Saint Vincent De Paul 1581 – 1660 France He is the patron saint of any and all, charitable societies, and is primarily recognized for his charity and compassion for the poor, the sick, the insane, orphans, the starving, spiritually bereft prisoners, Christian galley slaves, and first and foremost, the poor sinful men and women, who did not know what great love God had for them – St. Vincent is sometimes referred to as "The Apostle of Charity" and "The Father of the Poor". Evidently there was no “wretchedness” of his age which he did not try to alleviate. He was eighty years old when he died in Paris on September 27, 1660.

LEGACY OF SAINT VINCENT de PAUL

Seminaries Saint Vincent lived during a time when there were not many priests in France because of existing religious wars. And what priests there were, were neither well-formed nor faithful to their way of life.

Saint Vincent soon found out that ,“it was practically impossible to reform bad priests who had grown old in vice…therefore efforts must be made to train good priest for the future” As a result of this situation, Vincent helped to reform the clergy and the century old manner in which they were instructed and prepared for the priesthood. He did this first through the presentation of retreats and later by helping develop a precursor, to our modern-day seminaries. At one point his community was directing 53 upper level seminaries. His retreats, which were open to priests and laymen alike, were so well attended that it is said he infused a "Christian spirit among more than 20,000 persons in his last 23 years."

Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul The Daughters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious congregation founded at Paris in 1633 by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. St. Louise de Marillac was a well-educated widow woman, who, though unable to join the order of “Poor Claires” due to poor health; was instead was able to become, this new congregation’s superior.

St. Vincent tried to establish in nearly every place he worked, congregations of charity among wealthy women in the area who wished to help the poor. Now the wealthy women didn’t do the indelicate work themselves but provided their domestic maids for this purpose. Eventually, peasant girls were gathered to assist these Ladies of Charity, and they were entrusted to the care of St. Louise de Marillac. This group developed into the “Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul”. This new congregation was a radical innovation by 17th-century standards, because they were neither enclosed, nor called nuns. Their concept pioneered in bringing women into religious service outside the cloister. Indeed, the congregation was the first non-cloistered religious institute of women devoted to active charitable works, especially in the service of the poor. At first, the sisters were dedicated to nursing the poor in their homes, but they almost immediately undertook the teaching of poor children and the running of hospitals, and gradually they became involved in every form of charitable work. Their services during various wars in many countries earned them the title “Angels of the Battlefield”.

The “modern” Society of St. Vincent de Paul - Was NOT Founded by St. Vincent de Paul This is a Catholic charitable organization dedicated to the service of the poor, and was founded by Blessed Antoine Frédéric Ozanam, a French historian, lawyer, and scholar in 1833. Antoine was a great admirer of St. Vincent, and so founded the organization in his honor. Ozanam was notable for his insistence that charity should be extended to non-Catholics and to other countries as well; at the time an unusual belief. He encouraged Roman Catholics to play a part in the evolution of the democratic state, and he remained a clear-sighted theorist of social reform while opposing both the abuses of economic liberalism and any recourse to socialism.