St. Vincent de Paul was a seventeenth-century French priest whose encounter with the spiritual and material poverty around him transformed his ministry. He organized missions, formed priests, and founded communities devoted to serving Christ in those who suffer. As Catholics, we pray the novena to St. Vincent de Paul to ask for a deeper love of the poor, practical charity, and fidelity in works of mercy.
Begin PrayingMore about St. Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 to a farming family in Gascony, France, and was ordained a priest in 1600. During his early priesthood, encounters with neglected rural communities and families in urgent need led him to a profound conversion of pastoral priorities. In 1617, his preaching at Folleville helped begin the work that became the Congregation of the Mission, also known as the Vincentians or Lazarists. That same year, while serving in Châtillon-les-Dombes, he organized laypeople to provide sustained care for a sick and impoverished family. This work developed into the Confraternities of Charity, known today as the International Association of Charities.
St. Vincent understood charity as an encounter with Jesus Christ in the poor, joined to careful organization, prayer, and perseverance. He founded the Congregation of the Mission in 1625 to evangelize rural communities and help form the clergy. In 1633, with St. Louise de Marillac, he founded the Daughters of Charity, whose sisters served the sick, abandoned children, prisoners, and others in need outside the enclosure customary for religious women at the time. He also organized assistance during war and famine and encouraged wealthy laypeople to place their resources at the service of their neighbors. St. Vincent died in Paris on September 27, 1660, and was canonized in 1737. The novena is prayed from September 18 through September 26 in preparation for his feast on September 27. His example teaches that love of God must become patient, personal, and well-ordered service to those who suffer.
