Priest, Founder of the congregation of the mission and the daughters of charity, Patron of all the associations of charity
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Vincent de Paul. Priest, Founder of the congregation of the mission and the daughters of charity, Patron of all the associations of charity. “Compassion and charity have made you adopt these little creatures as your children. You have been their mothers according to grace, when their own mothers abandoned them. Cease to be their mothers, that you may become their judges; their life and death are in your hands. I shall now take your votes: it is time to pronounce sentence”
St. Vincent de Paul was born in Pouy, France on April 24, 1581, and was ordained a priest on September 23, 1600. Vincent devoted himself entirely to the alleviation of suffering of the poor.
He went through the streets of Paris at night, seeking the children who were left there to die. Once robbers rushed upon him, thinking he carried a treasure, but when he opened his cloak, they recognized him and his burden, and fell at his feet.
Not only was St. Vincent the savior of the poor, but also of the rich, for he taught them to do works of mercy. When the work for the foundlings was in danger of failing from want of funds, he assembled the ladies of the Association of Charity.
In 1625, he founded the Congregation of the Mission, his community of priests and brothers. With Louise de Marillac, he cofounded the Daughters of Charity in 1633.
Vincent died in Paris on September 27, 1660 and was canonized in 1737. Pope Leo XIII declared him patron saint of all works of charity.
Today, let’s remember Saint Vincent de Paul, and learn from him how to become saviors of the poor.
Heaven is our goal.
Sources: Feast Days – SVDP USA (ssvpusa.org)