French priest, founder and saint (1581-1660)
A French priest who turned from enslavement in Tunisia to founding two religious orders that still operate worldwide, built around a single organizing principle: the poor weren't a problem to manage but people to serve directly.
Ordained in 1600, Vincent de Paul was kidnapped and spent two years enslaved in Tunis before escaping in 1607. He returned to Europe and moved through parish work and a post in the French royal court, then pivoted entirely. In 1617 he founded the Ladies of Charity, and by 1622 he was chaplain to the galley slaves in Paris. He established the Congregation of the Mission in 1625—members took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability to work in smaller towns and villages—and led retreats for clergy when local moral standards had slipped. He pioneered seminary education and in 1633 found…
Sourced, dated quotes from Vincent de Paul
The reason why God is so great a lover of humility is because He is the great lover of truth; and humility is nothing but truth, whilst pride is nothing but lying.
The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.
It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible.
You will find out that Charity is a heavy burden to carry, heavier than the kettle of soup and the full basket. But you will keep your gentleness and your smile.
However great the work that God may achieve by an individual, he must not indulge in self-satisfaction.
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