July 26, 2025 • 13 mins
Explore the extraordinary life of St. Vincent De Paul, a man of humility, compassion, and generosity whose impact resonates even today. Born around 1581 and living until 1660, Vincents early life was shaped by his own experience of slavery, having been captured by Turkish pirates and sold in Tunis. His escape in 1607 led him to a life of service, becoming a priest and devoting his ministry to the poor. In 1625, he founded the Congregation of the Mission, a society of missionary priests known as Vincentians or Lazarists. Alongside Louise de Marillac, he established the Daughters of Charity, a group dedicated to nursing the sick, whose work in hospitals during several plagues is well-documented. Listen to the tale of this remarkable individual, and discover the lasting legacy of his profound spiritual journey.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter two of Life of Saint Vincent de Paul. This
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. Life of Saint Vincent de Paul by
Francis Alice Forbes. Chapter two, Slavery. The pirates were bound
(00:24):
for the port of Tunis, the largest city of Barbary.
But the sight of the glittering white town, with its
background of mountains set in the gorgeous coloring of the
African landscape, brought no gleam of joy or comfort to
the sad hearts of the prisoners. Before them lay a
life of slavery, which might be worse than death. There
(00:45):
was small prospect that they would ever see their native
land again. To one faint hope, however, they clung desperately
as a drowning man clings to a straw. There was
a French council in Tunis, whose business it was to
look after the trade interests of his country, and it
was just possible that he might use his influence to
(01:06):
set them free. The hope was short lived. The pirates,
expecting to make a good deal of money out of
their prisoners were equally aware of this fact, and their
first act on landing was to post a notice that
the captives they had for sale were Spaniards. Nothing was
left to Vincent and his companions, who did not know
(01:29):
a word of the language of the country, but to
endure their cruel fate. The Turks, having stripped their prisoners
and clothed them in a kind of rough uniform, fastened
chains round their necks, and marched them through the town
to the market place, where they were exhibited for sale.
Much as cattle are at the present day. They were
(01:50):
carefully inspected by the dealers, who looked at their teeth,
felt their muscles, made them run and walk with loads
and without, to satisfy themselves that they were in good condition,
and finally selected their victims. Vincent was bought by a fisherman, who,
finding that his new slave got hopelessly ill whenever they
(02:12):
put out to sea, repented of his bargain, and seldom
to an alchemist. In the west, as well as in
the east, there were still men who believed in the
Philosopher's Stone and the elixir of life. By means of
the still undiscovered stone. They hoped to change base metals
(02:32):
into gold, while the equally undiscovered elixir was to prolong
life indefinitely and to make old people young. Vincent's master
was an enthusiast in his profession, and kept ten or
fifteen furnaces always burning in which to conduct his experiments.
His slave, whose business it was to keep them alight,
(02:55):
was kindly treated. The old man soon grew very fond
of him, and would harangue him by the hour on
the subject of medals and essences. His great desire was
that Vincent should become a Mohammedan like himself, a desire which,
needless to say, remained unfelled in spite of the large
(03:16):
sums of money he promised, if his slave would only
oblige him in this matter. The old alchemist, however, had
a certain reputation in his own country. Having been sent
for one day to the Sultan's court, he died on
the way, leaving his slave to his nephew, who lost
no time in getting rid of him. Vincent's next master
(03:39):
was a Frenchman who had apostatized and was living as
a Mohammedan on his farm in the mountains. This man
had three wives who were very kind to the poor captive,
especially one of them, who, although herself a Mohammedan, was
to be the cause of her husband's conversion and Vincent's release.
(04:01):
She would go out to the fields where the Christian
slave was working and bid him tell her about his
country and his religion. His answers seemed to impress her greatly,
and one day she asked him to sing her one
of the hymns they sang in France in praise of
their God. The request brought tears to Vincent's eyes. He
(04:22):
thought of the Israelites captive in Babylon, and of their
answer to a similar demand. With an aching heart, intoned
the psalm by the waters of Babylon, while the woman,
strangely impressed by the plaintive chant, listened attentively, and when
he had ended, begged for more. The solvent Regina followed
(04:43):
and other songs of praise, after which she went home
silent and thoughtful. That night she spoke to her husband.
I cannot understand, she said, why you have given up
a religion which is so good and holy. Your Christian
slave has been telling me of your faith and of
your God, and has sung songs in his praise. My
(05:05):
heart was so full of joy, while he sang that
I do not believe I shall be so happy even
in the paradise of my father's. Her husband, whose conscience
was not quite dead within him, listened silent and abashed ah.
She continued, there is something wonderful in that religion. The
(05:26):
woman's words bore fruit all day long. As her husband
went about his business, the remembrance of his lost faith
was tugging at his heart strings. Catching sight of Vincent
digging in the fields, he went to him and bade
him take courage. At the first opportunity, he said, I
will escape with you to France. It was nine long
(05:48):
months before that opportunity came, for the frenchman was in
the Sultan's service and was not able to leave the
country at last. However, the two men, escaping together in
a small boat, succeeded in reaching Avignon, and Vincent was
free once more. Cardinal Montorial, the Pope's legate, was deeply
(06:11):
interested in the two fugitives, and a few days later
reconciled the apostate, now deeply repentant to the church. The cardinal,
who shortly afterwards returned to Rome, took Vincent with him
showing him great kindness and introducing him to several people
of importance. The opinion they formed of him is shown
(06:34):
by the fact that he was chosen not long after
to go on a secret mission to the court of Henry,
the fourth King of France. An interview, or rather several interviews,
with a reigning monarch would have been considered in those
days as at first great chance for any one who
had a spark of ambition. Nothing would have been easier
(06:56):
than to put in a plea for a benefice or
a bishopric. But Vincent, who was both humbled and unselfish,
had no thought of his own advancement. His only desire
was to get his business over and to leave the
court as quickly as possible, the question of how he
was to live remaining still unanswered. He took a room
(07:18):
in a house near one of the largest hospitals in Paris,
and devoted himself to the service of the sick and dying.
But even the rent of the little room was more
than he could afford to pay, and he was glad
to share it with a companion. This was a judge
from his own part of the country, who was in
Paris on account of a lawsuit, and who, not being
(07:38):
overburdened with money, offered to share the lodging and the rent.
It was at this time that Vincent met father, afterwards,
Cardinal de Berul, one of the most holy and learned
priests of his time, who was occupied at that moment
in founding the French Congregation of the Oratory. Destined to
(07:59):
do such good work for the clergy of France, de
Beryl was quick to recognize holiness and merit, and he
and Vincent soon became fast friends. But it did not
seem to be God's will that our hero should prosper.
In Paris, he fell ill, and one day, while he
(08:19):
was lying in bed waiting for some medicine which had
been ordered, his companion went out, leaving the cupboard in
which he kept his money unlocked. The chemist's assistant, arriving
shortly afterwards with the medicine and opening the cupboard to
get a glass for the patient, caught sight of the purse,
slipped it into his pocket and made off. No sooner
(08:43):
had the judge returned than he went to the cupboard
and discovered the theft. Turning furiously on the sick man,
he accused him of having stolen his property and overwhelmed
him with insults and abuse. Vincent, unmoved by his threats,
only answered gently that he had seen nothing of the
money and did not know what had become of it.
(09:06):
But his companion, refusing to listen to reason, rushed out
and accused him to the police. This led to nothing,
as neither witness nor proof could be brought forward by
the judge, who, furious at the failure of his accusation,
went about Paris denouncing Vincent as a thief. So determined
(09:26):
was he to ruin the poor priest whose room he
had shared, that he obtained an introduction to Father de
Berul for the express purpose of making Vincent's guilt known
to him. As for the latter, he bore the affront
in silence, making no attempt to justify himself. Beyond his
first declaration that he was innocent. God knows the truth,
(09:51):
he would reply to all accusations. The true thief was
only discovered six months later. The chemist's assistant had fallen
ill and was lying at the point of death at
a hospital. When, repenting of his crime, he sent to
implore forgiveness of the man he had robbed. The judge
(10:11):
stricken with remorse, wrote at once to Vincent, offering to
come and ask his pardon on his knees for the
wrong he had done him. Vincent was then living at
the oratory with Father de Berul, who had never doubted
his innocence. He hastened to assure his old room mate
(10:32):
that he desired no such apology, and begged him to
say no more about the matter. Such was his treatment
of the man who had done him so grievous an injury.
It was during these years that Vincent de Paul had
another strange experience in which he showed heroic courage and steadfastness.
(10:53):
He made the acquaintance of a learned doctor of the Sarbonne,
who was so tormented with doubts against the faith that
his reason was in danger. This man confided his distress
to Vincent, who explained to him that a temptation to
doubt does not constitute unbelief, and that as long as
his will remained firm, he was safe. It happens, however,
(11:17):
that such temptations often cloud the reason, and Vincent's labors
to restore the man's peace of mind were in vain.
The priest deeply moved at the sight of a soul
in such danger, besought God for help, offering himself to
bear the temptation in the doctor's place. It was the
inspiration of a saint, and the prayer was granted. The
(11:41):
man was instantly delivered from his doubts, which took possession
of Vincent himself. The trial was long and painful. For
several years, this humble and fervent soul endured the agony
of an incessant temptation to unbelief. But Vincent knew how
to resist this most subtle snare of the evil one,
(12:02):
and although the anguish was continual, his will never wavered.
Copying out the Credo on a small sheet of parchment,
he placed it over his heart, and his only answer
to the fearful doubts that harassed him was to lay
his hand upon it, as he made his act of faith.
To prevent himself from dwelling on such thoughts, he devoted
(12:25):
himself more than ever to works of charity, spending himself
in the service of the sick and poor, and comforting
others when he himself was often in greater need of comfort.
One day, when the temptation was almost more than he
could bear, and he felt himself on the point of yielding.
(12:46):
He made a vow to consecrate himself to Jesus Christ
in the person of his poor. As he made the promise,
the temptation vanished, and forever His faith henceforward was a
faith that had been tried and had conquered. Strong and
firm as such a faith must be, it held him
(13:08):
ready for all that God might send. End of Chapter two.
Chapter two of Life of Saint Vincent de Paul. This
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. Life of Saint Vincent de Paul by
Francis Alice Forbes. Chapter two, Slavery. The pirates were bound
(00:24):
for the port of Tunis, the largest city of Barbary.
But the sight of the glittering white town, with its
background of mountains set in the gorgeous coloring of the
African landscape, brought no gleam of joy or comfort to
the sad hearts of the prisoners. Before them lay a
life of slavery, which might be worse than death. There
(00:45):
was small prospect that they would ever see their native
land again. To one faint hope, however, they clung desperately
as a drowning man clings to a straw. There was
a French council in Tunis, whose business it was to
look after the trade interests of his country, and it
was just possible that he might use his influence to
(01:06):
set them free. The hope was short lived. The pirates,
expecting to make a good deal of money out of
their prisoners were equally aware of this fact, and their
first act on landing was to post a notice that
the captives they had for sale were Spaniards. Nothing was
left to Vincent and his companions, who did not know
(01:29):
a word of the language of the country, but to
endure their cruel fate. The Turks, having stripped their prisoners
and clothed them in a kind of rough uniform, fastened
chains round their necks, and marched them through the town
to the market place, where they were exhibited for sale.
Much as cattle are at the present day. They were
(01:50):
carefully inspected by the dealers, who looked at their teeth,
felt their muscles, made them run and walk with loads
and without, to satisfy themselves that they were in good condition,
and finally selected their victims. Vincent was bought by a fisherman, who,
finding that his new slave got hopelessly ill whenever they
(02:12):
put out to sea, repented of his bargain, and seldom
to an alchemist. In the west, as well as in
the east, there were still men who believed in the
Philosopher's Stone and the elixir of life. By means of
the still undiscovered stone. They hoped to change base metals
(02:32):
into gold, while the equally undiscovered elixir was to prolong
life indefinitely and to make old people young. Vincent's master
was an enthusiast in his profession, and kept ten or
fifteen furnaces always burning in which to conduct his experiments.
His slave, whose business it was to keep them alight,
(02:55):
was kindly treated. The old man soon grew very fond
of him, and would harangue him by the hour on
the subject of medals and essences. His great desire was
that Vincent should become a Mohammedan like himself, a desire which,
needless to say, remained unfelled in spite of the large
(03:16):
sums of money he promised, if his slave would only
oblige him in this matter. The old alchemist, however, had
a certain reputation in his own country. Having been sent
for one day to the Sultan's court, he died on
the way, leaving his slave to his nephew, who lost
no time in getting rid of him. Vincent's next master
(03:39):
was a Frenchman who had apostatized and was living as
a Mohammedan on his farm in the mountains. This man
had three wives who were very kind to the poor captive,
especially one of them, who, although herself a Mohammedan, was
to be the cause of her husband's conversion and Vincent's release.
(04:01):
She would go out to the fields where the Christian
slave was working and bid him tell her about his
country and his religion. His answers seemed to impress her greatly,
and one day she asked him to sing her one
of the hymns they sang in France in praise of
their God. The request brought tears to Vincent's eyes. He
(04:22):
thought of the Israelites captive in Babylon, and of their
answer to a similar demand. With an aching heart, intoned
the psalm by the waters of Babylon, while the woman,
strangely impressed by the plaintive chant, listened attentively, and when
he had ended, begged for more. The solvent Regina followed
(04:43):
and other songs of praise, after which she went home
silent and thoughtful. That night she spoke to her husband.
I cannot understand, she said, why you have given up
a religion which is so good and holy. Your Christian
slave has been telling me of your faith and of
your God, and has sung songs in his praise. My
(05:05):
heart was so full of joy, while he sang that
I do not believe I shall be so happy even
in the paradise of my father's. Her husband, whose conscience
was not quite dead within him, listened silent and abashed ah.
She continued, there is something wonderful in that religion. The
(05:26):
woman's words bore fruit all day long. As her husband
went about his business, the remembrance of his lost faith
was tugging at his heart strings. Catching sight of Vincent
digging in the fields, he went to him and bade
him take courage. At the first opportunity, he said, I
will escape with you to France. It was nine long
(05:48):
months before that opportunity came, for the frenchman was in
the Sultan's service and was not able to leave the
country at last. However, the two men, escaping together in
a small boat, succeeded in reaching Avignon, and Vincent was
free once more. Cardinal Montorial, the Pope's legate, was deeply
(06:11):
interested in the two fugitives, and a few days later
reconciled the apostate, now deeply repentant to the church. The cardinal,
who shortly afterwards returned to Rome, took Vincent with him
showing him great kindness and introducing him to several people
of importance. The opinion they formed of him is shown
(06:34):
by the fact that he was chosen not long after
to go on a secret mission to the court of Henry,
the fourth King of France. An interview, or rather several interviews,
with a reigning monarch would have been considered in those
days as at first great chance for any one who
had a spark of ambition. Nothing would have been easier
(06:56):
than to put in a plea for a benefice or
a bishopric. But Vincent, who was both humbled and unselfish,
had no thought of his own advancement. His only desire
was to get his business over and to leave the
court as quickly as possible, the question of how he
was to live remaining still unanswered. He took a room
(07:18):
in a house near one of the largest hospitals in Paris,
and devoted himself to the service of the sick and dying.
But even the rent of the little room was more
than he could afford to pay, and he was glad
to share it with a companion. This was a judge
from his own part of the country, who was in
Paris on account of a lawsuit, and who, not being
(07:38):
overburdened with money, offered to share the lodging and the rent.
It was at this time that Vincent met father, afterwards,
Cardinal de Berul, one of the most holy and learned
priests of his time, who was occupied at that moment
in founding the French Congregation of the Oratory. Destined to
(07:59):
do such good work for the clergy of France, de
Beryl was quick to recognize holiness and merit, and he
and Vincent soon became fast friends. But it did not
seem to be God's will that our hero should prosper.
In Paris, he fell ill, and one day, while he
(08:19):
was lying in bed waiting for some medicine which had
been ordered, his companion went out, leaving the cupboard in
which he kept his money unlocked. The chemist's assistant, arriving
shortly afterwards with the medicine and opening the cupboard to
get a glass for the patient, caught sight of the purse,
slipped it into his pocket and made off. No sooner
(08:43):
had the judge returned than he went to the cupboard
and discovered the theft. Turning furiously on the sick man,
he accused him of having stolen his property and overwhelmed
him with insults and abuse. Vincent, unmoved by his threats,
only answered gently that he had seen nothing of the
money and did not know what had become of it.
(09:06):
But his companion, refusing to listen to reason, rushed out
and accused him to the police. This led to nothing,
as neither witness nor proof could be brought forward by
the judge, who, furious at the failure of his accusation,
went about Paris denouncing Vincent as a thief. So determined
(09:26):
was he to ruin the poor priest whose room he
had shared, that he obtained an introduction to Father de
Berul for the express purpose of making Vincent's guilt known
to him. As for the latter, he bore the affront
in silence, making no attempt to justify himself. Beyond his
first declaration that he was innocent. God knows the truth,
(09:51):
he would reply to all accusations. The true thief was
only discovered six months later. The chemist's assistant had fallen
ill and was lying at the point of death at
a hospital. When, repenting of his crime, he sent to
implore forgiveness of the man he had robbed. The judge
(10:11):
stricken with remorse, wrote at once to Vincent, offering to
come and ask his pardon on his knees for the
wrong he had done him. Vincent was then living at
the oratory with Father de Berul, who had never doubted
his innocence. He hastened to assure his old room mate
(10:32):
that he desired no such apology, and begged him to
say no more about the matter. Such was his treatment
of the man who had done him so grievous an injury.
It was during these years that Vincent de Paul had
another strange experience in which he showed heroic courage and steadfastness.
(10:53):
He made the acquaintance of a learned doctor of the Sarbonne,
who was so tormented with doubts against the faith that
his reason was in danger. This man confided his distress
to Vincent, who explained to him that a temptation to
doubt does not constitute unbelief, and that as long as
his will remained firm, he was safe. It happens, however,
(11:17):
that such temptations often cloud the reason, and Vincent's labors
to restore the man's peace of mind were in vain.
The priest deeply moved at the sight of a soul
in such danger, besought God for help, offering himself to
bear the temptation in the doctor's place. It was the
inspiration of a saint, and the prayer was granted. The
(11:41):
man was instantly delivered from his doubts, which took possession
of Vincent himself. The trial was long and painful. For
several years, this humble and fervent soul endured the agony
of an incessant temptation to unbelief. But Vincent knew how
to resist this most subtle snare of the evil one,
(12:02):
and although the anguish was continual, his will never wavered.
Copying out the Credo on a small sheet of parchment,
he placed it over his heart, and his only answer
to the fearful doubts that harassed him was to lay
his hand upon it, as he made his act of faith.
To prevent himself from dwelling on such thoughts, he devoted
(12:25):
himself more than ever to works of charity, spending himself
in the service of the sick and poor, and comforting
others when he himself was often in greater need of comfort.
One day, when the temptation was almost more than he
could bear, and he felt himself on the point of yielding.
(12:46):
He made a vow to consecrate himself to Jesus Christ
in the person of his poor. As he made the promise,
the temptation vanished, and forever His faith henceforward was a
faith that had been tried and had conquered. Strong and
firm as such a faith must be, it held him
(13:08):
ready for all that God might send. End of Chapter two.
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