VINCENT de PAUL
(1580-1660)
For St. Vincent de Paul, becoming a priest meant escaping his family's poverty into a life of clerical ease. His first ten years as a priest were spent basking in his new-found comfort and privileges. Then a great change came over him and he eventually dedicated the rest of his life to the service of the poor. Vincent de Paul believed that God lived within every person, no matter what their condition in life. He wanted all people to understand that and to know that God loved them. In 17th century France, hunger, ignorance and disease were ever-present barriers to such spiritual growth. So, Vincent put his peasant practicality to work on those barriers. He re-trained priests to teach in country parishes and motivated village folk to care for their ill and hungry neighbors. He urged that nursing care and social services be provided to the poor, even in their own homes. In 1633, these led him, with Louise de Marillac, to be begin a new form of religious life -- the Daughters of Charity. The work of the Daughters grew in Vincent's time to every country in Europe, and later to every continent in the world. Today, Vincent's name is synonymous with Catholic charity throughout the world.
Louise was a close friend of St. Vincent de Paul. After the death of her husband, when she was only 34, Louise began a new life, helping Vincent with his works of charity for the poor of 17th century France. Vincent asked Louise to visit with groups of lay workers, encouraging them to greater generosity and correcting abuses where they had arisen. Eventually a group of simple village women gathered around Louise. Together they became the Daughters of Charity, a new form of religious life dedicated to serving the poorest of the poor. From 1633 until her death in 1660, Louise de Marillac shepherded the fledgling Daughters of Charity under the spiritual leadership of Vincent de Paul. She was a motivator, administrator, accountant and counselor of the "little company." Louise's example has taught generations of "daughters" how to be servants to people in need. Her dignity, compassion and self-sacrifice helped to create one of the largest charitable organizations in the world.
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was born in New York City, two years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. She married William Seton when she was 18 years old. As a young bride, Elizabeth began the first society in New York City to aid poor widows with small children. Later, at age 29, a widow herself with five children and little financial support, Elizabeth continued to search for ways to serve the poor. For several years, she supported herself and her children by teaching. In 1809, she founded the first religious community in the United States, which later became the Daughters of Charity, following the ideals of Vincent de Paul in caring for the sick and the poor. Although Elizabeth's early focus was on education, by the time of her death at age 47 from tuberculosis, the works of the Daughters had expanded to include orphanages and hospital ministry. In 1975, this physician's daughter became the first person born in the United States to be named a saint by the Catholic Church. The names of schools, churches, hospitals and universities throughout the United States honor her.
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