June 20, 1616¹

Monsieur²,

The grace of Our Lord be with you forever!

We sometimes meet good people who wish to make a general confession, and because we very often encounter reserved cases³ and find it difficult to send them away, I thought of entreating you most humbly to grant me permission to absolve them from the said reserved cases. I assure you that I shall in no way abuse this, and that I shall be all my life, Monsieur, your most humble and obedient servant.

Vincent Depaul

1. Letter 4. – Reg. I, P 1. The copyist notes that the anginal was written entirely in the Saint’s own handwriting.
2. Born in the diocese of Châlons, died Match 1,1617. Vincent de Paul, tutor to the children of Philippe-Emmanuel de Gondi, General of the Galleys and Comte de Joigny, often had occasion to go with them to this city situated in the diocese of Sens.
3. Reservation of sins is the limitation by a competent superior of an inferior’s power of absolution so that the latter cannot absolve certain sins because of tbe lack of jurisdiction.