God in His infinite mercy never fails to bless the people on the
earth at appropriate times with saintly persons with unique charisma, so
that they may help the people through their heroic examples to fight
the evils that menace their Christian life. In the so called dark ages
of Europe poverty, sickness, misery and destitution with all other evils
that usually accompany them were rampant and were threatening to tear
apart the fabric of Christian society. At that critical moment two
heroic souls of undaunted apostolic zeal joined hands to bring solace to
the masses through their unselfish service in love. They were St
Vincent de Paul and St Louise de Marillac.
St Vincent de Paul was born on 24 April 1581 in the village
of Pouy in Southwest France. At the age of twelve he had the good luck
to join the college in the neighboring town of Dax to pursue his
academic studies. Later he was admitted to the University of Toulouse
where he studied humanities and theology with the intention of becoming a
priest. He was ordained as a priest on 23 September 1600.
In these days of deplorable moral decadence, priesthood was
very often considered to be a comfortable career for young men. Young
Vincent was not an exception to such an aspiration. He hoped for a
benefice which he thought would enable him to provide for the needs of
his family also. But under the influence of saintly men such as Francis
de Sales and of the experience he had through personal contact with
people in misery and deprivation, he underwent a thorough change and in
consequence he fully surrendered himself to God for the service of the
poor.
