from an article by José María Román, C.M.

1. Vincent de Paul:
one of the great
saints of history

2. Vincent de Paul is
not one of those
saints who was
holy from
childhood

3. He was not blessed
in his tender years
by a very special
divine protection
with a celestial halo

4. Not one of those
saints who became
objects of admiration
rather than models
to imitate

5. But neither was
Saint Vincent a
repentant sinner,
like Saint
Augustine,

6. who was saved by
a powerful outburst
of grace from the
abyss of hell to the
summit of sanctity.

7. No. What was typical
of Vincent de Paul is
less spectacular and
therefore more
difficult:

8. being a mediocre
Christian, an average
priest whom the slow
work of grace
marvelously
transformed…

9. through a long
process of
purification and
trials, of works and
struggles…

10. a “forced” process of
conversion towards
becoming a saint who
undertook admirable
and great works.

11. Through St. Vincent
himself and through his
early biographers, we
know that during his
childhood which was
quite ordinary, traits of
kindness alternated with
traits of vanity and
adolescent pride.

12. For example— it is
said that he gave the
family’s share of flour
to the poor after
coming back from the
mill, and he gave his
little savings as alms
to the beggars

13. But he also recalls
being ashamed of
accompanying his
lame and poorly
dressed father
along the streets of
the city.

14. We also know of his
early years as a
priest… he was
occupied by an
illusion of earthly
ambition, of having
good employment…

15. …of using his
priesthood as a
means of prosperity
and profit, rather than
in disinterested
service for the glory of
God and the salvation
of souls.

16. That is how his first
thirty years evolved,
until one day he had the
fundamental religious
experience of his life
that would give him a
new dimension and a
new sense of meaning.

17. While he was the chaplain
of Queen Marguerite de
Valois, he met a famous
preacher who, because of
too much idleness that his
office allowed him, was
terribly tempted against his
faith and felt many times the
desire to throw himself out
of the window.

18. Vincent, who
became his
spiritual director,
gave him much
advice but all in
vain.

19. Vincent would tell him
that when the temptation
was great, all he had to
do was point his fingers
in the direction of Rome
or toward the nearest
church to show his firm
determination to believe
all the teachings of Holy
Mother Church.

20. Nothing worked. The
doubts and anguish
continued. Vincent then
did something heroic. He
asked God that the
temptation of the doctor
be passed on to him so
that the doctor would be
liberated from his
suffering, if it was His will.

21. His prayers were
answered. The doctor
died in perfect peace
after the serene light of
faith had enlightened
his tormented spirit. But
from that moment on,
Saint Vincent would be
visited by terrible
temptations.

22. Identifying himself
with the doctor, he
was able to help
and free him. In
exchange, he
began a long
journey of three to
four years.

23. During these times,
Vincent suffered
terribly. Something
like the dark night
of the soul
described by Saint
John of the Cross
overcame him.

24. He could not recite the
Creed. He wrote down
the Creed and sewed it
on the lining of his
cassock. He made a
pact with God that
every time he put his
hands over it, he would
try to reaffirm his faith.

25. At the same time, he
devoted himself to acts
against temptation:
living his faith in intense
acts of charity. Through
daily visits to the sick in
the hospital, little by
little he realized the
necessity to live charity
deeply…

26. …and this way of living
brought him to the
greatest discovery of his
life. One day, his first
biographer wrote, “he
took the firm and
irrevocable decision to
devote his whole life to the
service of the poor out of
love for Our Lord Jesus
Christ.”

27. “Scarcely had he made up
his mind to do this when
the suggestions of the evil
one vanished. His heart
which had been oppressed
for so long was now filled
with sweet liberty and his
soul inundated with a
wonderful light that let him
see all the truths of faith
with perfect clarity.”

28. In this way he discovered
the liberating power of
charity. The conversion of
Vincent de Paul had begun
and he discovered his
vocation. He needed to
share the deprivations and
sufferings of his neighbors
so as to be able to help
them more effectively.

29. He still had much to
learn about the real
requirements of his
vocation and how to
implement them. This
enlightenment was
not long in coming.

30. In January of 1617
in Folleville, a little
town in the north of
France, he
discovered the
spiritual poverty of
the poor in the
countryside.

31. He was called by
Madame de Gondi
to the deathbed of a
dying peasant
whom he persuaded
to make a general
confession of all his
life

32. St. Vincent discovered a
multitude of poor
peasants and laborers
“who are condemned for
not knowing the
necessary truths of
salvation and for lack of
confession.” This burned
him as if it were he
himself who ran the risk
of being condemned.

33. Once again,
identifying with the
needs and
sufferings of his
neighbor made him
decide to make the
evangelization of the
poor the focal point
of his priesthood.

34. His first work of
charity in favor of
the poor was
born: the Mission.

35. After a few
months, in August
of the same year,
in another town,
Chatillon-les-
Dombes, he had
his second
enlightenment.

36. A poor family in
town was literally
dying of hunger.
Vincent preached a
sermon from the
pulpit on the
material needs of
that poor family.

37. A few hours later he
was surprised to see
the whole town come
to their aid. So much
so that they had extra
food, more than they
could handle. But after
that ran out, would
they return to their
miserable way of
living?

38. “This charity is not
well organized,” he
reflected. And thus
he founded the first
Confraternity of
Charity where
members would take
turns helping the
poor and the sick of
the town.

39. Thus, the second
branch of his
vocation came into
being: the Charity.

40. “The poor are dying of
hunger” and “dying from
hunger for the Word of
God” are phrases in which
Vincent summarized his
double experience. To
remedy these two
necessities would be his
future— the life purpose of
Saint Vincent de Paul, his
manner of understanding
Christianity.

41. Source:
The religious experience of Saint Vincent de Paul
José María Román, C.M. • Third Asian Vincentian Institute
(Mother House, Paris, September-December 2006).
Images: Depaul Image Acrhive