This article, by Fr. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M., was published in the spring 2025 issue of our quarterly newsletter, THE VINCENTIAN. It is the last in his series commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Mission.
As we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of the Misson, we naturally want to reflect on the man who is our patron saint, St. Vincent de Paul. As we do, the question might come to mind, “What exactly is a patron saint?” A valid question! But perhaps a better question would be, “What are we to do with a patron saint?” A great answer was put forward by Blessed Frederic Ozanam when writing about the patron of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which he co-founded.
Bl. Frederic said,
“A patron … is a model one must strive to imitate, as [Vincent] himself imitated the model of Jesus Christ. [Vincent’s] is a life to be carried on, a heart in which one’s own heart is enkindled, an intelligence from which light should be sought; he is a model on earth and a protector in heaven.”
As a model on earth, we imitate St. Vincent. As a protector in heaven, we invoke his assistance. His role as patron saint is about imitation and invocation.
Imitation. As to what aspects of St. Vincent’s character and virtue we should imitate, the possibilities are many. At the top of the list would be his humility and charity, especially when it comes to dealing with each other and those we serve. These virtues were most often mentioned by Vincent’s contemporaries, and they are evident in his biographical accounts. We could surely benefit by reflecting on how well we imitate our patron in these two key virtues.
As far as invoking St. Vincent in our prayers, we have only to look at the many ways he showed himself to be a man of prayer, making it the groundwork of all he did. Although his contemporaries saw him as a man of action, doing so much in the span of one lifetime, he insisted that no good works were possible without a deep commitment to prayer. Or to put it another way, prayer is the soul of ministry and an essential element of our service to the poor. Although during his life he would have blushed and discounted any notion of his being the object of our prayer, we would do well in our daily prayer to frequently invoke the protection and intercession of our patron saint.
For close to 400 years, not only the Vincentian Family but also other believers and non-believers alike have found Vincent de Paul to be a worthy and admirable patron. He is our founder, mentor, and heavenly friend; someone we ought to imitate and invoke as often and as deeply as possible.
-Fr. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M.