Today September 27

Today is the feast of St. Vincent de Paul (1581 - 1660), apostle of the poor. What a life this guy had! A youthful shepherd, a stilt-walker, a college student in Toulouse (despite terrible poverty as a child), tutored by Franciscans, kidnapped by pirates, chaplain to the queen, apostle to the poor. Here's how it happened. As a young child, he was sent to the fields to shepherd (on stilts). Somehow he got a good education and was actually ordained at age 20. He was kidnapped by Corsairs while he was on a ship from Marseilles to Narbonne. Rescued, he became a chaplain in the royal house (Queen Margot), then of some aristocrats (the di Gondis). It was at their mansion and grounds that he saw the horrible plight of the peasants up close and began to do something about it. Maybe he heard a call within a call. Anyway, he fed and clothed the poor, started "charity confraternities" to help, began an order to help the poor and to train priests (the Congregation of the Mission, or Lazarists, after the abandoned priory of Saint-Lazare, now also the name of the famous railway station), founded an order of women to do the same (the Sisters of Charity, with the distinctive "Flying Nun"-like headgear), and worked for the redemption of galley slaves. He always loved those who were his friends in the world, including many platonic female friends, and he very faithfully and diligently read and answered all of his correspondence. He even died in his chair in 1660, answering some of those letters. St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.