St. Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent de Paul is much more than a patron saint of thrift shops! Young Vincent became a priest hoping to advance and rise above his modest upbringing. His early ambition amounted to little when he was assigned to a poor rural parish. Here he experienced a new joy in his vocation. Hearing the profound deathbed confession of a dying servant, Vincent became more convinced of the special attention that must be given to the poor. In 1625, Vincent founded the Congregation of the Mission for the purpose of caring for the poor. Originally priests only, the mission expanded to include groups of laity who provided for spiritual and material needs of the poor in each parish. Nearly 400 hundred years later, his legacy lives on!  His feast day is September 27. - LPI