Who We Are
St. Vincent de Paul - Our Founder
St.Vincent De Paul was born in Pouy, Landes, Gascony, France, on April 24, 1581 to a family of peasant farmers. In his family Vincent had four brothers and two sisters. He was ordained a priest in 1600. Vincent de Paul dedicated himself to serving the poor.
St. Vincent de Paul gave his energies and life to the needs of the poor in 17th-century France. Together with St. Louise de Marillac, he organized hospitals for the sick poor, founded institutions for abandoned children, opened soup kitchens, created job training programs, taught young women to read, bettered prison conditions, and organized countless local charities in the villages throughout France. Vincent de Paul was canonized in 1737 and is popularly known as "The Father of The Poor."
Any institution calling itself "Vincentian" must extend Vincent's dream to its own time and place. All of us Vincentians of the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission in the United States - priests, brothers and seminarians - are inheritors of this legacy and vision. We are Vincentians. The challenge before us, as with every generation, is to choose whether Vincent's vision will be a piece of history or a living, breathing mission alive in its members.
