Saint Vincent de Paul

Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660) was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. Saint Vincent de Paul was ordained subdeacon and deacon at Tarbes Cathedral in South West France. In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. After working for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley slaves, he returned to be the superior of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission, or the "Vincentians" (in France known as "Lazaristes"), which he co-founded. These Vincentian priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, were to devote themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages. Vincent was zealous in conducting retreats for clergy at a time when the local clergy's morals were flagging. He was a pioneer in seminary education and also founded the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. He is the namesake of the Vincentian Family of organisations, which includes both of the religious communities he founded. He was renowned for his compassion, humility, and generosity. Vincent was canonised in 1737 and is venerated as a saint in both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. Vincent de Paul was born in 1581 in the village of Pouy, in the province of Guyenne and Gascony, Kingdom of France,: 18  to peasant farmers. His father was Jean de Paul and his mother was Bertrande de Moras. There was a stream named the "Paul" in the vicinity, and it is believed that this might have been the derivation of the family name. He wrote the name as one word, Depaul (possibly to avoid the inference that he was of noble birth), but none of his correspondents did so.: 21–22  He had three brothers (Jean, Bernard, and Gayon) and two sisters (Marie and Marie-Claudine). He was the third child and demonstrated a talent for literacy early in life. He also worked as a child, herding his family's livestock.