Saint Vincent de Paul (1581–1660) was a French Catholic priest who was canonized in 1737. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He is the patron saint of charitable societies.
Born to a modest peasant family in the village of Pouy, Province of Guyenne and Gascony, St. Vincent’s first formal education was provided by the Franciscans. He was ordained in 1600 and remained in Toulouse for a time. In 1605, while on a ship from Marseilles to Narbonne, he was captured by Barbary pirates and held as a slave until his escape in 1607.
Saint Vincent de Paul is recognized principally for his charity and compassion for the poor. In 1633, de Paul established an order called the Sisters of Charity, groups of laywomen who visited, fed, and nursed the sick and the poor. He is also the founder of the Congregation of the Mission (Lazarists, or Vincentians) for preaching missions to the peasantry and for educating and training a pastoral clergy.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic charitable organization devoted to the assistance of the poor, was founded by the French scholar Frédéric Ozanam in 1833.
The St. Vincent de Paul feast day is September 27. St. Vincent’s Day is a recognized National Holiday in the United Kingdom on August 10.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Vincent de Paul
However great the work that God may achieve by an individual, he must not indulge in self-satisfaction. He ought rather to be all the more humbled, seeing himself merely as a tool which God has made use of.
—Vincent de Paul
Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances.
—Vincent de Paul
Topics: Kindness
The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.
—Vincent de Paul
We should spend as much time in thanking God for his benefits as we do in asking Him for them.
—Vincent de Paul
If you must be in a hurry, then let it be according to the old adage, and hasten slowly.
—Vincent de Paul
Topics: Haste
You will find out that Charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the full basket. But you will keep your gentleness and your smile. It is not enough to give soup and bread. This the rich can do. You are the servant of the poor, always smiling and good-humored. They are your masters, terribly sensitive and exacting master you will see and the uglier and the dirtier they will be, the more unjust and insulting, the more love you must give them. It is only for your love alone that the poor will forgive you the bread you give to them.
—Vincent de Paul
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Francis de Sales French Catholic Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux French Catholic Religious Leader
John Vianney French Catholic Priest
Blaise Pascal French Philosopher, Scientist
John Chrysostom Archbishop of Constantinople
Jean Baptiste Massillon French Catholic Religious Leader
Francis of Assisi Italian Monk
Jerome Greek Priest
Pope John XXIII Italian Catholic Religious Leader
Mother Teresa Roman Catholic Nun