1. St. Vincent de Paul & Bl. Frédéric Ozanam
Lives of Distinction

2. St. Vincent de Paul

3. Vincent de Paul was born on April 24, 1581 in
Pouy, France. Pouy is near Dax, not far from
the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees Mountains,
in a region is known as the Landes. Vincent
often referred to himself as a Gascon, another
name for this part of southwestern France.

4. “Palo” comes from the Latin (palus) or marsh. Hence, de
Paul refers to the marshes and a stream called Paul
which flooded this area. The Ardour River is nearby. This
photo is taken from outside the Church of St. Vincent in
Pouy, his place of birth. The stilts on the left are inside his
home, although very likely not the ones he used.

5. St. Vincent is the third of six siblings: four boys and two girls. His parents
were Jean de Paul and Bertrande de Moras. His parents were loving and
faith-filled; hard-working, collaborative family; frugality of food on the table.
They did not have the best of farming land to work from. Although not rich,
this family was certainly not poor either.

6. “I addressed myself to God to beg him earnestly to
change this curt and forbidding disposition of mine
for a meek and benign one. By the grace of our
Lord and with some effort on my part to repress the
outbursts of passion, I was able to get rid of my
black disposition.” -Abelly, The Life of the Venerable
Servant of God, Vincent de Paul, Vol. III, p. 163.
“None are more consistent and firm in doing good
than those who are meek and gracious. While, on
the contrary, those who allow themselves to give in
to anger and the passions of the irascible appetite
are usually very inconsistent, because they act only
be fits and starts. They are like torrents, which are
strong and impetuous in full flood, but which dry up
immediately afterwards. By contrast rivers,
representing that which is gentle and gracious, flow
on noiselessly, tranquilly and unfailingly.” – from a
conference on Meekness.

7. Blessed Frédéric Ozanam

8. Bl. Frédéric
• Born in Milan, Italy on April 23,
1813; then under the French
government.
• He was the fifth child of a family
of 14.
• Jean-Antoine Ozanam and
Marie Nantas, Parents
• Moved with Family to Lyon,
France in 1815.
• Taught by his sister, Elisa, 12
years older than he.
• Parents experienced near
financial ruin. Jean practiced
medicine and raised them to
middle class standing.
• Examples of faith and
compassion.

9. In a letter to his friend Materne, dated June 5,
1830, Frederic said this of himself:
“Six months after my illness, my sister, my
beloved sister died. I shared in my family’s
grief. Oh how painful it was! I studied Latin
and I came to know spite. Truly, I was never
so mean and mischievous as I was at eight….
At that time, I had no other friends outside my
family. I used to get angry and be stubborn
and disobedient. I would be punished. I
would rebel against the punishment…. As for
the bad, I have reduced it to four major
categories: pride, impatience, weakness, and
being meticulous.”

10. St. Vincent de Paul
Bl. Frédéric Ozanam
• Born April 24, 1581 •
Born April 23, 1813
• In Pouy, France •
In Milan, Italy
• 3rd in family of 6 •
5th in family of 14
• Farmer-shepherd and •
City-boy and layman
priest
•
Middle class family
• Family was not rich, but
not exactly poor •
Was prone to illness
• Worked as a shepherd •
Prone to anger and
as a young boy melancholy, also
meticulousness
• Vincent had a quick
temper •
Highly intelligent and
original thinker
• Highly intelligent, but
not original thinker.

11. St. Vincent’s father recognized his potential Frederic Ozanam, on the other hand, was
academically. Monsieur Comet, an attorney an original thinker and the recipient of two
at Dax and judge of Pouy, invited young doctorates in law (1836 at the behest of his
Vincent to live in his home while attending father) and foreign literature (1839). He
school. Vincent was highly creative and was fluent in Latin and Greek, and later
inventive in turning good ideas into practical. learned German, Hebrew, English and
He was eclectic and could adapt easily; a Sanskrit. Frederic was an author of poetry
man of keen sensitivity and high intuition. and many scholastic works. He could zero
Vincent received two academic degrees: in on issues that affected peoples’ lives.
theology from the University of Toulous in He had a high degree of sensitivity and
1604 and Canon Law in 1623. For Vincent, listening skills.
studies were always a means to an end. He
was filled with lofty ambitions.

12. Vincent was a good teacher and tutored for a Frederic was renowned as a teacher and
living as a teenager and young priest. taught at two schools before receiving a
prestigious position at the Sorbonne, the
University of Paris.

13. Surrounded by Influential Persons
St. Vincent de Paul
Bl. Frédéric Ozanam
• Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle • Abbé Joseph Mathias
Noirot
• Fr. Jean-Jacques Olier
• Fr. Henri Lacordaire
• St. Jane Frances de
Chantal • Andrè-Marie Ampère
• St. Francis de Sales • Bl. Rosalie Rendu
• Emmanuel Bailly
• St. Louise de Marillac
• St. John Eudes
• De Gondi Family
• Queen Anne of Austria

14. Who are influential persons in your life?

15. It was in this chapel that Vincent de Paul was ordained to Frederic married Amelie Soulacroix at 28 years
the priesthood by Bp. Francois de Bourdeilles on of age in the Church of Saint Nizier in Lyon,
September 23, 1600. He was under age (19) when he France, on June 23, 1841. He wrote to François
was ordained to the priesthood, according to the Council Lallier: “You must find me completely
of Trent. However, the tenets of Trent had not been infatuated, head over heels in love, but I cannot
adopted at that point in France. Therefore, the ordination hide it, although I sometimes laugh at myself. I
was valid. For Vincent, ordination was a means of upward really thought my heart was immune.” They
mobility. It is noteworthy to hear Vincent’s recollection of were both very ready for marriage and had
his ordination some fifty years later. He said: “As for me, if made a number of important decisions before
I had known what it was all about when I was rash enough the wedding itself.
to enter it, as I have come to know since, I would rather
have worked the soil than engage in such a fearsome
state in life.”

16. Crisis of Faith
In January, 1617, Vincent learned about a man who wanted him to hear his confession. This
elderly man felt that his spiritual well-being would be in jeopardy without the opportunity of a
general confession. Vincent would see the peril of many others thru the eyes of this man. He
also perceived how ill prepared the clergy were in general to hear confessions when a woman
had to hand the priest a copy of the prayer of absolution. These experiences and the response
of the people to a mission given by Vincent and others in Folleville (near Amiens) following a
sermon on Jan. 25, 1617 began to give focus to Vincent’s vocation as a priest. The ambitions
which had driven him to find financial security for he and his family were replaced with a keen
call to follow Christ by serving the poor. Priesthood was no longer just a career but a vocation.
Whereas before he strove to escape poverty, now Vincent was willing to embrace those who
were poor. Here was someone who prior to his conversion had been quite ordinary, but chose
to live his life with zeal and a genuine inner transformation.

17. Frederic Ozanam similarly found a profound inner peace once he made a vow to
God in service of the truth. With this inner clarity Frederic saw his vocation as a
team (husband and wife); was less preoccupied with money; and strove to form
meaningful and mutual relationships. This regard for others was expressed
through gestures such as flowers, locket, poems and letters.
“By dint of hearing talk of unbelievers and unbelief, I began to ask myself why I
believed. I doubted, my dear friend, and yet I wanted to believe. I dismissed my
doubts, I read all the books containing the proofs of religion and I could not find a
single one that satisfied me. I believed for a month or two on the authority of one
or another of the arguments, and then an objection arose in my mind and I
doubted again. Oh, how I suffered, for I wanted to be religious! My faith was not
strong and yet I preferred believing without reason to doubting because it
tormented me too much. I started studying philosophy. The theory of certainty
turned everything upside down. I believed for an instant that I could doubt my
existence, but it was impossible. I at last decided to believe, and little by little
everything became steadier.” - Letter to Auguste Materne, June 5, 1830

18. What events in your
life have changed
your perspective on
your vocation and
the manner in which
you live your life?
How did you
recognize God’s
presence in
these events?

19. In a real sense, because of God’s providence, we can say that St. Vincent
was a father in as much as he lived his very words: “Love is inventive unto
infinity.” Thus Vincent created, authored and gave life/inspiration to a myriad
of works in his day and many of these same works continue today. His was a
fatherhood of action in which he responded to human needs by discerning
the situation, placing it in prayer, and responding decisively. He was
convinced that God acted in events, persons and situations.

20. Frederic could equally be called a father. He, together with his wife Amelie,
had their daughter Marie. He was the author of many works, including
scholarly books and newspaper, The New Era. In this periodical we find
some of his clearest and definitive teachings on social justice. He was really
ahead of his time. But his greatest creation was the establishment of the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

21. St. Vincent knew poverty
first hand.
Influenced by the
poor.
Charity and
Evangelization are
inseparable.
Poor gave him the
opportunity to
practice virtue.

22. Frederic also had a preferential option for the poor. He, too, knew the desperate
needs of the poor and advocated on their behalf. He was even urged to run for a
political office in Lyon and, no doubt, advocated strongly on behalf of the poor. You
would certainly not hear this, today, among politicians seeking office. He, like
Vincent, did not work exclusively with the poor. He invited many persons, especially
students, to collaborate with him in this all-important ministry.
He and Vincent both were evangelized by the poor.

23. Vincent died on Monday, September 27th
at 4:45 a.m. His last word was: “Jesus.”
His last months, however, were
excruciatingly painful. He died calmly,
though. Vincent had been a priest for 60
years. His only regret was that he had not
done enough for God.
At 7:50 p.m. on the evening of
September 8, 1853, the Feast of the
Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Frederic cried out: “My God, my God,
have mercy on me.” He had been
married 12 years, and was surrounded by
his wife, daughter, two brothers-in-law,
and members of the Society. Before his
death, he said: “What better preparation
for death than a long sickness and plenty
of good works?”