This article first appeared in the summer 2024 issue of the Western Province’s quarterly newsletter, The Vincentian.
In 2025, the Congregation of the Mission world-wide will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of its official establishment. What happened in 1625 and how did St. Vincent de Paul bring it about?
When Father Vincent de Paul preached his first parish mission in Folleville, France, in 1617, it became a pivotal moment in this life. The spiritual and physical poverty of the rural Catholic population in France moved his heart in a way that would shape the rest of his life. Vincentians today refer to the sermon at Folleville as the birth of the Vincentian charism. From this point on, Vincent would focus his ministry on preaching missions to poor country people. His chief benefactors were Comte Phillipe and Madame Françoise Marguérite de Gondi, whose children had been tutored by Vincent and on whose estates he planned to begin his new work.
Vincent, however, did nothing haphazardly. Although he was a man of action, he was also an organizer and financial realist. To help him in these missions, he enlisted other priests who shared his concern for the spiritual welfare of the country people. They joined him for as long or as short a time as they saw fit. In each town, they would stay for several weeks, preaching, teaching, catechizing, and hearing confessions. He would also start a Confraternity of Charity – an organization of parish laity who would care for the sick, hungry, and lonely of the parish, long after the missionaries departed.
By 1625, it became clear that Vincent needed a stable group of priests to join him in his work, priests were interested in the evangelization of the poor as a full-time ministry. The de Gondi’s had already financed his missionary endeavors on their estates. Now they were ready to help Vincent expand this important work. And so, on April 15, 1625, Vincent de Paul and the de Gondi’s signed the charter of foundation of the Congregation of the Mission, specifying the mission work Vincent and his collaborators were to do and the financial backing the de Gondi’s would provide.
The founding of the Congregation of the Mission in 1625 was a dream come true for Vincent de Paul, and he would be the Congregation’s humble and resourceful leader for the next 35 years of his life. Little did he know then that the ministry of preaching parish missions would spread throughout France and lead to other ministries, such as the formation of the clergy, the foreign missions, and the works of charity among the sick and abandoned.
In the coming year, the Congregation of the Mission will celebrate its foundation with special events in all of its 53 provinces, vice-provinces and regions. Guided by the Superior General, Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, C.M., Vincentians the world over will be reflecting and then acting on the theme of this anniversary, “Put on the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” More importantly, the priests and brothers will celebrate by renewing in their hearts the foundational spirit which St. Vincent and his first followers had in their hearts 400 years ago.