, and soon thereafter the pope ordered that all those to be ordained in Rome must make a retreat with the Vincentians.

While he pursued his work among the poor, Vincent also began to make significant contributions as a clerical reformer. Realizing that such reform was necessary for the revitalization of religious life in France, he began giving ten-day retreats in Beauvais in 1626 for men about to be ordained into the priesthood.

In 1633, Vincent worked with Louise de Marillac, whom he had met in 1625, to found the religious congregation of the Daughters of Charity. It was an innovative undertaking: The Daughters of Charity was the first noncloistered religious institute of women devoted to active charitable works. It developed from the Confraternities of Charity, which Vincent had established in Paris and other towns. Vincent composed a rule of life for the daughters, gave them conferences, and governed as superior general of their order. At first, they nursed the poor at home but went on quickly to teach poor children, care for foundlings, and establish hospitals.

Vincent’s work as a clerical reformer led him into the field of formal education. In 1636, at Bons-Enfants, he established a seminary for young boys. In 1642, he expanded it to include the first of eighteen seminaries of ordinands conducted by the Vincentians during his lifetime.

Beginning in the late 1630’s, Vincent’s work carried him more and more into high official circles of the French government. At the request of King Louis XIII, he sent fifteen priests to serve as chaplains with the French army in 1636 and drew up a rule of life and procedures for them. He organized a mission that was preached at court in 1638 and resulted in the formation of a Confraternity of Charity, composed of ladies of the court. He made appeals for peace in war-stricken Lorraine and organized charitable relief there and in other provinces during the Wars of Religion. In 1643, Vincent was called to assist at the bedside of Louis XIII, who was dying. After the king’s death, Queen Anne asked Vincent to become her confessor. He also became a member of the Council of Conscience, the body in charge of ecclesiastical matters in France. The council was headed by Cardinal Jules Mazarin , the powerful chief minister who succeeded Cardinal de Richelieu during the regency of Queen Anne. Mazarin, an aggressive and worldly politician, opposed and thwarted many of Vincent’s efforts and ultimately forced him to quit the council in 1653.

One of Vincent’s constant concerns during these years was the morals both of the members of the French court and of the public in general. He helped to secure the suppression of indecent plays and books, worked to curb licentious behavior during the Carnival and other festivals, and promoted bans on blasphemy and dueling. He warned the queen against the indecency of the comedies being produced at court.

As a member of the council, Vincent worked, not always successfully, to ensure that only the best candidates would be chosen for the bishopric, and he opposed appointments motivated by nepotism or hopes for political gain. Here again he ran into difficulties with Mazarin; nevertheless, his practical and spiritual guidance was frequently sought by new bishops. It was also sought by reformers within the monastic orders, and Vincent was active in promoting reforms among the Benedictines, Augustinians, and Dominicans.

An orthodox believer, Vincent actively opposed teachings that ran counter to traditional Roman Catholic dogma. He waged a lengthy struggle against Jansenism, a heterodox reform movement that asserted that human nature is essentially evil and that only a small number of humans are predestined to obtain grace and win eternal salvation. He also worked to prevent Jansenist doctrine from being taught at the Sorbonne and rallied the bishops of France to petition the pope to condemn Jansenist errors. Pope Innocent X did so in 1655, as did his successor, Pope Alexander VII , in 1657. Vincent completed writing the rules of his congregation in 1658, falling ill that same year. He died peacefully, his mental faculties intact, on September 27, 1660.

Significance

Vincent’s contemporaries regarded him as a saint; the Roman Catholic Church formally beatified him in 1729 and later canonized him on June 13, 1737, proclaiming July 19 as his feast day in the liturgical calendar. His missionary, educational, and charitable works were recognized throughout France and on the Continent during his lifetime, and these works continued to bear fruit after his death. He was one of the most influential social workers in world history; Vincent’s own organizations have survived into the twentieth century.

Through his life and works, Vincent has come to epitomize Christian social action for succeeding generations. His example inspired Frédéric Ozanam, a French historian, lawyer, and scholar, to found the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in the 1830’s. This celebrated charitable organization had about two thousand centers in the twenty-nine countries by the time of Ozanam’s death in 1853 and continues to serve the poor throughout the world. In 1885, Pope Leo XIII declared Saint Vincent de Paul the universal Patron of Charity. He has been honored with the titles of “Father of the Poor” and “The Inspiration of the Clergy.”

Bibliography

Coste, Pierre. The Life and Works of Saint Vincent de Paul. Translated by Joseph Leonard. 3 vols. Westminster, Md.: Newman Press, 1952. This 1932 study, which received the French Academy’s prestigious Grand Prix Gobert, is the standard biography of Vincent. Complete, methodical, and scholarly, it offers the fullest available account of Vincent’s life and achievements.

Dodin, André. Vincent de Paul and Charity: A Contemporary Portrait of His Life and Apostolic Spirituality. Translated by Jean Marie Smith and Dennis Saunders, edited by Hugh O’Donnell and Marjorie Gale Hornstein. New Rochelle, N.Y.: New City Press, 1993. Dodin’s book is divided into three sections: information about Vincent’s life, an analysis of his spirituality, and excerpts from his writings. Includes sixteen pages of photographs and an annotated bibliography.

Kovacs, Arpad F., ed. St. Vincent de Paul. Jamaica, N.Y.: St. John’s University Press, 1961. Seven essays addressing Vincent’s background, life, and influence. They cover the spiritual climate of his century, the social work of Vincent, his relationship to Jansenism, and other topics.

Marynard, Abbé. Virtues and Spiritual Doctrine of Saint Vincent de Paul. Revised by Carlton A. Princeville. St. Louis, Mo.: Vincentian Foreign Mission Press, 1961. Draws from the conferences, correspondence, and personal lives of Vincent and Louise de Marillac to present their ideas about Christian virtues and doctrine. The majority of this volume is devoted to Vincent.

Pujo, Bernard. Vincent de Paul, Trailblazer. Translated by Gertrud Graubart Champe. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003. In this English translation of his French biography, Pujo describes how Vincent was able to attain spiritual goals within the secular world of political, economic, and religious upheaval.

Purcell, Mary. The World of Monsieur Vincent. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963. Reprint. Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1989. A sensible, clear, and lively narrative of Vincent’s life and times. Purcell focuses on Vincent’s social and historical milieus, drawing vivid portraits of persons and places important in his life. An excellent introduction for the general reader.

Saint Vincent de Paul: A Tercentenary Commemoration of His Death, 1600-1960. Jamaica, N.Y.: St. John’s University Press, 1960. Includes twelve Saint Vincent de Paul Annual Lectures delivered at St. John’s University between 1948 and 1959. The lectures address Vincent’s personality, spiritual and social views, educational and charitable endeavors, relations with other social reformers and political figures, and the process of his canonization to sainthood.

Vincent de Paul, Saint. The Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul to the Sisters of Charity. Edited and translated by Joseph Leonard. 4 vols. London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, 1938. Texts of 120 conferences delivered by Vincent to the Daughters of Charity between 1634 and 1660. The conferences address the practical and spiritual lives of the sisters. Leonard includes an introduction, explanatory narrative, and footnotes.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Letters of St. Vincent de Paul. Edited and translated by Joseph Leonard. London: Burns, Oates and Washbourne, 1937. Vincent reportedly wrote about thirty thousand letters, the majority of which were lost over the centuries. The nearly 250 letters in this book, written between 1607 and 1659, cover all aspects of Vincent’s life and work. Includes a biographical introduction by Henri Bremond, as well as copious notes, an index, and illustrations.