Priest of the Poor and So Much More
The concept of
charity and the name St. Vincent de Paul are forever linked. Yet
He lived, after all, in
pre-Revolutionary
Although he could have spent his
life being the adored, well-cared-for priest of some marquis or duchess,
When I studied in
Some years later I became a writer
for various travel publications and found a way to spend a day in
I knew nothing of it. My first
address in
One morning I set off for 95 rue de Sèvres, a graceful building with a large courtyard, headquarters of his Congregation de la Mission — also known as la Maison-Mère (the motherhouse). I saw a number of people entering a door to the chapel at the left. Of course, I followed them. Most were heading past the vast columns toward the main altar of the elaborate chapel and up a narrow stairway at the altar. I hesitated a moment and a diminutive nun pressed my elbow, pointing up the stairs. Up I went.
From Slave to Servant
Suddenly I was face to face with
the great saint: His mortal body reclines in a lifelike pose in a silver
reliquary. More specifically, his bones are inside a wax figure cast in his
likeness. (His still incorrupt heart is enclosed on the altar of his shrine in
the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity, also in
I was indeed surprised at this encounter and descended the stairs on the other side a bit shaken. I sat for a moment to take it in. Fortunately there was a small shop for mementos. I bought a book about his life, wishing to be better prepared for my next meeting with the saint whose life the Church celebrates each Sept. 27.
St. Vincent, I learned, was born
to a poor family from southwestern
He finally escaped to
His life could then have become very comfortable, but it seems that the deathbed confession of a peasant radically changed his perceptions. The dying man said he would have died in sin without the priest’s absolution. Apparently these words seared Vincent’s heart, awakening him to the critical value of the priesthood.
In 1619, he became chaplain to
galley slaves waiting to be shipped overseas; six years later he founded the
Congregation of the
During his lifetime he strongly opposed the Jansenists, who were then preaching a theology similar to the Protestants,’ that grace alone could save without good works. He obviously was a man of good works until his death in 1660.
Two Towers
Now that I knew a bit more about the saint whose body I had just met, I wanted to learn more, to see more of his Parisian sites. Unfortunately, the Priory of St. Lazare, which also housed a building for lepers and another for the insane, was destroyed, and the building on rue de Sèvres was given to the order in return.
Their priory at St. Lazare was near where the Gare du Nord (a
railroad station on the Right Bank) now stands, and a large church nearby is
devoted to
An intriguing curiosity of the area is the mural erected in 1988 on the side of an apartment building that had been built by the Vincentians in the 18th century. It consists of ribs of metal that create a towering portrait of this towering man.
As I was about to leave the chapel on rue de Sèvres, another nun strongly urged me to visit the nearby Chapel of the Miraculous Medal at 140 rue du Bac — home of the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul and a major attraction for Catholic pilgrimages. Here, the Blessed Mother appeared to a novice nun in 1830, ordering her to create a medal that would protect the people who worshiped there. More than 4 million of these medals are now in circulation. But that experience must await another telling.
Barbara Coeyman Hults
writes from
Planning Your Visit
The chapel is open daily. Early
fall is an ideal time to visit
Getting There
The Metro stop Vaneau is closest to rue de Sèvres.
- Keywords:
- September 24-30, 2006