The Vincentian Congregation
Who are the Vincentians ?
The spirit of the Congregation is the participation in the spirit of Christ, ever active in the church, lived and recommended by St. Vincent – an intimate, personal love of the Father, docility to the divine providence and an ardent, compassionate love of the poor. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor” (Lk 4:18) was the motto taken by St. Vincent for his own ministry and that of the society of priest that he founded. The Vincentian Congregation was started in India in 1904 and took its shape by looking at St Vincent de Paul. As visualised by St. Vincent, the Vincentians strive to give expression to the spirit of Christ, resplendent in the five virtues of simplicity, humility, meekness, mortification and zeal for the salvation of souls. The ardent and compassionate love of the poor inspires the Vincentians to work hard and to do their best to improve the conditions of the poor, and to share their lot by adopting a humble and simple lifestyle.
The Vincentian Congregation is a clerical society of pontifical right belonging to the Syro-Malabar Archiepiscopal Church, consisting of priest and brothers who are primarily committed to the cause of evangelisation of the people especially the poor. Since the congregation draws its spirit and distinctive character from the life and rules of St. Vincent de Paul, it is called Vincentian Congregation and St. Vincent de Paul is chosen as the father and patron of the congregation.
St.Vincent de Paul
St. Vincent was conceived in a poor family in the town of Pouy in Gascony, France, around 1580. St Vincent finished his first schooling under the Franciscan Fathers at Acqs. Such had been his advancement in four years that a respectable man picked him as sub preceptor to his youngsters, and he was accordingly empowered to proceed with his studies without being a burden to his parents. In 1596, he went to the University of Toulouse for religious studies, and there he was appointed cleric in 1600.
In 1605, on a voyage via ocean from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell under the control of African privateers and was conveyed as a captive to Tunis. His imprisonment kept going around two years until Divine Providence empowered him to influence his getaway. After a concise visit to Rome, he came back to France, where he moved toward becoming preceptor in the group of Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Goigny, and General of the galleys of France. In 1617, he started to lecture missions, and in 1625, he established the frameworks of a Congregation which a short time later turned into the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists, so named because the Priory of St. Lazarus, which the Fathers started to involve in 1633.
It is difficult to count every one of crafted by this worker of God. Charity was his dominating ideal. It reached out to all classes of people, from neglected youth to seniority. The Sisters of Charity likewise owe the establishment of their Congregation to St. Vincent. Amid the most diverting occupations his spirit was in every case personally joined with God. Even though respected by the incredible ones of the world, he remained profoundly established in lowliness. The Apostle of Charity, the immortal Vincent de Paul, breathed his last in Paris at the age of eighty. His feast day is September 27th. He is the patron of charitable societies.
