Vincent de Paul builds up the Kingdom of God

We read the following in one of Saint Augustine’s sermons: Help the hungry, the naked and the needy; help strangers and those in bondage. They will be the porters to convey your riches to heaven … As our head, Christ is in heaven, but he has members on earth. Then, let the member of Christ give to a member of Christ. Let a member who has give to a member who needs. You are a member of Christ and you have the wherewithal to give; the other is a member of Christ and he/she needs your gift. Both of you are traveling on the same road; you are companions on the journey. Lightly laden are the shoulders of the poor, but you are burdened with heavy luggage. Give away some of your luggage to those in need and you will thus afford relief both to yourself and to your companion¹.

The building up of the kingdom of God implies the concept of walking together and sharing. That is only valid way to restore dignity to the life of those who have lost that dignity because of the effects of sin in the world, because of people’s selfishness and the injustice that is done by individuals as well as society. I believe that Vincent de Paul understood this and therefore he made the decision to walk with and to accompany the poor of his era. Vincent became a companion to the poor in order to share with them God’s words of hope and encouragement, in order to assist them and provide for them, in order to share with them and give them the justice that was their due.

A priority among Vincent’s concerns

Once Vincent de Paul discovered God in the poor and the poor in God his primary concern became that of evangelizing those poor individuals or, to express this in a better manner, his primary concern was to make the gospel of Jesus Christ effective in them. Therefore, he made every effort to identify himself with Jesus of Nazareth and to clothe himself in Jesus’ spirit. In this way Vincent became a clear sign of God’s preferential love for those who are poor and needy … a sign of God’s life-giving love, a sign of God’s love that responds in an adequate manner to the needs of those who are poor and oppressed. Thus Vincent de Paul endeavored to approach the gospel sources and to imbibe the good news of the kingdom of God. Because Vincent discovered that God’s plan was accomplished in Jesus Christ he committed himself to the poor thus continuing the mission of Jesus Christ and identifying himself with Jesus Christ and giving life to Jesus in the seventeenth century. Vincent learned from Jesus how to build up the kingdom and how to do this from the perspective of life, the life of the people, the life of those who are poor. Vincent also learned how to live in solidarity with those who are poor in order to respond appropriately to the problems, difficulties and sufferings that they encountered in their daily life. I believe that here we can apply to Vincent de Paul the words that José María Catillo wrote about Jesus Christ. The message of the kingdom of God, as presented by Jesus, was developed from the perspective of life … specifically, the life of the people. As I say this I am referring to the situations, the conditions and the circumstances in which the lowest members of society find themselves. Therefore, all of this implies that Jesus’ message about the kingdom was developed from the perspective of the culture of those people with whom Jesus had established bonds of solidarity. At the same time all of this implies that Jesus’ message about the kingdom was proclaimed in order to respond to the problems, difficulties and suffering that the people encountered in life. We know that Jesus spoke about God, about faith in God, about the salvation and the hope that God bestows upon all people. All of this could be explained as some theory or personal experience or coherent speculation and we might even say that all of this could be explained in a way that those who are most educated (the elite) would accept this teaching. But we know that this was not how Jesus acted. Therefore, the most profound aspect about Jesus’ message concerning the kingdom is not the content of the message, but rather the method, or if you will, the manner in which this message was communicated².

Vincent de Paul, from the perspective of the life of the poor and not from the perspective of some philosophical or theological theory, engaged in ministry and communicated his teachings. I believe a clear proof of what we have just affirmed is found in Vincent’s encounter with the heretic in Montmirail (CCD:XI:28-30). Vincent’s actions were more convincing than any philosophical or theological arguments that he might have presented. In fact, Vincent’s greatest concern was to act and confront the various situations in which people found themselves … but we must also remember that Vincent acted as one who was grounded and rooted in God and in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ incarnation had a profound impact on Vincent and as a result Vincent saw that event as one in which Jesus entered into solidarity with people, with men and women who are suffering.

Jesus’ solidarity with the people and Vincent’s solidarity with people was not some occasional event. Again we can apply to Vincent what was said with regard to Jesus: It is clear that Jesus’ solidarity was not some occasional event and it was not a secondary concern in his life or message … and it cannot be said that Jesus acted in this way “to give some example”. Events unfolded as they did because it is only from the perspective of the lowest members of society, from the reality of solidarity with those who are marginalized and oppressed, that we can speak correctly about the God of Jesus. No, Jesus did not “use people” in order to speak about God to them. Rather, we are dealing with something that is more fundamental and subtle. Here we are referring to the fact that it is from the perspective of that which is most precious to those who are the lowest members of society, namely, their kindness [they need much kindness] … only from that perspective can we begin to understand the one whom Jesus calls Abba, Father. Therefore, only those persons who do not place themselves “over” others (no matter who the others might be), only those persons can be a source of life, a source of dignity and happiness³.

Vincent de Paul was a man of action and never formulated some theory. Like Jesus, Vincent dedicated his life to doing and acting, to engaging in various activities to resolve the concrete, painful situations of the poor men and women of his era. Once again Vincent learned from Jesus and discovered in the gospel how he had to proceed, how he had to evangelize. Jesus did not develop some theory about the kingdom of God, now did he define it or describe it. Jesus spoke about the kingdom of God from the perspective of reality … concrete realities and situations. Those realities were: give life to the infirm, restore dignity to those possessed by evil spirits,, to those who are sinners and those who are marginalized and finally, promote the happiness of those who are poor and those who mourn and those who suffer. Thus, we discover that the parables about the kingdom are events taken from life that then enlighten the meaning of life. The kingdom of God is not a doctrine or a theory. The kingdom of God is a manner of living life that can only be understood and explained from the perspective of events and situations in which life is viewed and given a greater importance than everything else, including religion (especially when religion is not at the service of life)⁴.

Can we not see similarities between Jesus and Vincent as they built up the kingdom of God and as they both attempted to resolve various problems and difficulties by using the best means to obtain those solutions? We can see this in the establishments and institutions that Vincent founded, in the on-going formation of the members of those institutions and in the material assistance that Vincent provided to so many people. All of this became the manner in which Vincent gave life to the poor, restored dignity to them and showed them where they could find happiness.

Evangelization of the poor in the countryside through catechesis, instruction and charity

After his conversion, Vincent de Paul dedicated his life to the evangelization of the poor country people. Why did he do this? Because he discovered that at that time they were the people who were most needy and therefore there was an urgent need to proclaim to them the good news of the kingdom of God. That reality is reflected in the writings that have been passed on to us as well as in the funeral oration of Henri de Paupas du Tour, Bishop of Puy, which was proclaimed in the parish church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois on November 23, 1660: Vincent de Paul provided the poor with spiritual and material assistance. Vincent de Paul was chosen by God to bring the tablets of the law to the people. Vincent, with his admirable zeal … sanctified millions of souls through his missions; he provided spiritual assistance to the many provinces that were devastated by war, saved millions of people who were on the verge of death and freed unhappy souls from ultimate shipwreck⁵.

Like Jesus, Vincent, through his activity, made the kingdom of God effective and did so in a manner that is placed before us a model to be followed today. He did this in a manner that was adapted to his culture and this fact becomes very clear when we begin to study in depth his life, his work and the institutions that he established.

Vincent was able to make good use of his organizational and creative talents as he engaged in activity to save the poor country people from misery. The missions, the formation of the clergy, the Congregation of the Mission, the Company of the Daughters of charity and the Ladies of Charity … all of these came about as a result of Vincent’s creativity⁶. At the same time all of this activity which was done on behalf of the poor country people was in service of the kingdom of God. Vincent opted for the poor because they were most in need of the good news of the gospel … most in need of spiritual as well as material assistance. Vincent’s evangelizing activity was always guided by what we could call the ministry of charity. In this sense José María Ibáñez, with the person and the ministry of Vincent de Paul as the background, speaks about the ministry of charity as the criterion that verifies every process of evangelization, including the new evangelization. We can affirm that the ministry of charity or, what is the same, the option for the poor, the struggle against poverty, against inequality, against injustice, verifies the evangelizing action and the liturgical action of the Christian community … it is also the criterion that verifies the New Evangelization⁷.

The ministry of charity does not consist of doing acts of charity or dedicating all the time of the day to charitable activity but rather something more profound and radical is implied. The ministry of charity is founded upon a decision to serve the poor, to struggle against poverty and its causes, to struggle against all forms of injustice and inequality. This is what Vincent de Paul did … and he did it because he was encouraged by the word of God that urged him to engage in a liberating activity on behalf of the poor. Biblical texts such as Isaiah 58, Matthew 25:31-36, Luke 4:16-21 and many others filled his mind and made him deepen the meaning of his commitment to God and his service on behalf of the poor.

Vincent discovered the harsh reality that the Church was not a “gospel” church, that the church had abandoned the poor and also that the Church had ceased to evangelize, at least in its outreach and it those other aspects that were more visible to people. As Vincent himself changed he became more and more aware of the urgent need to proclaim the gospel, to live the gospel on a personal level and at the same time to make the gospel alive and tangible to those men and women who were poor. Vincent also realized that only a Church that lived in harmony with the gospel, only a Church that freed itself from all those things that were not born from charity and that did not express that same charity … only such a church could give credible witness. Therefore, the social-charitable activity that originates in the church and that is developed by the church as a ministry or service on behalf of the Christian community … such activity gives witness to the gospel and the commandment of love (John 13:14) and makes real the good news of integral liberation that is proclaimed to the poor (Luke 4:18)⁸.

Therefore Vincent began to act and to minister and to offer liberation to the “slaves” of his era, namely, the poor who lived in the countryside. Vincent committed his life to their integral liberation … was bold and creative and not afraid to take risks. He dedicated his life to this task and it can be said that his defense of the poor was both bold and creative. Many of the affirmations and statements that we have made during this presentation remind me of the risks and the dedication of Vincent de Paul … his bold and creative activity as he intervened on behalf of the poor men and women of his era. Vincent viewed this activity as a demand and as a verifying criterion of his missionary vocation that was centered on continuing the evangelizing and merciful mission of Christ, thus making the gospel effective⁹.

The life of Vincent de Paul was focused on the mission of Christ, a mission that, at the time of Vincent, was expressed through evangelization and charity (proclaiming to people the good news concerning the compassion and the mercy of God that was revealed in the person of Christ]. The meaning of Vincentian evangelization is discovered when it is joined to the mission of Christ, evangelizer of the poor. Thus reference to Jesus’ mission is the criterion and the point of reference for Vincentian evangelizing activity¹⁰.

With words more adapted to his era, this is exactly what Vincent told the Missionaries on December 6^th, 1658 when he spoke to them about the purpose of the Congregation of the Mission (CCD:XII:66-82).

Vincent saw that the poor country people were in a bad situation because they had bad pastors, bad civil pastors as well as bad religious pastors. Those pastors were unjust and selfish, concerned only about themselves and not about others. Since bad pastors resulted in the terrible situation that the poor found themselves in, Vincent dedicated his life to those people and at the same time provided for the formation of good pastors. Vincent was always concerned about the havoc that was caused by incompetent priests in the church of Jesus Christ. Vincent, in an indirect manner, expressed this idea in a letter that he wrote on April 2^nd, 1655 and addressed to Charles Ozenne, the superior in Warsaw: A Breton Pastor has just written a book in which he says that the worst enemies the Church could have are bad priests. He has no trouble demonstrating this, adding that God has given his Spirit to the priests of the Mission to remedy this evil and that they are working successfully at it, as well as in teaching matters of faith to the people, aiding and instructing them, and helping them to love the Christian virtues (CCD:V:350).

Vincent was convinced that in order to eliminate this situation that had such dramatic consequences on the lives of the country poor he had to begin by healing the Church from inside.

Vincent had no doubt about this fact and therefore he sought effective solutions: the Congregation of the Mission, the activity of the Missionaries giving missions in countryside, the formation of the clergy and assistance to those who were in need.

It seems as though this problem of bad priests who were not concerned about building up the kingdom of God had been a problem even centuries before Vincent lived. This evil seems to have become an epidemic. Let us now listen to Gregory the Great as he speaks about this situation in one of his homilies: Let us listen to what the Lord says as he sends the preachers forth: The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest. We can speak only with a heavy heart of so few laborers for such a great harvest, for although there are many to hear the good news there are only a few to preach it. Look about you and see how full the world is of priests, yet in God’s harvest a laborer is rarely to be found; for although we have accepted the priestly office, we do not fulfill its demands … There is something else about the life of the shepherds, dearest brothers, which discourages me greatly. But lest what I claim should seem unjust to anyone, I accuse myself of the very same thing, although I fall into it unwillingly – compelled by the urgency of these barbarous times. I speak of our absorption in external affairs; we accept the duties of office, but by our actions we show that we are attentive to other things. We abandon the ministry of preaching and, in my opinion, are called bishops to our detriment, for we retain the honorable office but fail to practice the virtues proper to it. Those who have been entrusted to us abandon God, and we are silent. They fall into sin, and we do not extend a hand of rebuke. But how can we who neglect ourselves be able to correct someone else? We are wrapped up in worldly concerns, and the more we devote ourselves to external things, the more insensitive we become in spirit. For this reason the Church rightfully says about her own feeble members: They made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept. We are set to guard the vineyards but do not guard our own, for we get involved in irrelevant pursuits and neglect the performance of our ministry¹¹.

Saint Gregory put his finger on the problem. He stated that even though there were a large number of priests, many of those priests had abandoned the obligations of their ministry. As a result people were damned or, perhaps it is better to say that people were living in a damned state … in the joyless state of oppression and exploitation. Therefore those slothful priests will have to respond for their silence and their negligence since it is indisputable that the shepherd’s silence, while often injurious to himself, will always harm his flock … For this reason the Church rightfully says about her feeble members: they made me keeper of the vineyard, but my own vineyard I have not kept¹². They do not murder the faithful but because they do not extend their hands in a gesture of help to those trapped in the depths of the abysm, they can rightly be accused of causing the suffering and anguish and death of those who had been entrusted to them … they are responsible for the spread of the anti-kingdom of God.

It was very clear to Vincent that the incompetence and irresponsibility of the clergy had led the Christian faithful to their death. Therefore, in his ministry we find that Vincent was frequently and particularly concerned about the clergy because their disastrous spiritual, cultural and moral decadence had an immediate consequence, namely, the decadence of the people … in other words, the decadence of the church¹³. It was this reality that led Vincent to offer the clergy and the people living in the countryside (one of the most abandoned and exploited groups of that era) an authentic and fruitful evangelization. Vincent’s ministry with regard to the evangelization of the clergy and the people living in the countryside was intended to renew the Church and proclaim the word of God. It is clear that the vocabulary we use today is not the same as Vincent’s but nevertheless we are dealing with the same identical structures. Vincent was speaking about the same things that we are concerned about today (our words are different but the ideas are the same). True charity, as a virtue and as the divine ability to love and to communicate salvific love, is a reality that, above all else, allows us to become identified with God … is a reality that is nourished by God, a reality in which we communicate with God because our relationship with God is further nourished by contemplation¹⁴.

Saint Vincent was aware of the need to change structures, both secular structures as well as religious structures. Vincent also realized that this change had to be done from the perspective of God, with God and in conformity with the will of God. In order for this to occur, Vincent also understood that he had to have a profound, intimate relationship with God. Even though Vincent is a man of action, of charitable action, yet it is precisely because of this that he is also a man of profound and sincere prayer. Vincent’s concern for the poor led him to establish seminaries, to initiate retreats for priests and to organize the Tuesday conferences, etc. Through these various activities Vincent confronted one of the causes of the poverty in which the people in the countryside found themselves. Thus these activities (seminaries, retreats, etc.) made it clear that Vincent was concerned about the poor … concerned about their spiritual and material well-being¹⁵.

Holy priests, well-formed priests rooted in God, zealous priests committed to serve the faithful … for Vincent such priests were the best anecdote for many of the evils that afflicted the poor people in the countryside. Vincent himself had experienced these realities. We could say that he was a convert with regard to priestly ministry. God initiated an encounter with Vincent and showed “the way” in Folleville and Châtillon. The poor gave Vincent an understanding of reality that led to his conversion and that enabled him to give an authentic meaning to his priestly ministry. In Folleville he discovered the educational dimension of the good news and in Châtillon he found the service dimension of the gospel. Both dimensions are complimentary and are two parts of the one unique, profound reality. As a result of these two experiences Vincent realized that the poor could be restored to life (a life which previously they were unable to enjoy) and that this was the path where, according to Lucan theology, the spirit of Christ breathed forth the newness of life¹⁶.

The experience of Folleville-Gannes enabled Vincent de Paul to discover the importance of the mission and the great need that the people in the countryside and, for that matter, the need that all people had for these missions. For Vincent the missions became the center around which all his other works and institutions revolved, around which his creative genius came to light. The missions became the center around which all of Vincent’s other works multiplied and developed. The missions gave a unity to all his other works: the Ladies of Charity, the Daughters of Charity, seminaries, retreats for the clergy, others works to benefit the poor. In fact, for Vincent, preaching missions was the fundamental and preferred manner of assisting the poor. In words more adapted to our era we could say that according to Vincent the manner of service par excellence is the communication of faith, the communication of the gospel, of the word of God. In the practical order, Vincent’s ministry was focused on the proclamation of the word of God, on instructing/catechizing people on every level, on struggling against atheism and indifference and on instructing the people of God in matters pertaining to their faith¹⁷.

For the Missionaries the work of preaching missions became the best way to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, evangelizer of the poor … the best way to prolong the life of Jesus Christ on earth (CCD:IV:15-16; VII:355-358; XI:1-2). In order to carry out this manner of making the kingdom of God more present in the midst of the world, Vincent did not hesitate to refuse to engage in other forms of ministry (even forms of ministry that were seemingly necessary). He feared that such works would divert the Missionaries from their primary purpose, namely, the evangelization of the poor country people … a process of evangelization that was to be done through preaching missions (CCD:I:323; II:268-273; III:71, 86-87; IV:287-289, 579; V:85-88, 536-437; VIII:524).

For Vincent the missions were the best means to make the gospel effective for the poor. Therefore, we can say: Vincent de Paul understood that the Missionary continued the mission of Jesus Christ on earth and continued the mission that Jesus had received from the Father. To be engaged in this great mystery is to make the gospel effective and to fulfill that which was spoken by the prophets, that which is written in the Scriptures. To make the gospel effective means that Missionaries avoid every form of ideology, every automatic repetition of the word, everything that prevents the mystery of the Son of God from becoming incarnated in history. We should not attempt to repeat by rote some concept that we have learned. Our effort to make the gospel effective does not depend on the eloquence of our discourse or our theological precision or the relevance of our themes … it is not a matter of technique but rather we are dealing with a true problem of faith that demands an authentic witness of faith … a witness of faith that begins with faith and ends with faith. Vincent, as a man of great experience in the matters of God and the matters of the people, reminds us that evangelization means that we live the gospel and believe the gospel … in other words, that we believe in Jesus Christ and live in Jesus Christ and follow Jesus Christ¹⁸.

The Missionary, rooted in Christ, lives the gospel and makes the gospel effective. In other words, through the preached mission the Missionary breaks the chains that enslave the poor country people. For Vincent de Paul the missions offer the spiritual and material remedies that the poor need in order to live with dignity as human beings and as children of God.

Vincent can give us the impression that the missions provide for only one dimension of the life of the people, one dimension of the life of the poor. If this is what we think then we are mistaken. With great frequency Vincent stated that the missions instruct the poor and provide for their material needs. The missions, as understood by Vincent, were not only focused on religious instructions (even though at first glance this might appear to be the reality). Vincent stated very clearly that the missions that were being given in France and Italy were intended to instruct the country people but were also intended to relieve the suffering of the infirm. Such expressions, in fact, are quite infrequent in Vincent’s writings, but it is clear that Vincent envisioned a total and complete service on behalf of the poor. The poor were Christians who needed instruction and conversion and the poor were also human beings who had material needs¹⁹.

As the Vincentian missions were being preached, the poor men and women were given the material things they needed and the spiritual things that they had been deprived of. That was and, hopefully still is, the task of all Missionaries. That reality was stated in the rules that Vincent gave the Missionaries. Indeed, they were told to establish the confraternity of charity in every place where they preached a mission²⁰. Material relief of those in need was something that the Missionaries always did (during the time of the mission as well as when no mission was being preached). Vincent spoke about this when he wrote: Look at what has been done for the past two years in the border areas of Champagne and Picardy by many of our priests and Brothers — as many as sixteen or eighteen of them. Look also at what is being done in the environs of Paris by six or seven of our men, who are looking after both the spiritual and corporal needs of the poor abandoned people. Why do we give missions in France and Italy? Is it not to instruct the country people and to assist the sick who are needy?²¹.

Some other documents confirm all of this. Those documents make it clear that material assistance when accompanied with sound teaching and the good example of those dispensing such material assistance²² can bring back to the faith many who have strayed away and can also sustain the faith of the weak and those who are vacillating … and can also produce many fruits. The Missionaries at Montmirail (as a result of the contract that established this mission) had to receive the transient poor and offer them lodging and, if they were ill, had to provide them with food and medicine. At the same time these individuals had to be attended to spiritually … the sacraments had to be administered to them and in the case of death they were to be buried at the expense of the Missionaries²³. In the document that describes the taking possession of the house in Montmirail it is stated very clearly that the community was to provide for and assist the transient poor²⁴. These documents led I. Zedde to affirm: These [documents] demonstrate that at times a certain community house of the Congregation would have as its primary ministry preaching and the material care of the poor²⁵.

Vincent confirmed this idea in a letter that he wrote on December 7, 1652 and addressed to Charles Bayart, a priest of the Congregation who had been assigned to Montmirail: The Montmirail foundation obliges us to maintain the hospital, to take in travelers — even the sick — and, lastly, to do whatever good we can on the founders’ estates by visiting the sick, instructing and consoling those we meet who are in need of this, and by other good works which priests can and should do. You did well to take the three wounded soldiers into the hospital. A refusal would have scandalized the people and angered M. de Leuze. It is better to go beyond the limits of charity than to fail in it. These occasions do not arise very often, and there is no consequence to be feared [CCD:IV:513]²⁶.

The Missionaries, however, were not the only members of the Vincentian Family who had obligations during the mission. During the missions the members of the confraternity and the Daughters of Charity played complementary roles. All the institutions established by Vincent de Paul have as their purpose the evangelization of the poor and complement one another. In fact, the three primary institutions are united in their ministry of evangelizing the poor. At the same time, each of these institutions was entrusted with the task of providing for the spiritual and the material well-being of the poor. Thus, if some members of the Vincentian Family dedicate themselves primarily to preaching, they cannot neglect or put aside charitable assistance, cannot fail to confront the material needs of the poor and thus make real God’s justice for all people. The opposite is also true. The members of the Confraternity understood that, as stated in their rule, they had to provide for the material needs of the poor, but according to Saint Vincent, their ministry was not limited to this²⁷. In one of the rules of the Confraternity we read: The Association of the Charity shall be established to honor Our Lord Jesus its patron and His Holy Mother, to provide for the needs of able-bodied and disabled poor persons, to have them taught the catechism and to receive the sacraments, to feed and give medicines to the sick poor, to help those who are nearing death to die well and those who will recover to resolve never more to offend God … (CCD:XIIIb:54]²⁸.

Given the importance of the Confraternities of Charity in the process of Vincentian evangelization, the Missionaries were instructed to establish these associations during the mission (as previously pointed out). The members of these confraternities prolonged the spirit that was lived and renewed during the time of the mission … they did not allow this spirit to die.

With regard to the Daughters of Charity we can further state that they were originally established to assist the Ladies of Charity in serving the poor. Very soon Vincent realized that these generous, young women could engage in a more assiduous, on-going work on behalf of the poor. The primary purpose of this new Company was to serve the sick poor²⁹.

Service on behalf of the sick poor had to take into consideration both the material and spiritual needs of those individuals. The rule of some of the houses/establishments expresses this idea very clearly. Let us look at one of these, the house in Angers: The rule obliges the Daughters of Charity to put everything else aside when the needs and the service of the poor require this … and this is their primary purpose³⁰.

In the rule that was drawn up for this community we read: The Daughters of Charity of the Sick Poor are going to Angers to honor Our Lord. Father of the Poor, and His Holy Mother, in order to assist, corporally and spiritually, the sick poor of the Hotel-Dieu of the town: corporally, by serving them and giving them food and medicine: spiritually, by instructing the patients in things necessary for salvation and seeing that they make a general confession of their entire past life so that, by this means, those who will die may leave this world in a good state, and those who will recover may take the resolution never more to offend God [CCD:XIIIb:106]³¹.

The vocation and the mission of the Daughters of Charity consist of total dedication to the poor, serving the poor in their material and spiritual needs. Therefore, they have the mission of healing the infirm, eliminating the hunger that the poor confront and teaching the catechism to these same poor men and women. In other words, they have as their primary mission the task of restoring or recreating the poor as human persons and as Christians³². In order to carry out this task in a satisfactory manner the Daughters of Charity ought to nourish themselves with the love of Jesus Christ and with the desire to communicate this same love to those who are poor. The love of Jesus Christ should be their strength and their foundation. In all of this we must recognize that Vincent strongly urged the Daughters of Charity to also provide for the religious/spiritual well-being of the poor. Why did Vincent do this? It seems that Vincent was profoundly moved by the religious ignorance that he discovered in the villages, towns and cities. This concern of the Founder for the spiritual welfare of the poor is explained by the fact that he was moved by the religious ignorance of the people, a situation which had to be confronted even before attending to their material needs. Therefore, he sent the Daughters to a new mission in Ussel and urged them to fulfill their mission: they had to make it possible for people to come to know and to love God³³.

Vincent de Paul saw the Daughters of Charity as one of his privileged institutions in making the gospel of Jesus Christ effective as they brought the good news of Jesus Christ to the poor, the infirm, the disinherited and those who were enslaved … the good news that God loved them and saved them and at the same time God freed them from all that afflicted them and enslaved them.

Action when confronted by situations of misery: the infirm, abandoned children, the galley slaves, providing assistance to Lorraine, Champagne, Picardy and Paris and surrounding areas

I am convinced that what has become known as relief action to confront situations of misery is one of the sides of the coin that Vincent de Paul called making the gospel of Jesus Christ effective. The other side of the coin is composed of instruction, catechesis, and evangelization of the poor country people. Once again there appear in the background of this matter the two decisive events in Vincent’s life: Folleville and Châtillon. With regard to this José María Ibáñez states: Beginning with the year 1617, after the experiences in Gannes-Folleville and Châtillon, whether Vincent was aware of this or not, he evolved and was transformed. At the same time he continued to question himself in light of the various events that occurred in his life and this led to a total change with regard to his perspective on life³⁴.

Experiences and events became more numerous and all of these made Vincent reflect. Through the inspiration of God, Vincent was able to organize the charitable activity and the assistance that was provided to the regions that were devastated by war and the other sins of humankind. Vincent was able to restore life to those regions that were crushed by death and injustice and destruction and exploitation. As Vincent clothed himself in the spirit of Jesus Christ, he committed himself to the poor and his primary concern was that of making the gospel of Jesus Christ effective in and for those men and women who were poor. He became aware of the urgent needs that had to be confronted as well as the many groups of people who had to be comforted. Step by step, without trying to anticipate divine Providence, Vincent engaged in activities and established institutions that clearly revealed him as a man of faith, a lively faith, a faith that was able to transform the society in which he lived. On one occasion this gospel faith led Vincent to establish a hospice, Nom-de-Jésus, to care for elderly beggars while on another occasion Vincent’s faith led him to oppose the forced enclosure of countless poor persons and beggars in a general hospital that was established by a royal decree³⁵. Yes, this was the work of Vincent de Paul, a man who was transformed by the gospels and who became the servant of the poor in order to evangelize them and humanize them.

Vincent de Paul confronted the realities of poverty and illness and looked for the best solutions that were available to him. But hunger, war, epidemics, the plague, the lack of sanitary conditions and good nutrition … all of these situations filled the streets and the alleys of France with weak and dead bodies of countless men and women. Furthermore, those infirm poor men and women were inadequately cared for because of a lack of specialized personnel and because of the incompetence of many who attempted to care for them … many of these sick poor men and women were abandoned to fend for themselves because of their geographic isolation. It was obvious that some solution had to be found and Vincent took steps in this regard.

In Châtillon, Vincent organized assistance and help and as a result the sick poor were cared for in their homes (CCD:IX:192-193). The generosity of the people was overwhelming and spontaneous … but, Vincent thought, such generosity had to be organized. The people engaged in acts of great charity but there was no organization to this charity. The family that was ill was provided for and assisted by their neighbors and suddenly, there was an abundance of food. But all of this would be useless unless some order was given to this matter. The experience of an organized charitable activity would give rise to a charitable movement of mercy and kindness and feminine love. Immediately Vincent went about organizing this activity. He gathered together some good people to decide on some practical ways to organize the assistance that would be given to the sick poor in the parish. It was decided to form an association, a confraternity called “the charity”. This confraternity would be composed of twenty women, who committed themselves to take turns in caring for the body and the soul of those who were found to be in need of such care (the member of this confraternity would decide on who needed to be cared for). They would tend to the material needs of the infirm by providing them with food and medicine and they would tend to the spiritual needs of those individuals by helping them prepare for a good death or, if they were healed, by helping them to live holy lives. On August 23, 1617, Vincent gave the first rule to the members of the Confraternity³⁶.

Kindness, gentleness, self-sacrifice, and concern to provide for the well-being of the persons who were under the care of the members of the confraternity … these confraternities or “charities” were inspired by the group that was formed in Châtillon and soon these confraternities would begin to flourish in those areas where the Missionaries preached missions. The majority of these groups were composed of women, though there were some that were composed of both men and women. These were virtuous, charitable and courageous persons who were called to give themselves to God and to their neighbor in a supernatural expansion of the maternal instinct³⁷. Vincent pointed out that they [the members of the Confraternities] are working wonders (CCD:I:246)³⁸. Throughout his life Vincent was mindful of the experience at Châtillon … it was this experience that allowed Vincent to participate in the development of work on behalf of the sick poor of the seventeenth century³⁹.

Throughout France, but especially in Paris, there were hundreds of abandoned babies⁴⁰. Generally, these babies were illegitimate children and viewed as children of sin⁴¹. Therefore, they were rejected and forgotten by their parents, despised by society and thus, sentenced to a premature death⁴². Vincent himself has left us a description of the harsh realities that these children had to confront: You were informed that those poor little creatures were receiving very little assistance — one wet nurse for four or five babies. They were being sold for eight sous apiece to beggars who would break their arms and legs to arouse pity so the people would give them alms, and they let them die of hunger … (CCD:XIIIb:421)⁴³.

Furthermore, these children would die without baptism⁴⁴. Moved by all of this Vincent looked for ways to resolve this situation⁴⁵ and slowly relief in the life of the foundlings became a reality. At first, the Ladies of Charity took responsibility for these children and then they were cared for by the Daughters of Charity. Through this ministry Vincent de Paul both cared for these children and also offered them a good education⁴⁶. He wanted to make these children honorable men and women and good Christians. This was not easy because he had to confront many obstacles … the social and pseudo-religious obstacles were far greater than the financial obstacles. We can affirm: Vincent de Paul’s involvement in this situation that required an urgent solution was a sign of social progress. His intelligence and merciful heart were able to break the power of the prejudice that was so prevalent with regard to the foundlings during that era. Thus he was able to teach others what had to be done in order for this work to be effective⁴⁷.

As happened with so many of Vincent’s initiatives, so too during the time of the development of this work on behalf of the foundlings, the Vincentian Family worked together. In fact, this collaboration was characteristic of the religious, human and social activity that Vincent became involved in and was a characteristic of the institutions that he established. A special feature of Vincent’s works of charity is particularly striking in the case of the foundlings. Vincent’s three great institutions all collaborated in their own way, in this work. The Ladies were patrons of the work and they provided the funds, the Daughters of Charity were directly involved in the work while the priests of the Mission supervised and directed it. Charity is all one and it is to be served by all available helpers⁴⁸.

Another charitable activity that Vincent undertook in order to make the gospel effective was that of caring for the galley salves. Let us allow the historians to speak to us about this. If the foundlings were a blot on society then the galley salves were a reproach both to society and to the state. The latter was responsible for the appalling situation whereby thousands of men were condemned to waste away their lives on the benches of the galley ships. This spectre was to haunt every navy in the world until the development, first of sailing boats, and later of steamships, meant that vessels could be powered by other means than men’s arms. In the second third of the seventeenth century this solution was still a long way off and the fact that the country was at war only added to the evil. Richelieu’s policy of naval expansion in his bid for European supremacy meant that the number of galley salves was increased and that the prisoners had to serve longer sentences⁴⁹.

Vincent saw with his own eyes the situation that these individuals had to confront and he exclaimed: I have seen those poor men treated like animals (CCD:X:103). Ah! Sisters, what a happiness to serve those poor convicts abandoned into the hands of persons who have no pity for them. I have seen those poor men treated like animals; that caused God to be moved with compassion. They inspired pity in him; as a result, his goodness did two things on their behalf; first, he had a house bought for them; second, he willed to arrange matters in such a way as to have them served by his own daughters, because to say a Daughter of Charity is to say a Daughter of God⁵⁰.

Since the galley slaves were viewed as criminals they were deprived of a dignified life. Yet these men were the glory of a navy that sailed on an ocean of misery, pain and blood — the labors of the galley slaves. It was these men, the scum of society, whose arms toiled at rowing and whose backs were lacerated by the overseer’s implacable whips, who sailed the ships that proudly flew the fleur-de-lys ensign … [these were the men who] languished in infectious and nauseous prisons, chained together in pairs, famished with hunger and worn out by fever or by worms … what awaited them were endless days of painful rowing during which they were scorched by the fierce Mediterranean sun or lashed by rain and storms…⁵¹.

These men were human beings who were mistreated by life, by their environment and by other persons. Is not this the worst situation for any person? Perhaps what was worse, however, was their inability to have recourse to legal authorities. If they were condemned to two or three years in the galleys they might find their sentence arbitrarily extended for an indefinite period. This might be due to bureaucratic chaos or to the navy’s demand for manpower⁵².

In light of this situation what could Vincent do? What did he do? In 1618 he visited the galley slaves and shuddered at the sight of this untold misery⁵³. The misery that he discovered among the galley slaves was horrible and more devastating than that which he experienced among the men and women, the peasants, living in the countryside⁵⁴. Therefore, Vincent began by advocating for better housing and wanted greater attention to be given to the basic needs of these men⁵⁵. As soon as he was appointed Chaplain General of the galley slaves Vincent guaranteed them the necessary help with regard to their material, moral and religious situation … thus their situation was bettered. He listened and looked for ways to make his activity ever more effect. He became an intermediary and this facilitated the sharing of ideas and the implementation of certain reforms⁵⁶.

Once again the three institutions became involved in this ministry. The Missionaries took responsibility for their spiritual needs and the Ladies of Charity and the Daughters of Charity provided for their material needs. We know, however, that for Vincent de Paul these two activities (providing for material needs and providing for spiritual needs) cannot be separated from one another and therefore, the Missionaries, the Ladies of Charity and the Daughters of Charity had to be involved in activity that provided for both the spiritual and the material needs of the poor⁵⁷. Vincent was able to bring relief to the bodies of the galley slaves and, through his kindness and attentiveness, was able to remove the bitterness from the hearts of those men⁵⁸. Through this charitable activity Vincent and his followers left profound footprints … human and Christian footprints.

During Vincent’s lifetime there were many vagrants. José María Román, in his biography on Vincent de Paul, refer to his reality as a scourge: French society was plagued by a third scourge which took the form of vagrancy. Beggars were to be found all over France, both in the country areas and in the cities, but they were most in evidence in Paris which was the nation’s sponge and its sewer. These beggars formed a floating population that hung around the public square or the streets of a town, crowded outside convents, surrounded the coaches bringing travelers to the towns and pestered better-off people in the streets. Roguery flourished alongside begging⁵⁹.

Begging has never been seen as something that was good and during the seventeenth century begging was viewed with contempt. Yet even though everyone was opposed to begging, no one was able to find a viable solution. The state regarded vagrancy as a political problem and dealt, or rather tried to deal with it, by political, or maybe we should say, police methods … Beggars were a public enemy for society in general. They were regarded as enemies and feared as such⁶⁰.

As we have stated no one offered a viable solution and as long as the causes of the misery remained, there was no hope of curing its effects⁶¹. Ecclesial institutions, for example, following their tradition, offered relief through alms and the distribution of food. But, was this a solution? The majority of time that approach proved to be counter-productive because this easy access to sustenance was, itself, an open invitation to lead of life of idleness⁶².

Vincent cared for beggars by providing them with alms and immediate relief. But this was not enough. In the first place we must keep in mind the fact that Vincent’s generosity seemed to be boundless: All sources of contemporary evidence are in emphatic agreement about Vincent’s exorbitant almsgiving. He gave everything he had. He turned saint Lazare into the greatest welfare centre in Paris. Every year the house contributed 200 livres to the charity confraternity in the parish of Saint Laurent and every day they distributed bread, soup and meat to poor families in the neighborhood. And every day, two poor men were invited to eat in the community refectory where they were given the places of honor, on either side of the superior. Poor beggars who rang at the door were given a portion of bread and a few sous. Three times a week soup would be distributed to every beggar that came and there would usually be about six hundred. When times were worse, as during the siege of Paris by the Fronde, this distribution was made every day. Three great cauldrons of soup were needed to provide for nearly two thousand people. The brother who was in charge of making bread reckoned that in the space of three months they had gone through 1,200 kilos of wheat. One day, when Vincent was passing by in his carriage, he saw a boy crying in the street. He stopped the carriage, got out, and went up to the boy to ask him why he was crying. When he saw the boy’s injured hand he took him to a surgeon who attended to the wound, then he paid the doctor and gave the lad a few coins. On another occasion he gave 100 livres to a carter who had lost his horses. It’s impossible to count the number of times he used his carriage to take sick people that he found in the streets to the Hotel-Dieu. A soldier, nicknamed “the Sieve” because he had so many scars, came to Saint Lazare and with all the effrontery of the miles gloriosus asked Vincent for lodgings. Vincent took him in. Next day the veteran beggar fell sick. Vincent had him moved to a room with a fireplace, and he lived there for two months as their guest, with a brother to wait on him hand and foot. At other times Vincent would waive the rent due from tenants, he took in orphans at St. Lazare, sent a hundred needles to a tailor, and he personally gave some women the money they asked for…⁶³.

This lengthy, yet magnificent description of Vincent’s generosity enables us to see that his generosity endangered the financial situation of the community residing at Saint-Lazare. Yet when confronted with complaints and murmuring, Vincent was able to put forth good reasons for his acting in the way he did. He said: I worry about our Company, but to tell you the truth, not so much as I do about the poor. If we need to, we could ask for help from our other houses or appeal to the vicars in the parishes. But where can the poor turn? Where can they go? This is my worry and my sorrow⁶⁴.

Vincent was not satisfied with short-term, immediate relief. His organizing nature led him to look for long-term solutions. While it was not Vincent’s responsibility to eliminate the causes of poverty and begging, yet what Vincent did was important and serves as an encouragement for us. We previously stated that Vincent established the Hospice du Nom-de-Jésus where the elderly and disabled workers were received and cared for by the Daughters of Charity. There those who were able to work had to do something so as not to find themselves in a state of perpetual idleness. The individuals who resided there received vocational training as well as religious instruction and instruction regard different pious practices. Once again the various Vincentian institutions confronted this situation together. Vincent had created a novel type of institution and was able to smile at its success: The residents could enjoy a peaceful and leisurely old age and they were happy with the way they were being looked after. The only drawback was that the institution could only take in a limited number of residents. Places only became vacant when residents died, and there was always a long waiting list as people applied years in advance. The institution may have been just an experiment for Vincent, a first step in a new direction, but politicians took up the idea and decided to implement it on a big scale⁶⁵.

When speaking about Vincent’s activity to make the gospel effective, we have described, in a brief manner, the social upheaval that occurred in France during the seventeenth century. Politics and the struggle for supremacy in Europe sank whole religions of France into misery. From 1635 to 1660 the French countryside became the scene for foreign and civil war … at different times the countryside served as a battlefield, as an area of encampment and also as an area for on-going troop movement⁶⁶.

With a charitable and enterprising spirit Vincent looked for solutions in order to respond to all these disasters: During the time of the French-Spanish War and the four years of the Fronde Vincent organized and put in place a new army to build-up and to plant in those areas where other troops were determined to uproot and destroy⁶⁷.

In order to do this Vincent used everything that was available to him at that time and collaborated with others in order to provide relief to those devastated areas.

The Province of Lorraine was plundered and set afire in 1635 and again in 1645. For one reason or another, peace never became a reality and the war was never terminated. So what were the consequences of this situation? … we briefly describe what occurred: the thefts and robberies and fires that were set by the troops left the province in ruin and created misery. Poverty, hunger and disease devastated the country and depopulated it. Some people were so hungry that they ate the flesh of other family members who had died. Misery was extended everywhere and became commonplace: peasants, city workers, rich people who resided in castles, priests and men and women religious … all of these people lived in poverty and privation⁶⁸.

At once Vincent began to work. He asked Cardinal Richelieu to give peace to Lorraine and looked for the means and the necessary provisions that would bring relief to the province … he even mounted a publicity campaign to attract further support⁶⁹. The Ladies of Charity became responsible for the collection of funds for the relief effort and the Missionaries were responsible for the distribution of these provisions. Vincent sent twelve of his best priests and clerics to help the missioners at Toul and he also sent brothers who had some knowledge of surgery or medicine⁷⁰.

Vincent was continually informed about the situation in Lorraine and this enabled him to provide and distribute provisions in that area. In order to deliver large sums of money to that area and avoid the dangers of assault and plunder Vincent chose Brother Mathieu Regnard, an astute and cool-headed individual⁷¹. According to Vincent, Brother, was working wonders in this regard by a very special grace our Lord has given him⁷². A rule was drawn up to deal with this specific situation and this rule outlined norms that were to be followed. Being informed about real needs, distribution of basic food supplies, distribution of clothing and medicine … those were primary tasks. Large sums of money were also given to help the men and women who were cloistered behind monastery walls. Together with this material assistance the Missionaries also provided spiritual help: preaching, catechizing, administration of the sacraments, missions. It can be said that the Lorraine campaign was one of the best examples we have of the priests of the Mission working hand in hand with the charities⁷³.

The war did not cease and in fact, war appeared to become an epidemic since the people in the area of Champagne and Picardy were also affected: few regions suffered so much as a result of the war as the area of Champagne and Picardy. For twenty-five years, from 1635-1660, the French, Spanish and German soldiers, as well as soldiers from Lorraine, moved throughout the country sowing death and destruction⁷⁴.

Many soldiers acted in a savage manner. Everywhere they left behind destruction and death and always the peasants, the poor people, paid the consequences. Hunger and misery had become part of people’s daily existence. The subjects of King Louis are rich in war, in misery and in a variety of diseases. Hunger has created situation of cannibalism: two children were found to be eating the flesh of their parents. In fact, hunger became so extreme that the Missionaries have seen people eating dirt and grass and have also seen people striping the bark from the trees and tearing the rags that cover their bodies into pieces in order to have something to eat⁷⁵.

Vincent de Paul, after being involved in the events as they unfolded in Lorraine again initiated a campaign of information and organization in order to assist the people in this region of Champagne and Picardy⁷⁶. He had limited resources but this did not mean that he stood still with his arms folded. He felt that it was urgent to satisfy people’s basic needs. He mobilized the members of the Vincentian Family and thus initiated an effective action. There was a need to be economical and yet those who were truly needy could not be neglected. Those who could work ought to work … the alms were meant for those who could not provide for themselves: the infirm, the elderly, children and those who were unable to find work⁷⁷. Therefore, alms and immediate help was given to the infirm and disabled while those who were able to work were provided with the tools that were needed. In order to be effective charity demands that we know the exact needs of each place and each person. Therefore, since funds are limited it is necessary to establish criteria to guide the distribution of these provisions. Vincent urged and encouraged the Missionaries to become aware of the needs of the people and also reminded them about the principles that should guide their activity. They should not distribute alms to those who could work but should distribute those funds to the infirm, the elderly, children and those who had found it impossible to obtain work. On the other hand, when an individual is able to work it is then necessary to provide those people with the tools they need. When it is seen that the land can be cultivated and when there are people who are able to engage in this work then those individuals should be given plows and seeds. At the same time the women and young girls should be provided with flax and burlap or wool to sew⁷⁸.

When speaking about Vincent’s organized and concrete charitable activity we must be mindful of the fact that Vincent had at his disposal very little money to provide for so many demands and therefore the help that he was able to provide was reduced. Yet Vincent’s ministry and the organized charitable endeavor that was carried out in those regions produced fruit and the two provinces were saved. This work produced fruit: the residents in Champagne and Picardy were saved from starvation and were provided with reasons to continue to live … Vincent created an environment of solidarity which enveloped the daily life of the poor men and women of that area. Those people were reintegrated into life and, at the same time, were reintegrated into the work force. This new method of providing help to others reveals the origin of an inventive and effective charity⁷⁹.

Does this not reveal the spirit of the gospel? Does not making the gospel effective today consist of this very thing or something similar to it? There is no doubt about our affirmative answer. In fact, in all of this we find a good program for the present era when we have to confront drug abuse, unemployment, new waves of immigration …

The internal politics of the French kingdom brought about a new disaster. When King Louis XIII died, his successor was a minor and some of the nobles disputed the regency of the kingdom. All of these disputes were called the Fronde Wars⁸⁰… a time of intrigue and constant war. The city of Paris took up arms against the Queen Regent, Anne of Austria and her Prime Minister, Cardinal Mazarin who at the beginning of this dispute understood that is was best to flee the city. Then, when returning to Paris, the royal troops surrounded the city and began a cruel and harsh seizure of the city. As a result hunger and misery and the black market became every more prevalent realities. As if that was not enough a series of natural disasters occurred which made the ordinary life of people even more difficult. After the royal court left Paris the Seine River overflowed its banks destroying bridges and homes and flooding the streets of Paris … the poorest inhabitants of the city were drowned. Misery increased and Parliament was obliged to suppress the payment of taxes that usually took place during the Easter season⁸¹.

Misery increased and everyone and everything was affected. When an agreement was reached between the court and Parliament the people obtained nothing even though they had engaged in a fierce struggle and endured hunger. In fact, it was precisely these same people who “paid” the highest costs of this failed rebellion⁸².

Despite this first peace agreement, the civil war continued. People fled Paris and the surrounding areas and the troops who took control of this area sowed misery, illness, death, plunder, robbery and desecrations⁸³. Once again Vincent de Paul knew how to act in accord with the demands of the drama that was unfolding and looked for the best solutions that would offer relief to the people who were being assaulted on a daily basis by one disaster after another … by misery.

In the beginning Vincent looked for a political solution. He met with the Queen and with Mazarin and spoke to them with a certain firmness. Then, from afar, from exile (for political reasons), he made use of every means to relieve the hunger and the poverty of the people. He detached himself from everything that he possessed … he sacrificed himself and placed himself at the service of the poor in order to provide for their needs. The poor spoke and Vincent obeyed; the poor made known their situation of hunger and destitution and Vincent confronted those situations and gifted people with new life. All of this occurred despite his advanced age. In 1652 Vincent was seventy-two years old and became the advocate and the organizer of a charitable movement in Paris and the surrounding area. For this advocate of charity what was in play was a response to the demands of God which were revealed in the midst of the drama in which the French society was involved⁸⁴.

Vincent, motivated by a love that had to be expressed in gestures of solidarity with the poor and the marginalized, committed all his followers to the ministry of assistance and liberation: Vincent de Paul attempted to sensitize the Missionaries, the Daughters of Charity and the Ladies of Charity to the humiliating misery and poverty that so many people experienced. During 1652 he spoke about this misery and also spoke about the theme of peace in his conferences. Also, each day, for the intention of peace, six Missionaries fasted and received communion. During the height of this crisis Vincent met with the Ladies of Charity on a daily basis and reviewed with them the needs and the ways to alleviate the extreme needs of the diocese⁸⁵.

Learning from his previous experiences, Vincent shared the information that was communicated to him with many other people; he collaborated with everyone and methodically organized a relief campaign. Everyone in Paris contributed and as a result it became possible to provide food and clothing and medicine to the infirm and to make available work tools to the poor⁸⁶. It became necessary to set up some storehouses for the food and tools that were to be distributed. The Daughters of Charity and the Missionaries collaborated in this ministry. The Daughters became responsible for assisting, feeding and caring for the sick and the refugees⁸⁷. The Missionaries organized missions for the refugees and established and/or animated the members of the confraternities to continue this work. The Ladies of Charity became responsible for the publicity campaign and the collection of funds and other material goods. All the Vincentian institutions had an active role in this charitable campaign, in building up the kingdom of God in Paris and the surrounding areas that had been devastated by the civil war. The words that animated all of that activity were spoken by Vincent when he wrote: We hear that you have spared nothing to save the lives of all the sick poor in those places⁸⁸. Vincent remained faithful to this principle until the end of his life.

It would be useless to try and calculate the exact, or even the approximate amount of money and provisions provided by Vincent de Paul over more than twenty years of continual aid to the devastated regions. Other things are more important. Vincent, who had been so assiduous in consolidating the finances of the houses he founded, now squandered their assets in the service of his neighbor. His conduct and his teaching showed he believed it to be literally true that the money of the Company was the money of poor⁸⁹.

It can be said with a certain pride that Vincent never allowed himself to be restrained in his efforts to provide for the poor … neither in the area of resources nor effort nor personnel. Many missionaries and Daughters of Charity gave their life in this difficult endeavor and became martyrs for charity⁹⁰.

We conclude this section in which we have reviewed Vincent’s ministry and the ministry of his followers and in which we have seen how this ministry made the gospel of Jesus Christ effective during the seventeenth century. We conclude with the words of José María Román: the mighty wave of active and compassionate charity towards the poor which Vincent unleashed, rescued France from the charge of inhumanity. This France was notorious for its ambitious cardinals, its scheming bishops, its merciless generals and a soldiery that was crazed with cruelty and envy. Thanks to Vincent and his magnificent band of helpers, another, underground France, started to flourish beneath mountains of self-interest and hypocrisy, the France which, ever since the days of Saint Ireneus, had taken to itself the gospel message of compassionate charity⁹¹.

In other words, through their direct charitable activity on behalf of those persons most in need, Vincent de Paul and the institutions that he established evangelized the people of France and brought about a resurgence of hope among the poor. Indeed, the poor, in the very depth of their being, felt that the God of Jesus Christ had not abandoned them or forgotten them.

1. The Fathers of the Church: Saint Augustine: Commentary on the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount with Seventeen Related Sermons, The Catholic University of America Press, 1951, p. 363-364.
2. J.M. Castillo, op.cit., p. 331-332
3. Ibid., p. 333.
4. Ibid., p. 471.
5. I. Zedde, op.cit., p. 242. Cf., H. de Maupas du Tour, Oraison funѐvre á la mémorie de feu Messire Vincent de Paul, instituteur, fondateur et supérieur général des Prêtres de la Misión, Paris (G. Méturas) 1661, p. 63.
6. Vincent de Paul always insisted that his works and the institutions that he established were not the result of his initiative but were due to God. There is no doubt that, like a good Christian, Vincent attributes his action to God, thus God is the source of inspiration while Vincent then viewed himself as the one who was God’s interpreter and the one who made God’s inspiration a reality.
7. J.M. Ibáñez, “La opción por los pobres, exigencia y criterio verificador de la nueva evangelización”, in Vicencianismo y nueva evangelización, XIX Semana de Estudios Vicencianos, CEME, Santa Marta de Tormes (Salmanca), 1993, p. 175.
8. Ibid., p. 176.
9. Ibid., p. 182-183
10. Ibid., p. 183
11. The Liturgy of the Hours, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1975, volume IV, Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time, p. 367-369.
12. Ibid., p. 368, 369.
13. I. Zedde, op.cit, p. 234.
14. Ibid., p. 234.
15. Ibid., p. 235.
16. Ibid., p. 235-236
17. Ibid., p. 236.
18. Ibid., p. 238
19. Ibid., p. 239.
20. The best reference in this regard is found in the Common Rules of the Congregation of the Mission: There are both clerical and lay members in the Congregation. The work of the former is to travel around through towns and villages, as Christ himself and his disciples did, breaking the bread of the divine word for the neglected, by preaching and catechizing. They also should urge people to make general confessions of their entire life and hear these confessions. Their ministry also includes settling quarrels and disputes, establishing the Confraternity of Charity, staffing seminaries which have been set up in our houses for diocesan clergy, giving retreats, and organizing meetings of priests in our houses. Their work also includes any other ministry which is supportive of those mentioned (Common Rules, Chapter I, #2.
21. I. Zedde., op.cit., p. 239.
22. Archives of Sanint-Lazare, Memoire pour les missionnaires qui sont envoys faire des aumônes aux pauvres de la champagne, Ms. 632; cf. I. Zedde, op.cit., p. 239.
23. Cf., Coutumier de Montmirail, cited by M.R. Mathieu, Monsieur Vincent chez les de Gondy, Paris, 1966, p. 179; I. Zedde, op.cit., p. 239.
24. National Archives, S. 6708, Montmirail, October 1, 1644; cf. I. Zedde. Op.cit., p. 239. “Lieu de retraite des pauvres passants” — the place of refuge for the transient poor men and women.
25. I. Zedde, op.cit., p. 239.
26. Ibid., p. 240.
27. Ibid., p. 240.
28. Ibid., p. 240.
29. Ibid., p. 241.
30. National Archives, S. 6160, 16; Angers, February 1, 1640 cited by I. Zedde, op.cit., p. 241.
31. I. Zedde, op.cit., p. 241.
32. Ibid., p. 241.
33. Ibid., p. 241-242.
34. José María Ibáñez, Vicente de Paúl y los pobres de su tiempo, Sígueme, Salamanca, 1977, p. 115.
35. Ibid., p. 118-131.
36. Ibid., p. 134. The author, as he developed this paragraph, refers to documents such as L. Abelly I:72 — Vincent said: this undoubtedly shows that these people have great charity, but is it well organized? See also CCD:XIIIb:5-8 — General Regulations for Charities of Women – II.
37. Ibid., p. 135.
38. This letter was written to Francois du Coudray on July 25^th, 1634 and Vincent touched upon various themes. As he is concluding the letter he expressed his satisfaction with the work of the various Confraternities that had been established in the parishes throughout Paris. Some of these groups were caring for 800 or 900 sick poor; cf. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 136.
39. Ibáñez. op.cit., p. 141.
40. José María Román, Saint Vincent de Paul: A Biography, translated by Sister Joyce Howard, DC, Melisende, London, 1999. p. 485. At the bottom of the page the author provides the reader with a bibliography on the subject of foundlings.
41. Ibid., p. 487; cf., CCD:XIIIb:406-407.
42. Cf., CCD:XIIIb:397ff; J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 142; Roman, op.cit., p.486.
43. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 142-143; CCD:XIIIb:397-401; 402-407; 424-426. All of these text relative to the works of Vincent de Paul refer outlines of talks that were given to the Ladies of Charity on the topic of the foundlings.
44. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 143; CCD:XIIIb:420-421; IX:
45. Cf., J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 143-149; J.M. Román, op.cit., 487-490.
46. Cf., CCD:IX:104-115; J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p.145 and the appendices, p. 347-356.
47. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 149
48. J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 489
49. Ibid., p. 494-495.
50. CCD:X:103. Cf., J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 140-143, 494-501; J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 149-156.
51. J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 1414
52. Ibid., p. 141.
53. Ibid., p. 141.
54. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 151.
55. Ibid, p. 150-151, cf., Román, op.cit., 140-143, 494-501.
56. Ibid., p. 151; cf., Román, op.cit., p. 140-143, 494-501.
57. Ibid., 151-156, cf., Román, op.cit, p. 140-143, 494-501.
58. Ibid., p. 153.
59. Román, op.cit., p. 502-503.
60. Ibid., p. 503.
61. Ibid., p. 503.
62. Ibid., p. 503.
63. Ibid., p. 503-505.
64. Abelly, op.cit., volume III, p. 117.
65. J.M. Román, op.cit., 505-506; cf., Abelly, op.cit., volumen I, p.224-229.
66. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 157.
67. Ibid., p. 157.
68. Ibid., p. 158. At the bottom of the page the author lists some interesting documents related to this matter.
69. Ibid., p. 159; J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 517-518.
70. J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 514; cf., P. Collet, Le vie de Saint Vincent de Paul …, Nancy, 1748, volume I, p. 289-290
71. Ibid., p. 520.
72. CCD:I:582; cf., Román, op.cit., p. 520.
73. J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 517.
74. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 162; cf. J.M. Román, op.cit., 569-590.
75. Ibid., p. 163-164; cf. CCD:IV:301. The letters that some of the Missionaries sent to Vincent are very informative with regard to their ministry in those devastated regions of France. The following letters in Volume IV of Vincent de Paul’s Correspondence, Conferences, Documents provide us with further details of the relief efforts in that area. Note: All these letters are found in Volume IV and refer to the number of the letter and not the page number as is the usual procedure. Letter number: 1274, 1280, 1281, 1281, 1305, 1306, 1309, 1316, 1317, 1346, 1371, 1408, 1441. We also find in the same volume some letters that were sent to Vincent by the town magistrates in Rethel. In those letters they request assistance and describe the situation of the people living in that area. The following letters refers to this matter and once again all these letters are found in volume IV and refer to the letter number: 1359, 1360, 1363, 1381, 1387.
76. Ibid., p.167-174; J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 569-590.
77. Ibid., p. 179.
78. Ibid., p. 179; Vincent addressed this situation in the following letters. Note: here the numbers refer to the page number and not the letter number. CCD:IV:188-189; V:79, 98-100, 100-102, 119-120, 123-124, 146-150; VI:388-389, 422-423, 502-504, 561-562; VIII:82-84, 107, 409-410.
79. Ibid., p. 181.
80. Cf., J.M. Román, 584-591; J.M. Ibnez, op.cit., p. 183-205.
81. J.M. Ibáñez, op.cit., p. 185.
82. Ibid., p. 186.
83. Ibid., p. 191. Vincent described this situation in a letter addressed to Pope Innocent X and dated August 16, 1652 (CCD:IV:445-447).
84. Ibid, p. 197.
85. Ibid., p. 199; see also, CCD:IV:385-387, 521-523.
86. Ibid., p. 200.
87. Ibid., p. 200.
88. CCD:IV:510-511. This letter is referenced by J.M. Román, op.cit., 589-590.
89. J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 589-590.
90. CCD:X: ; J.M. Román, op.cit., p. 590.
91. J.M. Román, op.cit., p.590.