Archbishop Robert Seton was remembered as a fairly eccentric character who made a good deal of his family background. A pastor, scholar, and enthusiast of ecclesiastical minutiae, he was also a genealogist who traced his … Read More
The Life of Vincent de Paul (Abelly): Introduction
Weights and Measures These have been left in French to preserve the flavor of the original, and to avoid, particularly dealing with money, having to change currency rates. Note, too, that weights and measures were … Read More
Some Less-Publicised Facets of Saint Vincent
“Saints must not be reduced to plaster statues, to colourless figures always first in the class and never singing a wrong note”. This idea is now generally accepted, but there is another way in which … Read More
The Dynamism of St Vincent’s Works
This article is made up mostly of reflections arising from two Spanish works on St Vincent: J M Ibáñez CM, Vicente de Paúl y los pobres de su tiempo (Vincent de Paul and the Poor … Read More
“This little company, which occupies the last place and is the poorest of all”
I was recently asked “What order do you belong to?”. When I said “Vincentians”, the reply was “St Vincent — he was a great saint — he had great charity”. I think the person was … Read More
John Gabriel Perboyre
I Le Puech and Montauban 1802-1818 In his book on the Congregation of the Mission, Georges Goyau suggests that it would be a good idea to study the documentary evidence about the martyrdom of John … Read More
Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, S.C.: A Chronology
March 26, 1901 The last of seven children of Alexander and Johanna (Szuchy), Teresa Demjanovich was born in Bayonne, NJ. Her parents had emigrated from what is now northeastern Slovakia. March 31, 1901 Teresa was … Read More
St Vincent, the Common Rules and the Individual Confrère
Much effort has gone into research, discussion and writing about Vincent’s thinking on the evangelisation of the poor and on the formation of the clergy. A proportionate amount of effort does not seem to have … Read More
St Vincent, Vatican II and our new Constitutions
When I began this article it did not occur to me to consult the Constitutions, but as I went along I was irresistibly drawn to them, finding to my surprise that they answered most of … Read More
Vincent de Paul: Minister of Restlessness
The first time I heard the expression: “Le prêtre doit être ministre de I’inquiétude” (the priest ought to be a minister of restlessness) was in a lecture by a Belgian priest in U.C.D. in 1965. … Read More