Vincent was born in 1581 to a peasant family in southwestern France and was ordained a priest at a young age. A period of captivity, reportedly enslaved for a time in North Africa after being captured at sea, along with later work among galley convicts and impoverished rural parishes, turned his ministry decisively toward the practical needs of the poor.
He founded the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians) to train priests for rural ministry, and together with Louise de Marillac established the Daughters of Charity, one of the first religious communities of women to work actively outside cloistered convent walls, nursing the sick and caring for abandoned children and the poor directly in their homes and on the streets.
Saint Vincent de Paul
Apostle of Charity
A French priest who devoted his life to organizing practical, lasting charity for the poor, founding religious congregations still active worldwide today.
- Born
- 1581
- Died
- 1660
- Birthplace
- Pouy, France
- Died in
- Paris, France
- Country
- France
- Canonised
- 1737-06-16
- Century
- 17th century
Why People Pray to Saint Vincent de Paul
Saint Vincent de Paul is invoked by charitable workers and volunteers, and by those seeking to organize compassion into lasting, practical service.
