Mission

The story of Our Patron

Saint Vincent de Paul

1581 - 1660

Vincent de Paul was born on April 25, 1581 in Pouy, a place in the country near Dax in southeast of France.  His parents, Jean de Paul and Bertrand de Moras were peasants.  The boy Vincent spent the first years of his life in the countryside; he worked, went to the local school and lived in a rural atmosphere where the values of honesty, justice, fidelity to family and faith are important.  

His parents observed that Vincent had an inclination for studying so they sent him to the school of the Franciscan Fathers in Dax in 1596.  To help defray his expenses, Vincent worked as private professor to the children of Monsieur de Comet, judge of Pouy and lawyer of the presiding Bar of Dax. .

He took up courses at the Faculty of Theology at the University of Toulouse in 1597.  This entailed a great sacrifice on the part of his father: he had to sell a pair of oxen to finance his studies.  His father died the following year and Vincent made a resolution; he could no longer continue studying at the cost of his family.  So, he started a small boarding house for young students and children of gentlemen and meanwhile continues with his seven years of theological studies.  He became a sub-deacon on September 19, 1598 and a deacon on December 19 of the same year.  He was ordained to the priesthood on September 23, 1600 by the old bishop of Perigueux, Monsignor Francis de Bourdeilles.   

From that moment on he starts his travels and the geographical map drawn by the young Vincent de Paul looks quite scattered: Dax, Bidache, Tarbes, Toulouse, Perigueux, Marseilles, Rome at least twice, Avignon... There are events and dates in his life that are not very clear, such as the story that he was captured by a pirate ship and was a prisoner in Tunis.  This appears to be a period of learning, of searching, of being informed.  At this time, the desire to use the priesthood as a means for him and his family to live well still dominated him.  

In 1608, at the age of 27, he goes up to Paris and in Faubourg Saint Germain, a judge of Sore, a little town in Landes, agrees to share his residence with him.  A sad incident soon ends this happy situation.  One morning, the judge goes to the courthouse, leaving Vincent sick in bed.  The boy from the pharmacy brings him the required medication but before administering it, takes the glass and pouch from the open closet.  Upon noticing the theft, the judge accuses Vincent immediately and throws him out of the house.  The moral prejudice suffered by Vincent is great because the parish priest of Saint Germain accuses him in public for two successive Sundays.  He experiences the harsh reality of injustice.  This is his first experience in the world of poverty.  A change occurs in his life and he begins to be more concerned with his sanctity; through a process of conversion he rediscovers his vocation.  Fr. Pierre de Bérulle helps him find new values: he begins to give importance to the Incarnation, to the priesthood as a fountain of holiness, to the greatness of God and littleness of man.  

In the years 1612-1613, Vincent meets a priest whose counsels he will follow scrupulously, Fr. André Duval, doctor of Theology in Sorbonne.  He still maintains contact with Bérulle who has instituted the Oratory in Paris.  Vincent finds himself drawn momentarily to this emerging community but discovers that his vocation does not lie there so he continues his search and accepts a proposal from the founder: take the place of Fr. Bourgoing, parish priest of Clichy.  A year later, at the advice of Bérulle, Vincent assumes the function of chaplain to the family of Philippe Emmanuel de Gondi, captain of the Galleys.   

It is on January 24, 1617 when Vincent discovers the poor, the man in need of different kinds of assistance.  A dying man in Gannes tells him he would have been condemned had he not made a good general confession before his death of the mortal sins he had ashamedly kept silent of.  At this, Vincent delivers at the Church of Folleville on January 25, 1617, feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, his first missionary homily about general confession.  The work has now begun: from one town to another, Vincent preaches, listens, absolves.  He starts a missionary work.     

Not wishing to remain anymore at the de Gondi castle, his spiritual director, Cardinal de Bérulle, assigns him to the parish of Chatillón-les Dombes. In this parish, on Sunday, August 20, 1617, he is told of a family that died of starvation; he preaches about this incident during the Mass and the people respond positively with a spontaneous charity.  But Vincent believes that charity should be organized so he founds the lay institution that in the beginning was called "Confraternity of Charity".  They were also called "Ladies of Charity" in the sense that the members were mainly married women who belonged to high society.   These groups are now known internationally as AIC (International Association of Charity). 

For the purpose of establishing a more solid and stabe institution and after receiving a donation of 45,000 liras from the de Gondis for the missions, Vincent founds on April 17, 1625 the "Congregation of the Mission".  The Founder does not want a religious institution, but rather a secular one; he wants his missionaries to be ready and available to work with the poor.  Vincent and his missionaries go to all the plains and valleys as well as the Isle of France.  From now on, he knows what he has to do: fill the spiritual hunger of the peasants of France and feed the poor, bandage the wounds of the sick, visit hospitals, organize soup kitchens with the help of the women, preach, hear confessions, reconcile men among themselves.   

At the same time that the Confraternities of Charity multiply and grow in scope, these give rise to problems regarding lack of control and manpower.  Many of the ladies did not or would not give direct service to the poor.  At this comes a decisive encounter with a noble lady:  Louise de Marillac.  Vincent succeeds in convincing Louise to visit the groups, follow-up on the ones in-charge, encourage the teams, strengthen the relations with the parish priests.  But the needy demanded a full-time dedication and continuous presence of committed persons.  For this purpose, the "Company of the Daughters of Charity" is born on November 29, 1633.  They are not religious; they are servants of the poor.    

From 1633 onwards, Vincent has reached full maturity and continues to animate his works, living in a charitable spirit and practicing charity with others.  At his request, the Ladies and Daughters of Charity have assumed the task of taking care of abandoned children.  Never had these been given so much tenderness, self-giving and true love.  Popular piety has preserved this powerful symbol to immortalize St. Vincent: he always had children in his arms or by his side.  

We also see Vincent confronting the serious issues of wars and famine that break out in his country. He puts into motion assistance in Lorraine, Isle of France, Picardy, Champagne.  He unfurls works of ingenuity and organization; he makes out pamphlets that list down different needs such as provisions, clothes, seedlings, and even relgious objects.  

Vincent de Paul, priest and evangelizer of the poor, reformer of the clergy and man of charity died peacefully on September 27, 1660 after saying the prayer "Oh God, come to my assistance".

The Story of our founder

1813 - 1853

Frederic Ozanam was born into a European culture deeply affected by the religious cynicism of Voltaire and afflicted by social inequality and class conflict.  Voltaire ridiculed the Church and considered religious worship, especially the Eucharist, a mere civic rite to pacify the masses and maintain social solidarity.  On the contrary, Frederic, with keen intellectual insight and high social consciousness, viewed life through the lens of faith, seeing Jesus’ self-offering as the genuine pattern for solidarity and service within the human community.

          As a student at the state-run Sorbonne, this brilliant, sensitive young man of modest middle class background was confronted daily by the misery of the working poor of Paris, immortalized in Puccini's La Boheme and Hugo’s Les Miserables. Unlike the good bishop in Hugo’s novel who invests his silver in the future of a poor man, the Archbishop of Paris was perceived to be in league with the King's repression of the working class and inattentive to the desperate situation of the poor. Frederic challenged his friends at the university: “If we are too young to intervene in the social struggle, are we then to remain passive in the middle of a world which is suffering and groaning? No, a preparatory path is open to us. Before doing public good, we can try to do good to a few. Before regenerating France, we can give relief to a few of her poor.“

           Committed to do more than talk about faith, Frederic, with a small group of friends, formed the first “Conference of Charity,’ which met weekly to contribute to a secret collection and then visit the poor in their homes.  This active witness derived from Ozanam’s faith vision but also from his ”Vincentian preference” for what he called self-forgetful charity over ostentatious philanthropy. Frederic and his companions were inspired by Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity, who served the needy, stood at the barricades with the poor, and mentored these young students.  Today, the world-wide St. Vincent de Paul Society continues this type of quiet service through its almost one million members.

          Frederic knew professional success and professorial achievement.  While he honored his father's wishes and became a lawyer and professor of law, he also pursued his abiding passion for literature. Having earned two advanced degrees, he was a prolific scholar on a broad range of topics from the theory of law to Italian and German literature.  His journalistic writings are strikingly modern in social analysis, praise of democracy, support of workers' rights, and direct, crisp style. His lectures, books and correspondence document his belief that Christianity and progress, like faith and science, far from being incompatible, are mutually generative. 

            A loving husband and devoted father, Frederic achieved greatness as a gifted scholar, a dedicated teacher, a generous Christian, and a gentle but effective reformer.  True to the example of St. Vincent de Paul, he creatively sought to respond to the needy with sensitive charity and to replace class struggle with just relationships.   

 In the Words of Frederic Ozanam 

          Frederic recognized the responsibility and the potential of the Church to be a true leavening force within society.  He called his associates to works of charity and justice.  His words, while spoken in the 19th century, speak with relevance and challenge at the millennium.     

Charity and Justice

The order of society is based on two virtues: justice and charity.  However, justice presupposes a lot of love already, for one needs to love a man a great deal in order to respect his rights, which limit our rights, and his liberty, which hampers our liberty. Justice has its limits whereas charity knows none.

Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked.  It is justice’s role to prevent the attack.

Charity must never look to the past, but always to the future, because the number of its past works is still very small and the present and future miseries that it must alleviate are infinite.

Rights of Workers

Exploitation occurs when the master considers his worker not as a partner, nor even as an assistant, but as an instrument out of which he must extract as much service as possible at the smallest possible price.  Yet the exploitation of a man by another man is slavery.  The worker-machine is nothing more than part of capital like the slaves of the ancients.  Service becomes servitude.

Research and Advocacy for the Poor

We must investigate doctrine and measures which would aim at guaranteeing for workers a correct proportion between labor and rest... and a pension for their old age.

Social Structures and the Role of Youth

The problem which divides people today is not a political problem; it is a social one.  It is a matter of knowing which will get the upper hand, the spirit of selfishness or the spirit of sacrifice; whether society will go for ever-increasing employment and profit, or for everyone devoting themselves to the common good...  Many people have too much and still want more.  Others do not have enough, or do not have anything at all, and they want to take by force what is not being given to them.  A war is threatening between these two groups.  On one side, the power of wealth, on the other the force of desperation.  We must get in between these two groups, at least to reduce the impact if we cannot stop it.  Because we are young, because we are not wealthy, we can more easily fill the role of mediators.   

          In Frederic's theological vision, the Church (one, holy, catholic, and apostolic) had to be thoroughly in, though not of, the world.  "We are not blessed with two separate lives... one for seeking the truth and the other for putting it into practice."

One  

One only means of salvation remains to us, that is, that Christians, in the name of love, interpose between the two camps (of rich and poor) passing like beneficient deserters from one to the other... communicating mutual charity to all, until this charity, paralyzing and stifling the egotism of both parties, and every day lessening their antipathies, shall bid the two camps arise and break down the barriers of prejudice, and cast aside their weapons of anger and march forth to meet each other, not to fight but to mingle together in one embrace, so that they may form but one fold under one pastor.  

Holy 

Will we be satisfied to lament the barrenness of the present time, when each bears in his heart a germ of holiness, which a simple desire would be sufficient to develop?  If we do not know how to love God as the saints did, it is because we see God with the eyes of faith alone, and faith is so weak.  But the poor we see with the eyes of flesh.  They are present.  We can put our fingers and our hands into their wounds, the marks of the crown of thorns are plainly visible on their heads.  There is no place for unbelief here... You poor are the visible image of the God whom we do not see, but whom we love in loving you. 

Catholic

A Catholic university (Louvain) should be a cause of rejoicing to the Church, to see raised within her yet another monument to the immortal alliance of Science and Faith.

Apostolic

You have felt the emptiness of material pleasures, you have felt the hunger for truth crying out within you; you have gone for Iight and comfort to the barren philosophy of modern apostles.  You have not found food for your souls there. The religion of your forefathers appears before you today with full hands; do not turn away, for it is generous. It also, like you, is young. It does not grow old with the world. Ever renewing itself, it keeps pace with progress, and it alone leads to perfection.  

Important Dates

1813   Birth of Frederic in Milan, April 23 to Jean-Antoine, a physician, and Marie Ozanam.

1815    Move of Ozanam Family to Lyons.

1829   Experiences a “crisis of doubt’ about his faith.

1831    Enters Sorbonne in Paris to study law.  

1833   Establishes Conference of Charity in April with M. Bailly and other Sorbonne students.

1834    Leads petition ro Archbishop for relevant sermons.

1835    Conference officially becomes Society of St. Vincent dePaul.  

1836    Awarded Doctor of Laws (Dissertation: Comparison of Thomas Becket and Francis Bacon as Chancellors of England).

1837    Publishes The Origins of French Law.  

             Deathof Jean-Antoine Ozanam, Frederic’s father.

1839    Awarded Doctorate in Literature (Dissertation: Dante and’ Catholic Philosophy in the l3th Century).

1840    Named Professor of Commercial Laws at Lyons.  

           Death of Marie Ozanam, Frederic's mother.  

           Named Professor of Foreign Languages at Sorbonne. 

1841    Marriage to Amelie Soulacroix  of Lyons.

1842    Represents the Church in negotiations with the government.

1844    Assumes Chair of Foreign Literature at Sorbonne.

1845    Birth of daughter Marie.

           Society is recognized by Pope Gregory XVI.

1847    Publication of German Studies I.  

1848    Co-founder of Journal L'ere Nouvelle.  

1849    Publication of German Studies II.  

1852    Mediates in student riots at Sorbonne.  

           Resigns from Sorbonne and moves to Leghorn because of ill health.

1853    Publication of Franciscan Poets in Italy in the 13th Century.

           Death in Marseilles of kidney ailment, September 8.  

1855    Posthumous publication of Civilization in the Fifth Century which received honors from the Academie Francaise.  

1997    Declaration of Frederic as "Blessed Frederic" on August 22 in Paris, a step toward canonization and recognized sainthood.  

Source:  Vincentian Center for Church and Society, St. John's University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, New York 11439, U.S.A.

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