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St. Vincent de Paul, Priest, "the Conscience of France"

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Memorial - September 27th St. Vincent de Paul is a saint whose name is familiar even to those who do not profess the Catholic faith. This is due in large part to the organization that was begun in his name 173 years after his death. The St. Vincent de Paul Society, founded by Blessed Frederic Ozanam in 1833, took its inspiration from the life of the man whom Pope Leo XIII named patron of all charitable organizations. Many parishes continue to carry out charitable works under his spiritual patronage. Vincent was the third child born to a poor family in Gascony, France, in 1580. At the time of his birth, the Church was in the midst of the Counter-Reformation, the period of intense internal reform following the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation. Although he would later be regarded as "the conscience of France," the young Vincent, who was ordained in 1600, was more concerned at first with living a comfortable life than doing the work that God had intended for him.

Saint Vincent de Paul, Founder, Apostle of Charity

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September 27th, is the memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul (1576 -1660). He was born in Gascony, France, a poor farming community, the third of six children to Jean and Bertrande de Paul. Although he exhibited an early predilection for reading and writing, his formal education began at 15, when he was sent to a Franciscan seminary to study theology. Vincent's interest in the priesthood was largely to establish a successful ministry and obtain a benefice, with which he could retire and support his family. Providential experiences would move the future saint’s heart to help the impoverished, the sick, the enslaved, the abandoned and the marginalized. Far from living a comfortable life, St. Vincent undertook the apostolic work of charity instead. Accepted into the local Franciscan seminary, he excelled immensely. Eventually, Vincent tutored the children of local nobles, and used the proceeds to continue his theological studies at the University of Toulose. He was ordained in 1600. I