St. Vincent de Paul

Before becoming a saint celebrated for serving the poor, Vincent de Paul spent two years as a slave in North Africa after being kidnapped by pirates. Born in 1581 in rural France, Vincent was ordained a priest in 1600 at the unusually young age of 19, a feat that required a special dispensation since the church's minimum age for ordination was 24. France in the early 17th century suffered from widespread clerical corruption and crushing rural poverty. Priestly formation was often minimal or entirely nonexistent. Vincent's years of captivity in Tunis, from which he escaped in 1607, forged in him a deep empathy for society's outcasts and set him on a path toward radical reform.

Vincent's first organized effort to serve the poor came in 1617 when he founded the Ladies of Charity in Chtillon-les-Dombes, a lay organization of women dedicated to caring for the poor and sick. In 1622, a royal appointment made him chaplain to the galley slaves in Paris, placing him in direct contact with condemned prisoners who rowed French warships and deepening his commitment to marginalized populations. He founded the Congregation of the Mission in 1625, an order whose members took vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and stability, and focused on serving rural populations. In 1633, he and Louise de Marillac co-founded the Daughters of Charity, a revolutionary move that allowed women to take religious vows while serving in the world rather than being cloistered in a convent. Vincent also became a reformer of the French clergy, pioneering seminary education at a time when it barely existed.

Vincent died in 1660 and Pope Clement XII canonized him as a saint in 1737. The Congregation of the Mission, also known as the Vincentians or Lazarists, continues to operate today, running parishes and educational institutions worldwide. The The [[St. Vincent de Paul Society|St. Vincent de Paul Society]], founded in 1833 by Frederick Ozanam, operates in over 150 countries and provides direct assistance to people facing poverty and homelessness. The Daughters of Charity still serve in hospitals, schools, and social service programs across the globe, maintaining their founder's original model of active service outside convent walls.