— 35S rem £ c s^c .«r e£ S? < < CS5ST" f S9 tC C_' Ubra T Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029426347 THE LIFE OF S. VINCENT DE PAUL WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING SOME OF HIS LETTERS Cniten, fajtt$ an Jnttmrnctfott, - BY THE REV. R^R WILSON, M.A. VICAR OF ROWNHAMS, PREBENDARY OF SAROM, AND EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE BISHOP OF SALISBURY. RIVINGTONS London, ^D^forD, anU Cambridge 1873 .Presider '• 'hiit ,. L'brcry . 2 5"d'2~. CONTENTS. PACE Preface . . . . . . ix Introduction , CHAPTER I. Introduction — Birth of Vincent de Paul — His early life, education, and ordination . ... CHAPTEE II. Vincent's captivity in Barbary — Escape — He goes to Rome — Is sent on a confidential message to Paris — Accepts the cure of Clichy, and afterwards the office of chaplain and tutor in the house of the Comte de Joigny — His first Mission . 18 CHAPTER III. Vincent leaves the house of M. de Gondi, and goes to Chatillon — Distress of the Count and Countess — His work at Chatillon — Return — Death of the Countess — Foundation of the Congregation of Mission Priests . 42 vi Contents CHAPTER IV. PAQE Vincent is appointed Confessor to the Convent of the Visi- tation, and Chaplain-general of Convents and galley- slaves — Goes to Marseilles — Visits Macon — Returns to the College des Bons Enfants— Sketch of his personal appearance and character ... 55 CHAPTER V. -Rapid growth — Vincent accepts the Priory of S. Lazarus — Need of Missions — Method of conducting them 76 CHAPTER VI. Appalling state of the clergy — The Bishop of Beauvais consults Vincent — Institution of Retreats for the Ordi- nands — Rules, studies, and exercises of the Retreats — Vincent promotes the use of Retreats for all sorts of persons . . . . 102 CHAPTER VII. Confraternities of Charity— Their origin, success, and failure— Sisters of Charity . . 128 CHAPTER VIII. Association of ladies to visit the Hotel Dieu — They under- take the care of foundling children, and other good works . . . ]f,2 Contents CHAPTER IX. PAGE Belief sent to the famishing peasantiy of Lorraine — Mis- sion to the army — Death of Louis XIII. — Ecclesiastical seminary established at the College des Bons Enfants 166 CHAPTER X. Accession of Louis nv. — Regency of the Queen-Mother — She appoints Vincent one of a Council of six, to manage all affairs of Church patronage — His discharge of the duties of this office . . 186 CHAPTER XL Daily life of Vincent de Paul — His humility — His dealings with and guidance of individual souls . . 207 CHAPTER XII. Iusurrection of the Fronde — Vincent goes to S. Germaius to try to effect a reconciliation between the Queen and Parliament — He makes a visitation tour — His illness at Richelieu — Return to Paris— His infirmities increase- Relief sent to Champagne and Picardy— Foundation of ■ the Hospital of the Name of Jesus . 282 CHAPTER XIII. Vincent gives written rules to his Congregation — His last illness and death .... . 250 viii Contents CHAPTER XIV. PACK Instructions given by Vincent to a Superior of one of the houses of his Congregation 275 CHAPTER XV. , S. Lazarus after the death of Vincent . . 288 Appendix . 207 PREFACE. T I "^HE authorities which have been consulted for this little book are, Vie de S. "Vincent de Paul, par Louis Abelly, Eveque de Eodez ; Vie de S. Vincent de Paul, par Collet, Pr&tre de la Mission ; L'Esprit de S. Vincent de Paul, par M. Andre" Joseph Ansart ; Vie de la vener- able Louise de Marillac, veuve de M. le Gras, par M. Gobillon, revue, corrigfe, et augmented par Collet; S. Vincent de Paul, sa vie, son temps, ses oeuvres, son influence, par M. lAbbe" May- nard ; and Sismondi's Histoire des Francais. Abelly and Collet were both contemporaries of S. Vincent's, though his juniors. Collet was himself a Lazarist, and Abelly frequented the Tuesday conferences at S. Lazarus ; their ac- x Preface counts of him must therefore have been written while his memory was yet fresh in the hearts of many. The Life which bears the name of Bishop Abelly was not however really written by him. After the death of S. Vincent, his children at once set about collecting all that they could learn or remember about him; it was put to- gether by one of their number who had been his secretary, and of late years almost his inseparable companion, and at the request of the Community the Bishop of Bodez consented to let it appear under his name. This, together with the Life by Collet, which was published soon after, has been the foundation of all later lives of S. Vincent de Paul ; but the Abbe" Maynard, while still taking them for the basis of his work, has added much interesting matter, derived from original research. The references which he gives, many of them to the National Archives at Paris, as well as to the Archives and records belonging especially to the Community of S. Lazarus, have been taken on Preface xi trust, without any attempt to verify them, which would have been beyond the writer's powers. ~No collection of S. Vincent's Letters has ever been published. Those which have been added as an Appendix to this volume, are a few which have been met with, here and there, in the books named above, too precious to lose, but which it seemed better to print separately, than to intro- duce into the body of the work. INTROD UCTION. r I THERE are certain characteristic features in the life of S. Vincent de Paul which have a peculiar interest and attractiveness to the English Churchman. 1. The absence of the wonderful and extra- ordinary in the main course and incidents of his life. His saintliness was not formed on an ascetic and contemplative model, removed from the condition or beyond the imitation of ordinary Christians. There is in it a sort of homeliness and simplicity throughout. It is not formed or matured by any great or marvellous acts ; it is not the result of some crisis in his life, something calling him out from common things, and giving a marked character to his after course. In his whole life, as recorded by his biographers, there xiv Introduction were but three incidents of an extraordinary nature, and of those three incidents to one only the word miraculous belongs, and that merely in the sense in which a marked answer to prayer is miraculous. In' general his life is simple, uniform, unbroken. It is, so to say, all of a piece. From the beginning to the end it is made up of ordinary actions done extraordinarily well — of ordinary opportunities never impetu- ously grasped at, never hastily seized, but never let pass, and, when once laid hold of, followed out carefully and perseveringly with eminent common sense, and what may be called worldly wisdom. There is in this evenness — this absence of the startling and wonderful — this accommo- elation to and occupation with the actual cir- cumstances of daily life, that which approves itself to our national character, which is of a practical and somewhat unenthusiastic tempera- ment. This characteristic feature marks our re- ligious and devotional as well as our social ways ; for it has been remarked, and we must sorrowfully confess with much truth, that " English Chris- Introduction xv tianity is the most unsupernatural form of that institution." S. Vincent's life is one of steady onward pro- gress, devoted unbrokenly to one end. From first to last he is the same man, with the same dispositions, the same graces, the same manner of dealing with whatever came before him. From the time that his early piety, in the midst of the common occupations of a peasant boy, marked his suitableness for the sacred ministry and gave the direction to his after life, there is no great change. He is Tutor in a private family ; Master of a country school ; Priest of a suburban parish ; Chaplain in a nobleman's establishment ; Minister of State, and confidential adviser of his Sovereign on the most important matters that pass through royal hands ; Founder and Director of great insti- tutions : wherever and whatever he is, we find him diligently engaged in planning and carrying out practical works for the benefit of those in- trusted to his care, and practical schemes for the remedy of evils which came across him in the xvi Introduction discharge of his various duties. But all with oue simple definite aim and end, viz. — the glory of God in the welfare of souls. 2. His life is not that of one gifted with striking intellectual powers; his successes were not the result of genius, nor of any special gifts or natural advantages of body or mind. Still less were they due to any influence of worldly position ; he had no advantages of high birth, or station, or private interest, to give him a start, and point the direc- tion of his future career. In all these respects he was a striking contrast to his saintly con- temporary S. Francis de Sales, on whom such things were so largely bestowed. Like Amos, Vincent might have said, " I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I was an herd- man, and the Lord took me as I followed the flock." He was a peasant, the son of a peasant. By unwearied industry and self-denial he ac- quired the education needful to obtain Holy Orders, and then he simply availed himself of the conditions and circumstances which belong more or less to the life of every parish priest. Introduction xvii He did not originate any of his great works by the direction of his own choice or will, but he simply took up and followed what was brought before him in the course of his ordinary duties, or what was laid upon him by others, to whose judgment he owed deference and submission. The four great institutions which he founded and left in active operation, and which have from that time been great instruments for abiding good in the Church, were all suggested by the needs which were brought before him, or by the crying evils of the time, with which he was brought in contact. They were dealt with first of all partially, locally, and, as might be said, bit by bit ; begun with the most unpretending machinery, they grew into their great propor- tions gradually, and from actual experience of their excellence and efficiency. 3. That which makes his life specially interest- ing to us at this day, is that those four insti- tutions which occupied him most, in which he laboured most earnestly, and was most manifestly the instrument of good to the Church, are pre- xviii Introduction cisely those which during the last few years have been revived and partially organized amongst purselves. Three of them — namely, Missions, Eetreats, and the employment of religious women in the care of the poor, and other works of mercy, — may be said to have become institutions in the English Church. The fourth, for the better training and preparation of candidates for Holy Orders, has been for some years dealt with, in part, by the establishment of Theological Colleges in several of our dioceses ; but that part of S. Vincent's plan which had for its object to make the actual time of ordination a time of spiritual work, to lift the immediate preparation for it out of a mere examination into intellectual fitness, and impress upon it a deeply sacred character, has not yet found place among us. Individual Bishops have expressed strongly their sense of the unsatisfactoriness of the three or four days of examination before the Ordination Sunday, and their wish to give a higher and more searching devotional tone to that period of very short, though closer intercourse than may Introduction xix perhaps ever again occur, between them and their candidates for ordination. But, as yet, no syste- matic plan has been attempted for keeping the Ember Week free from the distractions and ex- citement of a mere competitive examination. Who that has had anything to do with the conduct of Ordinations, whether as Bishop or Examining Chaplain, has not felt how much better it would be if the necessary examination into the attainments of the candidates could be gone through previously, so as to leave the Ember Week free to be spent in prayer, medita- tion, and spiritual exercises, to which the Ordi- nands might come with tranquil minds, not agitated and distracted, as they now can hardly help being, by the efforts and suspense of their examination? Who can tell the blessing that such a time of Eetreat for quiet spiritual prepara- tion might be to those about to take upon them the sacred offices to which they are severally called? A time spent in conferences and ad- dresses on the work of their future calling, on the spirit in which they should address them- Introduction selves to it, and on the best methods of dealing with the difficulties and anxieties which await them in the care of souls. None, I believe, would welcome such a change in the occupation of those feAV days with more sincere thankfulness than the Ordinands themselves. The advantages are so obvious, and so readily acknowledged by all concerned, that probably something of the sort would ere now have been attempted if it were not for the practical diffi- culties attending it. They are considerable, but surely they need not be insuperable. The in- creased length of time to be spent in the Cathedral city, or other place appointed for the ordination, and the consequent increased expense of board and lodging, would, of course, be a serious hin- drance to most of the candidates ; and here, as in so many other ways, we feel our sore disadvantage in the loss of our Eeligious Houses. No S. Lazarus opens its hospitable doors, and puts its spacious rooms at the disposal of the candidates. But we may observe that even S. Lazarus would not have been able to do all without help ; and Introduction xxi when we read of one lady contributing 1000 francs at every ordination — that is (as the custom then was, in the Diocese of Paris), five times a year — for five years, the thought arises, whether, amongst our good laymen who have so often shown their willingness to help liberally the good- works of the Church, there might not be some who, if they knew the need, and felt the incalcu- lable benefit there might be, would undertake to do something of the same kind. After all, this is not a difficulty which it would require any great effort to surmount. The chief and most serious difficulties are of another kind. They would require careful consideration before- hand. But a Bishop who had a clear conviction of the blessed results which might be attained, would neither be deterred from trying, nor fail in the main object sought. There would be failures in particular points, particulars which, after a first trial, would need changing and ad- justing; there might be disappointments, dis- satisfaction, and complaints at first; but where all had, more or less sincerely, one common end xxii Introduction in view, that end could not fail to be, in a measure, attained. No doubt it would be an anxious experiment, but each ordination would strengthen a Bishop's hands, and give that confidence which is the result of assured conviction and proved success. This is a subject which might profitably occupy the attention of our Church Congresses and Diocesan Synods. If once adopted and successfully carried out in any one diocese, it would be almost certain to spread, and our whole Church would, we may hope, soon feel the good effects. This short sketch does not profess to give anything like a complete history of all S. Vin- cent de Paul's good works. Probably it would not be far from the truth to say that the half has not been told here. The writer has rather sought to describe with some fulness those prin- cipal undertakings to which his life was de- voted; and they have been treated with more of detail than might otherwise have seemed desirable in a book intended for general reading, Introduction with the thought, that to many amongst us such details might be interesting, as furnishing hints for our practical guidance, in our endeavours to employ the same or like agencies. But, after all, the chief profit to be" derived is from the study of his own character, in the wonderful saintliness to which he attained, under ordinary circumstances, with ordinary gifts, by a faithful correspondence with the grace of God. It is true that S. Vin- cent de Paul rose to great distinction, and played a very prominent part in his generation, and has left an honoured name behind. Nevertheless they were not what are accounted extraordinary or brilliant gifts which brought him to such honour. His life is the triumph of unworldliness, humility, a constant recollection of the presence of God, and a single eye to His glory. These things, under God, made him great as well as good ; but the graces themselves are the portion of His saints for ever, whether known or unknown, whether great in the world's eye, or insignificant and lowly, whether in a palace, as Madame Louise, — on a throne, like S. Francis de Sales, — xxiv Introduction or with those who never rise in the world above the obscurity of their condition. In this true nobility of the city of God, there are no distinc- tions of earthly rank and greatness. " He taketh up the simple out of the dust, and lifteth the poor out of the mire, that He may set him with the princes, even with the princes of His people " (Psalm cxiii. 6, 7). E. F. W. ROWNHAMS, October 1873. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION : BIRTH OF VINCENT DE PAUL ; HIS EARLY LIFE, EDUCATION, AND ORDINATION. ~| TABDLY ever, perhaps, in the history of the Christian Church, had more wide-spread corruption prevailed, and the spiritual life sunk to a lower ebb, than in the Church of France during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The self-indulgent and too often scandalous lives of the Clergy had brought the holy office of the Priesthood into almost universal contempt; that a man of any birth or position in the world should take holy orders was looked upon as a degradation only to be endured for the sake of some considerable emolument attaching to it, which might serve as an excuse for the dis- grace in the eyes of the world. And this feeling was increased in men's minds when they saw the too common abuse, by which the lucrative benefices of the Church were disposed of, not to do the work for which the pious authors of those rich endowments *>, A 6". Vincent de Paul intended them — for the glory of God and the good of souls — but bestowed by Court favour or intrigue, on most unworthy ecclesiastics, not unfrequently even upon laymen and children. While this state of things existed among the Clergy, it followed of necessity that the people were sunk in sin and ignorance. The sheep of the flock were not likely to be cared for by shepherds such as these, who ate " the fat and clothed themselves with the wool," but were at no pains to instruct them even in the first principles of the faith, or to feed their souls with the Word and Sacraments of the Gospel; so that, of the rural parts of the country, it might almost be said, that " darkness covered the land, and gross darkness the people.'' In the towns, and amongst the educated, there was more light, but it was too often "light with- out love." Luxury and unblushing vice prevailed among the rich ; spiritual works of mercy for the souls of men were almost unknown, and the duties of charity were commonly considered to be fulfilled by an occasional alms to the beggars who thronged the streets ; while large-hearted, systematic, self- denying charity was rarely to be met with. Some noble exceptions no doubt there were : some in all ranks, from the highest to the lowest, ecclesi- Introduction astics and lay people, who by the grace of God kept faith and purity amid the widespread corruption ; but the witness of history is too clear and consistent to leave room for doubt as to the general condition of things, and as we gaze upon the melancholy picture, we cannot wonder that the crying evils of the times should have stirred men's spirits, and roused in them a burning indignation; and that those whose eyes were opened to see how the holiest things were abused and profaned, should have yearned to right the wrongs which they be- held. And while we feel that their impatient and over-eager attempts to do so brought about the unhappy schism by which western Christendom has ever since been rent asunder, and the sad effects of which meet us at every turn, we must not forget how great the provocation was, nor how much of the grievous sin they have to answer for, who by their evil lives brought such scandal upon the Church and loosened her hold upon her children. Eather, with aching ,hearts, let us confess the wrong on both sides, as has been done by a thoughtful writer of our own day, and pray unceasingly for the fulfilment of the hope expressed in the following noble passage : — "It is undeniable that Priests and Popes, deaf 5. Vincent de Paul to the voice of conscience, and without excuse, have themselves too often been found wanting when it depended upon them alone to implant a purer life ; or, by the scandalous aims of their own lives, they have even extinguished the glimmering wick, where they ought to have revived the flame. " Hell has swallowed them up. Catholics must never shrink from such avowals, and they never have shrunk from them. Indeed it would be utterly vain to attempt to elude them, since Protestants furnish in themselves a perfectly irrefragable proof of the manifold neglects into which the people had fallen in the fifteenth century. Never could such a doctrine as theirs have sprung up, still less could it have spread so widely, if individual teachers and Priests had fulfilled their vocation. Verily the ignorance cannot have been small which could find attraction in such a system of faith as that of the Keformers. Protestants may safely estimate the greatness of the evils which at that time weighed down the Church, by the greatness of the errors into which they fell. " This is the ground upon which Catholics and ^Protestants will one day in great measure meet, and hold out their hands to one another. Conscience- stricken both must confess, We have all been wrong ; Introduction it is the Church only which cannot err. We all have sinned ; she alone is faultless upon earth. This open confession of common guilt will be closely fol- lowed by a happy reconciliation. In the meantime we still smart under the inexpressible pain of the wound which was then inflicted, a pain which can only be alleviated by the consciousness that the wound has become an issue, through which are carried away all the impurities which men have introduced within the pale of the Church." 1 The spirit of lawlessness which Protestantism let loose, on the one hand, and on the other, the almost fiendish cruelty which made the extirpation of heresy a cloak for the commission of the most horrible crimes, frightfully increased the miseries of those times ; and in France especially, almost incessant civil wars, em- bittered by the religious element which at that time was so largely mixed up in them, added all their horrors to the unhappy condition of the people. Such was the state of things when God, who had already rekindled the light, and quickened the life of His Church elsewhere, by the gifts and graces bestowed upon a St. Charles Borromeo, a St. Philip Neri, a St. Theresa, and, almost contemporaneously, a St. Francis de Sales, was pleased to raise up, in 1 Dr. J. A. Moehlbe's Symbolik, 7 th edition, § 37, p. 353. .9. Vincent de Paul a peasant's cottage, in an humble and unknown corner of this distracted land, His faithful servant, Vincent de Paul, and to make of him an instrument of wonderful efficacy for repairing the breaches of His Church, healing her wounds, pouring new life and vigour into her inner being, and causing the withered and apparently well-nigh blighted tree to blossom again, and bear almost unexampled fruits of charity and good works. The name of S. Vincent de Paul is familiar to us in connexion with the Order of Sisters which he founded for active works of mercy among the sick, the poor, and the ignorant; but his other great foundation of Mission Priests, now commonly called Lazarists from the name of their convent, is not so generally known ; and perhaps most English readers are hardly aware of the immense work which he was the means, under God, of accomplishing for the im- provement of the clergy. Feeling deeply that no really abiding good could be hoped for among the people, while their teachers and guides were them- selves ill instructed, and men of corrupt lives, he set himself to effect their reformation by various means, such as the careful preliminary instruction and pre- paration of the candidates for Holy Orders, the founding of ecclesiastical seminaries for their eduga- Birth 7 tion and training ; the institution of Retreats and spiritual conferences for the clergy, whereby the faith and devotion which are too easily dulled by contact with the world, even though it be in the re- tirement of a country parish, might be rekindled, and thus the scandals caused by a corrupt and worldly-minded Priesthood might be removed. Some idea, though necessarily a very imperfect one, of the unwearied zeal with which he wrought, and of the wonderful success with which it pleased God to bless his labours, manifested in the true re- formation which was brought about by his exertions, will, it is hoped, be gathered from the short sketch which follows of the life of this saintly man. It was on Easter Tuesday, the 24th of April, in the year 1576, that Vincent de Paul was born, in the little village of Pouy, near Dax, a small town and seat of a bishopric, situated on the edge of the Landes of Bordeaux, not far from the base of the Pyrenees. His parents, Jean or Guillaume de Paul, for both names are given by biographers, and Bertrande, nie, de Moras, were peasant farmers, owning a little land and cultivating it by their own labour. Both appear to have been persons of blameless character, who, • amid the general corruption, led lives of innocence S. Vincent de Paid and uprightness. They had six children, four boys and two girls, and all took their share in the labours of the field. Vincent was the third ; from his earliest childhood he was employed like the rest in the work of the farm, and his special charge seems to have been, like David's, to keep his father's sheep and lead them to pasture. It is said that on the open plain where much of his time was spent in charge of the flock, there stood an aged oak hollowed by the decay of centuries. This tree was his shelter from rain, his protection from the heat of the sun, his watch-tower from whence he kept guard over his sheep, and in the hollow trunk he had arranged for himself a little oratory, where when quite a child he spent much of his time in prayer. In spite of his lowly employment there were not wanting in the little shepherd boy, signs of unusual intelligence, marking him out as destined to be some- thing more than a herdsman, and his father resolved to give him such an education as might fit him for the Priesthood. The worthy peasant's thoughts on this subject do not seem to have risen above the level of his times. His chief motive in coming to this resolution was the hope that his son Vincent might eventually be- Early Life, etc. 9 come possessed of some benefice, the income of which might be employed by him in enriching the other members of his family. Jean de Paul did not live to see his son in holy orders ; if he had, he would have been disappointed in this expectation ; for Vincent from the first looked upon the revenues of the Church as only held in trust by her ministers for the service of God and the poor, and believed that for an ecclesiastic to employ them in enriching his own family was a sin and abuse which could never bring a blessing. It was not without a struggle that he made this the rule of his life, as we learn from his own words in a conference in which he was dwelling upon the need of detachment from all earthly ties in those who would attain to the perfection of the priestly charac- ter. To illustrate his meaning, he spoke of a visit which he had paid to his native place, thirty-six years before, and of the trial it had been to him. " Having spent," he says, " eight or ten days among my relations, to instruct them in the way of salva- tion, and to lead them to lay aside all desires of wealth, in which I went so far as to tell them that they must expect nothing from me, that if I had chests of gold and silver I would give them nothing, because an ecclesiastic who possesses anything, owes 10 S. Vincent de Paul it to God and the poor ; the day I left them, it was such grief to me to leave my poor relations, that I did nothing but weep all along the road; I wept almost without ceasing ; and after these tears came the thought how to help them, and put them in a better condition ; to give this to one, that to another. Touched with the thought of them, I was in my mind dividing all I had amongst them, and even what I had not. I tell it to my shame, and because perhaps God permitted this, to make me understand better the importance of the evangelical counsel of which we are speaking. I was for three months a prey to this importunate desire to advance my brothers and sisters ; it was a continual weight upon my poor spirit." This touching confession would not have been needed to convince us that it was in no selfish or unloving spirit that Vincent all his life long refused to do anything to enrich his own family ; his whole life and character forbid the thought of any want of tenderness and affection towards those who were bound to him by natural ties. From his earliest years Vincent had been remark- able for charity, and a readiness to help the distressed to the utmost of his power. It is on record that when as a boy he took his father's corn to the mill Early Life, etc. 1 1 to be ground, if he met poor persons on his way home, he would bestow upon them handfuls of flour, and it is a pleasant trait in his father's character that he never found fault with the boy for doing so. Once when about twelve years old, Vincent had succeeded in gathering a little hoard of thirty sous ; a considerable sum for a child to have amassed in those days, and in a country where money was scarce, and dearly he prized his little treasure ; but one day meeting a poor man in great distress and need of all things, the whole store was freely bestowed upon him, without selfish reserve of a single sou ; a token surely that G-od's good Spirit was already working in his heart the graces which became so marked in the fully developed character of the future saint. Vincent de Paul began his education in the year 1587, when he was eleven years old, in a small con- vent of Franciscans, in the town of Dax. Here he made rapid progress, especially in Latin, and, after four years, M. de Commet, a lawyer, residing at Dax, and chief magistrate of his native village of Pouy, took notice of the lad, and having heard a good account of him from the Superior, he removed him from the convent, and took him into his own house as tutor to his children, thus enabling him to continue his studies without being any charge or 12 5. Vincent de Paul expense to his father. This advantage was not thrown away upon him, and he spent five years in M. de Oommet's house in diligent study, giving him at the same time the greatest satisfaction by his conscientious care and instruction of the children intrusted to his charge. His whole behaviour at this time was marked by a piety and devotion far beyond his years, and his kind friend, perceiving that he was very specially fitted for Holy Orders, strongly urged upon him to offer himself for the service of God in the ministry of His church. Vincent, who had great respect for M. de Commet, and looked upon him as a second father, followed his advice, and received the tonsure and four minor orders on the 20th of December 1596, being then in his twenty-first year. After this step had been taken, he felt himself wholly given to the service of the Church, and, re- solving to make God his only portion, he left his home, never to return to make any stay there. With his father's full consent, and with such help as he could afford to give him (a small sum of money procured by the sale of a pair of oxen), he went to Toulouse, where he spent seven years in theological studies. This includes a short period of time which he spent in Spain studying theology in the univer- Early Life, etc. 13 sity of Saragossa. He was ordained sub-deacon on 19th of September 1598, and deacon three months later; and at last, on the 23d of September 1600, he was admitted to the holy order of the Priesthood, which he exercised in the Church of Christ for sixty years, for he died on 27th September 1660. Vincent always had the deepest sense of the high dignity and sacredness of the priestly office ; and in his later life he used to say, that if he were not already a priest, he could never have made up his mind to become one, feeling his own too great unworthiness. His thoughts on this subject were very fully expressed in after years in a letter which he wrote to his friend M. de St. Martin, a canon of the Cathedral Church of Dax, who had taken an interest in his family, and seems to have proposed to Vincent that one of his brother's children should be educated for the priesthood. In answer to this proposal Vincent writes, " I thank you for the care you have taken of my little nephew, but I must tell you, Monsieur, that I have never had any wish that he should be a priest, still less have I thought of bringing him up with that intention, since it is the most exalted condition that there can be upon this earth, and that which it was our Lord's will to choose and to exercise. For myself, if, when I had 14 S. Vincent de Paid the rashness to enter it, I had known what it was, as I do now, I had much rather have been a labourer and tilled the ground, than have engaged myself in so awful a profession ; and this I have said more than a hundred times to poor country people, when, in order to encourage them to be contented, and live as they ought, I have told them that I con- sidered they were happy to be in that state of life ; and indeed the older I grow, the more I am con- firmed in this opinion, because I discover every day how far I am from the perfection to which I ought to have attained. Certainly, Monsieur, the priests of our day have great cause to dread the judgments of God, since, besides their own sins, they will have to answer for those of the people, inasmuch as they have not sought to appease His just wrath, as it was their bounden duty to do ; and what is worse, He will lay to their charge the chastisements which He sends, because they have not sought to hinder, as they ought, those scourges which afflict the Church, such as pestilence, war, famine, and the heresies which attack her on all sides. " Add to this, Monsieur, that it is the wicked lives of the clergy from whence come the evils which have afflicted the holy Spouse of our Saviour, and have so defaced her that she can hardly be recognised. Harly Life, etc, 1 5 " What would those ancient Fathers now say, who saw her in her first beauty, if they could see the irreligion and the profanations which we behold in her ; they, who thought that but few priests could be saved, although in their time there was very great fervour among the clergy % " All these things, Monsieur, lead me to think that it would be better for this poor child to follow the profession of his father, than to undertake one so high and so difficult as ours is, in which failure seems inevitable for those who enter it without being called. And as I see no sure token of such a call in his case, I beg of you to advise him to labour to earn his daily bread in the fear of God, that he may be worthy of His mercy in this world, and in the next. This is the best advice that I can give him." The see of Dax was vacant at the time of his ordination, but the grand Vicars to whom the ad- ministration of the affairs of the diocese was intrusted, nominated him at once, at the request of his friend, M. de Commet, to the parish of Tilh. It happened that application had previously been made for it at Rome, on behalf of another priest, and rather than enter into any dispute about it, Vincent withdrew his claim, and thereby gained more time for study, which he was very desirous to continue. 1 6 6". Vincent de Paul His father had died two years before his ordina- tion, leaving directions in his will, that the assistance which he had always given to Vincent to enable him to pursue his studies should be continued. He might therefore not unreasonably have claimed some help from his mother and his brothers, but he was unwilling to be any trouble or expense to them, and being without means of support at Toulouse, he ac- cepted the situation of tutor to the children of the Seigneur of Buzet, a small town about twelve miles north-east of Toulouse, and at that time a place of some importance, with a battlemented castle and fortress, standing on a height and commanding the town and a wide extent of country. The Seigneur Hebrard de G-rossolles had two sons, whose education Vincent was invited to undertake, and soon others of the neighbouring gentry sent their boys to him, till he found himself at the head of a little school comprising all the elite of the young nobility from the country round — amongst them two great-nephews of Jean de la Valette, the noble old warrior who, as Grand Master of the Knights of S. John of Jeru- salem, defended Malta with all the courage and de- votion of Christian heroism against the Turks. Vincent's conscientious diligence, and the care which he took of their children, so won the conn- His Studies ly dence of the parents, that when after a time he proposed to return to Toulouse to pursue his theo- logical studies, it was arranged that he should take his pupils with him, and carry on their education at the same time as his own. This he did for some years, scrupulously taking from sleep and recreation the hours required for his own work. Sixteen years of constant and diligent study were not considered by Vincent de Paul too much time to spend, in fitting himself for the due discharge of the sacred office to which he had been called ; and so far from imagining himself to have attained any high degree of learning, he always spoke of himself as a mere beginner, and in his humility endeavoured, as far as possible, to conceal his acquirements from others.. Nor did he suffer his love of study to absorb his thoughts, or to become, as it is apt to do, in itself an end, so as to interfere with the one object and purpose of his life, namely, perfecting holiness in the fear of God, and in the daily imitation of Christ. Study and every- thing else was with him subordinate to this great work, the sanctification of his own soul, and the conforming of his whole being to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We shall see how God in His good providence prepared means which he little thought of, to help him forward in this the earnest purpose and desire of his heart. B CHAPTER II. VINCENT'S CAPTIVITY IN BARBARY — ESCAPE — HE GOES TO ROME — IS SENT ON A CONFIDENTIAL MESSAGE TO PARIS — ACCEPTS THE CURE OF CLICHY — AND AFTERWARDS THE OFFICE OF CHAPLAIN AND TUTOR IN THE HOUSE OF THE COMTE DE JOIGNY — HIS FIRST MISSION. TN the year 1605, Vincent had occasion to go to Marseilles to try to recover some money which had been left to him by a deceased friend; and, when about to return, the person with whom he was lodging persuaded him to go with himaby sea to Narbonne, thus shortening by more than half, the land journey to Toulouse. This he willingly agreed to do, hoping, as it was about midsummer, and fair weather for sailing, to reach home the sooner. It was just at the season when the famous fair of Beaucaire was held, and some Turkish brigantines were lying in wait, in the Gulf of Lyons, to seize any vessels they fell in with, in hopes of securing a rich Captivity in Barbary 19 booty from the merchants or others who might be going to or returning from the fair. They attacked the vessel in which Vincent had embarked ; killed some, and wounded the rest of the crew; Vincent himself received a wound from an arrow, which, as he says, served him as a reminder all his life. The pirates seized upon the ship, robbed and plundered the passengers, loading with chains those who made any resistance ; they then set sail for Tunis, where they intended to sell their captives for slaves. In a letter written after his release, dated July 20, 1G07, and addressed to M. de Commet, Junr., brother of his old friend and patron, who had died some years before, Vincent gives the following account of the treatment he and his fellow-captives received : — " After they had stripped us, they gave to each one a pair of drawers, a linen coat and cap, and walked us about the town of Tunis, where they had come for the express purpose of selling us. After they had made us take five or six turns round the town with chains on our necks, they led us back to the ship, in order that purchasers might come and see who ate heartily and who did not ; and to show them that our wounds were not mortal. This done, 20 S. Vincent de Paul we were led back to the market-place, where mer- chants came to inspect us, exactly as men do who want to buy a horse or an ox. They made us open our mouths to show our teeth ; they felt our sides, examined Our wounds, made us walk, trot, run, lift heavy weights, and wrestle, in order to judge of the strength of 'each of us, and subjected us to a thousand other indignities." It was the lot of Vincent to be sold to a fisherman, who, however, very soon sold him again to an old alchemist and physician, in whose service he remained for eleven months. He does not seem to have ill- used his Christian slave, and at his death he be- queathed him along with other goods and chattels to his nephew. The nephew sold him again, and this time he became the property of an apostate Christian from Nice in Savoy ; he carried him away to labour on an inland farm, in a mountainous and barren district, where the burning heat of the sun added much to his sufferings. This man had three wives, and it pleased G-od in His great mercy to make one of them his instrument for procuring the release of Vincent from his cap- tivity, and also the deliverance of the wretched apostate from his bonds, and his restoration as a penitent to the Fold of the Church. Captivity in Barbary 21 This woman, who was a Turk, took an interest in the Christian slave, and used to visit him every day in the fields where he was employed to dig. No doubt the captive priest made use of these oppor- tunities to bring the light of the Gospel to this poor soul ; and in the letter to M. de Commet he tells how " one day she asked me to sing to her some of the praises of my God. The remembrance of the captive Israelites' ' How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land,' filled my heart, and, with tears I began the Psalm, 'Super fiumina Babylonis;' then I sang the ' Salve Regina,' and many other things, in which she took wonderful pleasure. That evening she told her husband that he had done wrong to forsake his religion, of the excellence of which she was persuaded by the account I had given her of my God, and the hymns I had sung in her presence ; in which she said she had had such plea- sure that she did not believe the Paradise of her Fathers, and that which she hoped for herself, could equal, in its glory and joy, the peace and satisfaction of soul which she had felt in listening to the praises of my God, and which she believed to be something supernatural." Her words had such an effect that the next day the man spoke to Vincent, and told him that as soon 22 S. Vincent de Paid as a convenient opportunity should offer, which he hoped would be in a few days, they would escape to ■ France together. The few days turned out to be ten months, during which time the captive priest had to endure all the heart sickness of hope deferred, while patience wrought out her perfect work. But deliverance came at last ; he and his master escaped together ; crossed the Mediterranean in a little skiff, and landed on 28th of June 1S»07 at Aigues-Mortes, whence they went to Avignon, and there the apostate was publicly received back into the Church, with heart- felt contrition and abundance of tears, to the honour and glory of God, and the edification of all present. The pro-legate who received him desired that both he and Vincent should remain with him till his return to Rome, which was to take place as soon as his successor arrived at Avignon. He wished to take them there with him, and promised to obtain for the penitent admission into the Convent of the " Fate ben Fratelli," where, under the rule of that austere order, he might pass the rest of his days in penitential exercises. No mention is made of the poor Turkish woman who had been the means of saving her husband's soul ; we are not told whether she escaped with them to France ; but we can hardly doubt that she too was, Escape, etc. 23 sooner or later, admitted into the Church's Fold, if indeed she had not already been baptized by Vincent. The letter from which these extracts have been made, written as has been said in July 1607, was found more than fifty years afterwards, by M. Dages, a gentleman of Dax, nephew of the Canon de S. Martin,' among the papers belonging to his family, and knowing his uncle's intimate relations with Vincent, he sent it to him, feeling sure that he would value it. The Canon thought it would be a pleasure to his old friend to be reminded of the adventures of his youth, so he sent him a copy of the letter. But intimate as he had been with Vin- cent, Monsieur de S. Martin had not yet learned to measure the depth of the humility which took no pleasure in anything that could by any means bring credit to himself. No sooner had Vincent read the letter than he threw it into the fire, and wrote at once to his friend to beg that he would send him the original. But the Canon saw through his pur- pose, and was in no haste to grant his request. For more than a year Vincent went on asking for it in vain, and in March 1660, only six months before his death, he made a last attempt to get possession of it, repeating his request in these earnest words : — " I conjure you by all the favours which God has 24 S. Vincent de Paul been pleased to grant you, that you will do me this one, of sending me that unhappy letter which makes mention of Turkey. I mean that one which M. Dages found among his father's papers. I en- treat you again, by the bowels of Jesus Christ our Lord, to grant me, as soon as possible, the favour I ask of you.'' More pressing language could not be used by one who was imploring for his life. In Vincent's case it was the earnest desire not to leave behind him an undeniably authentic record of that episode in his life which, from motives of humility, he always studiously concealed. Over and over again he might have made allusion to it, and turned it to account in his conferences and discourses, but he never did. In spite of himself the facts became known, and every means was used to induce him to talk about it, but he would not. On one occasion, a gentleman, who had himself been a captive in Algiers, tried to lead him to tell his adventures, by talking of his own. Vincent listened to all his descriptions of the country, people, etc., as of things quite unknown to him, and heard the story of his sufferings without ever betraying that he himself had had full experi- ence of the same, never once giving way to the temptation so natural to travellers, and especially to Js sent to Paris 25 one who had had such strange adventures, to talk of himself — so fully had he realized the peril of so doing, which his great contemporary S. Francis de Sales compares to the danger of walking on the tightrope. Vincent remained at Rome till near the end of the year 1608, under the protection of the Pro- legate Montorio, who had brought him with him from Avignon; he introduced him to other digni- taries of the Eoman Court, and so high an opinion was formed of his judgment and discretion, that he was employed on a secret mission to the French Court, to carry a confidential message to the king, which it was not thought safe to send in writing. It was a responsible and honourable trust for a young and unknown man, and procured him a favour- able introduction to Henry iv., a monarch who was not wont to neglect those on whom he found he could rely, and from whom, therefore, Vincent might naturally have looked for reward and advance- ment. But he had no desire for earthly dignity; and the French Court was not a place where one who desired to lead a Christian and a holy life would choose to linger. He therefore left the Court as soon as he had faithfully discharged the commission 26 J>. Vincent de Paul which had been intrusted to him, and withdrew into retirement, purposing to live strictly as a Priest, and perfectly to fulfil the duties belonging to that sacred character. His lowliness, humility, and patience were yet further proved at this time, by the fiery trial of slander and false accusation which befell him through a fellow-lodger with whom he shared a room in the Faubourg Saint Germain. This gentleman went out one morning, leaving Vincent ill in bed, and on his return he missed a large sum of money which had been left in the room. It had been stolen by an apothecary's boy, who came into the room with some medicine for Vincent, and as he was looking about for a glass to pour it into, saw the money, and pocketed it, unobserved by him. The owner charged him with the theft, and on his deny- ing all knowledge of it, he used violent language, refused to keep company with him any longer, and went about accusing him of theft and dishonesty among all those who had any acquaintance with him. The humble, gentle spirit was neither troubled nor provoked by this false accusation; he did not take much pains to justify himself, but, preserving inward peace and outward tranquillity under this Life at Paris 27 sore calumny, lie contented himself with gently say- ing, " God knows the truth." Many years afterwards he mentioned the circum- stance, not as having happened to himself, but as if it -had been to a third person, in an instruction which he was giving on the subject of rightly giving and receiving reproof. " If the fault for which we are blamed," he said, " is not in us, let us reflect that we have many others for which we should desire reproof, and let us receive it without justifying ourselves ; still less should we be angry or annoyed with the person who accuses us ; " and then he added, " I knew a person once who was accused by his companion of having robbed him of some money : he told him gently that he had not taken it ; but when he saw that the other persisted in his accusation, he turned away, lifted up his heart to God, and said, ' What shall I do, my God ? Thou knowest the truth!' and then, putting his trust in God, he resolved not to answer his accusa- tions any more. " Now it came to pass, by the permission of God, that, six years afterwards, the man who had lost the money, and who was twenty-six leagues from the place where it was stolen, fell in with the thief who had taken it." This requires explanation. It hap- 28 S. Vincent de Paul pened that the man who lost the money, and the boy who took it, both belonged to the same place, Sore, a small town in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux, and not far from Vincent's own birthplace. The lad had left Paris and returned home, and was there taken up for another theft, and imprisoned. During his imprisonment the remembrance of his former crime, and of the trouble which he had brought upon an innocent person, weighed on his mind ; — he sent for the gentleman whom he had robbed, who was a judge or chief magistrate of the place, and told him all the truth. "Behold," Vincent went on, "the care of Providence for those who yield themselves up to it ! This man, acknowledging the wrong that he had done in quarrelling so fiercely with his in- nocent friend, and spreading calumnies against him, wrote to him to implore his pardon, saying that he was so unhappy at what had passed that he was ready to make a journey to the place where he was, in order to receive his forgiveness on his knees. " Let us then, my brethren, always believe that we are capable of any evil, and let us leave to God the care of bringing secret things to light." About the same time a mysterious circumstance occurred, which is thought to have had much influ- ence on the whole course of Vincent's future life. Life at Paris 29 Amongst the persons with, whom he became ac- quainted in Paris was an ecclesiastic of considerable eminence, a doctor of divinity, who had the repu- tation of a very successful controversialist. But, un- happily, in his later years his own soul had lost its hold of the faith which he had defended ; horrible thoughts of doubt and unbelief filled his mind ; religious exercises, instead of affording him any relief, seemed only to aggravate the evil, so much so, that he was advised to abstain from them ; he could neither celebrate the Holy Eucharist nor say his office, and the extreme mental distress of his condition was beginning to tell upon his bodily health. Such a sad case was sure to move the compassion of Vincent ; he did all he could by consolatory words and spiritual counsels to help the poor man ; but finding all he could do in this way fruitless, he had recourse to prayer, and — moved by the same charity which led S. Paul to wish to be accursed from Christ, if only his people might be saved, or it may be said, following a higher Example still, even that of Him who healed us by Himself taking our infirmities, and bearing our sicknesses — he offered himself to bear any trial it might please God to send, even the same as that from which his poor 30 5. Vincent de Paul friend was suffering, if only relief might be granted to him. His prayer was heard- God took him at his word; the light and peace of true faith returned to the soul of him for whom he had prayed, and his own soul was visited by dark clouds of doubt, and temptations to unbelief. Bitter as the trial was, he accepted it as the answer to his prayer ; he bore his doubts and perplexities as a trouble, and did not torment himself by thinking of them as a sin. He wrote out a full confession of faith, and placed the paper next his heart, and then he made a compact with his own soul, or rather with Him to whom all hearts are open, that whenever he laid his hand upon that spot, he thereby renounced all thoughts of unbelief, and professed that in will and purpose he held the Faith whole and undefiled, while, at the same time, he redoubled his diligence in all works of mercy and love. Still the trial was a very sore one ; and one day, in great agony of soul, he fell upon his knees, and offered himself to our Lord, to serve Him all his life, in His poor and suffering. This, too, was accepted ; his soul was delivered from its trial ; and from that moment he felt him- self consecrated, as it were afresh, to a life of special devotion to the poor and afflicted. Accepts the Cure of Clichy 3 1 These trials, both outward and inward, led Vin- cent to long for the peace and safe protection of a religious house ; he also desired to spend some time in retreat, that he might see more clearly to what work God would be pleased to call him. He there- fore asked and obtained permission from the Fathers of the Oratory, which had just then been founded in Paris, to make his temporary home under their roof, conforming to the rules of their house, although it does not appear that he ever had any thoughts of joining their society. He was already on terms of intimate friendship with their founder and first Superior-general, M. de Berulle, and he now chose him as his director. This eminent spiritual guide did not fail to perceive that it was no ordinary soul which had placed itself under his direction. It is said that he had a kind of prevision of the great work for which Vincent was being prepared, and of the congregation of mission priests who would spring up, under his guidance, to be a blessing to the church, and that he told him of it. Be this as it may, it was by his advice, and in a spirit of obedi- ence, that Vincent first entered somewhat reluctantly on parochial work, and undertook the cure of souls, in the little village of Clichy, not far from Paris, now one of the most unattractive suburbs of the city. Here 32 Sf. Vincent de Paul his zealous labours as a parish priest were wonder- fully blessed. He gave himself wholly to the work ; all his time, all his powers were spent in the service of the little flock which had been intrusted to him, and this with all the more devotion because his parishioners consisted almost entirely of poor and humble people. The effect produced by his sermons, catechizings, and diligent care of individual souls, was so marked that it attracted the attention of the neighbouring clergy, who soon began to look to the Vicar of Clichy for help and counsel in all their difficulties and troubles, so that his influence told far beyond his own parish. Being so near Paris, too, some of his friends among the clergy came occa- sionally to preach for him, and one of them, a doctor of divinity, and member of a religious order, speaks of it as a kind of model parish, where the people in general " lived like angels," and says that when he went to preach to this favoured flock he seemed to himself to be " bringing light to the sun." Vincent himself many years afterwards bore witness to the truth of this good report. " The good people of Clichy," he says, " were so obedient to me, that when I recommended them to come to Confession on the first Sunday of every month, to my great joy no one was missing. Ah, I used to say to my- At Clichy 33 self, how happy thou art to have such good people ; the Pope is not so happy as I am ! One day the first Cardinal de Retz asked me, ' Well, Monsieur, how do you get on V ' My Lord/ I answered, ' I am more happy than I can say.' ' Why so V ' Because I have such good people, and so obedient to every thing that I tell them, that I say to myself that neither the Pope, nor you, my Lord, are so happy as I.' " This parish, the charge of which, as has been said, Vincent had undertaken with some reluctance, in obedience to his Director, had become very dear to him, and it was a still greater trial of his obedi- ence and submission when M. de Berulle proposed to him to leave Clichy, and undertake the office of chaplain in a nobleman's family, and, at the same time, that of tutor to his sons. Nothing could be less to his taste, or according to the line of work to which he believed himself called. He dreaded and shrank from the society of the rich and great ; he had no turn for tutoring ; he felt that his special call was to the poor ; and he loved every soul among his poor people at Clichy with the love of a father, while they, on their part, returned his love with a reverent and deep affection, and were unhappy if he made even a short absence from them. C 34 S. Vincent de Paid He had just accomplished the restoration of his church, and he knew that he had a growing power and influence for good among the clergy of the sur- rounding parishes. Surely it must be a mistake to move him just then ! How natural to think so ! How many would have thought so, and refused to go ! If Vincent had acted thus, who can say whether the whole course of his life would not have been changed, and those great works, for which his name is held in veneration in the Church to the end of time, failed of their accomplishment, or, perhaps, have been wrought, and the reward won, by some other hand % Happily he had learned obedience ; with many a heartache he gave up his own will, and surrendered his judgment to that of his Director, believing that in so doing he was hearing and obeying the voice of God. And as we follow his history, and see how his whole future course turned upon this one im- portant step, we cannot doubt that it was indeed the voice of God calling him to a place and office for which he did not feel suited, and which he would never have chosen for himself, but which was des- tined, in His good providence, to open the way to those great works in which his after life was spent, to the glory of God, and the salvation of unnumbered souls. Chaplain to M. de Gondi 35 Philip Emanuel de Gondi, Count de Joigny, the nobleman whose house and family was now to be blessed with the presence and the ministrations of so holy a chaplain, belonged to the house of de Eetz, famous in the annals of the times. He was of Florentine extraction ; his grandfather, Antonio ' de Gondi, had followed Catherine de Medicis to the French Court. The family had risen to great dis- tinction and wealth, and to very high position in France. The son of Antonio, and father of Philip Emanuel, had been made Marechal de Eetz by Charles ix., and Duke and Peer of France by Henri in. His brother, Pierre, had been Bishop of Paris, and was made Cardinal de Eetz by Sixtus v. 1 in 1587. The episcopal throne of Paris seems to have been for a time almost hereditary in the family. Pierre, the first cardinal, was succeeded by his nephew, Henri de Gondi, brother of Count Philip Emanuel, and on the death of Henri in 1622 another brother, Jean Francois, succeeded him. Philip Emanuel, with whom at present we are 1 He must not be confounded with the notorious Cardinal de Eetz of the time of Louis xiv., who, sad to say, was one of the pupils of S. Vincent de Paul ; but as he was not born when Vin- cent first entered M. de Gondi 's house, and was only eleven years old when he finally left it, Vincent can have had but little to do with his education, and the faults of that strange undisciplined character cannot, with any justice, be laid to his charge. 36 .S. Vincent de Paul chiefly concerned, had married Francoise Marguerite de Silly, a highly accomplished, and most earnestly religious lady, and both she and her husband seem to have been in great measure preserved from the pollutions of the French Court, and to have led Christian lives in the midst of all the snares and temptations to which of necessity their high position exposed them. They had three sons, and it was their education which, by M. de Berulle's advice, the Count and Countess now committed to Vincent de Paul, combining with it the office of chaplain to their family and large establishment. This office Vincent retained (with the exception of a short interval of four months) for twelve years, and won the love and reverence of all by the singular wisdom, modesty, and discretion of his behaviour. He never interfered in any affairs except those which were actually intrusted to him, and did not appear at all before the Count or his lady unless sent for. When his duties to his young pupils had been per- formed, he withdrew into retirement, and though dwelling in a great house where people of all sorts were continually coming and going, he lived in his own little room, with as much simplicity, silence, and retirement, as if it had been a convent cell — never leaving it except at some call of duty or Chaplain to M. de Gondi 37 charity. At the same time he was always ready for any work of mercy either for the souls or bodies of men, and was unwearied in all the duties of his chaplaincy, not only towards the Count and Countess and their children, but towards every member of the household. He watched over the servants of this large estab- lishment with great care, instructed them, reconciled quarrels amongst them, tended them in sickness, himself performing all mean and lowly offices towards them, and as the holy seasons of the Church came round, he used to assemble them for instruction, and spared no pains in preparing them for the Sacra- ments. Occasionally he accompanied Monsieur and Madame de Gondi and their children to some of their estates in the country, and when there, all his spare time was devoted to the instruction of the poor, preaching, catechizing, and hearing confessions with the sanction of the Bishop and of the parochial clergy. The experience which he thus acquired of the spiritual condition of the country-people led to one of the great works in which he was chiefly instru- mental, viz., the establishment of Missions. He found from his intercourse with the poor that their consciences were often burdened with deadly •38 S. Vincent de Paid sins which shame held them back from confessing to their parish Priest, and his charitable care for souls led him to see how great a help it would be to such persons to have opportunity from time to time of unburdening their hearts in general confession to a Mission Priest who was not mixed up with them in daily life. One case in particular brought this very strongly before him. He was sent for one day to visit a man who was living in the small village of Gannes, about two leagues distant from the Chateau de Folleville, one of the Count de Joigny's country places, where Vincent was then staying with the Countess and her children. The man was dangerously ill, and had sent to beg Monsieur Vincent to come and hear his confession. The neighbour who brought the message described him to Vincent as a man of good character and blameless life, regular in his religious duties. Vincent hastened to his bedside to receive his con- fession, and something perhaps in his manner led him to move the dying man to make a general con- fession of his whole life. This by God's mercy he did, and with grief and pain Vincent found that, while he bore a good character among his neighbours, there was a heavy load of deadly sin upon his con- science, which false shame had kept him from con- Origin of Missions 39 fessing, and which, but for Vincent's timely exhorta- tion, and, we may add, but for his blessed gift of drawing hearts to open themselves to him, he would have carried with him, unconfessed and unrepented (and with the added guilt of sacrilegious confessions upon his soul), into the very presence of his Judge. Vincent was deeply shocked at the awful peril from which this poor man had been scarcely saved. He mentioned the case to Madame de Gondi, and as the man lived for three days after his visit, she went herself to see him, and heard from his own lips his expressions of thankfulness and penitence, and his deep sense of the tremendous danger from which he had been rescued. The circumstance filled the Countess's mind, as well as her chaplain's, with anxious thoughts as to the actual condition of the many souls around her, for which she felt that she and her husband were to a certain degree responsible, as they lived upon their property; and she earnestly desired to provide some means whereby they might be saved from falling into a like condition, or at least might have opportunity to escape it if they would. Mean- time she entreated Vincent at once to use the occa- sion for preaching on the subject, and to do all in his power to rouse the people out of the deadly 40 S. Vincent de Paul apathy and carelessness in which too many were living. It was in January 1617 that all this happened ; and on the 25th of that month, being the Festival of the Conversion of S. Paul, Vincent de Paul held what might be called his first Mission Service in the parish church of Folleville. He dwelt with great earnestness on the importance and spiritual advan- tage of a general confession, exhorting the people to it, and giving plain instructions how it should be rightly performed. His sermon was so blessed that many hearts were touched, and such numbers flocked to his confessional that he was quite unable to re- ceive them all himself, and was obliged to ask for help from the Jesuit Fathers at Amiens. Three Priests found ample occupation for several days in confessing, instructing, preaching, and catechizing. From Folleville they went to other villages on Monsieur de Gondi's property, and everywhere great grace and blessing from God attended their labours. Vincent always looked back upon this Mission at Folleville as the seed from which grew the whole system and practice of Missions ; and he ever after kept the anniversary of S. Paul's Day with thanks- giving for the happy fruit with which God had been pleased to bless it— although neither at the time First Mission 41 nor for eight years afterwards, had he any thought to what this grain of mustard seed would grow, or that it would in truth give rise to a new and mighty agency in the Church, and to the foundation of an order of Mission Priests specially devoted to the work. Madame de Gondi, seeing the blessed fruit of this first attempt, and feeling deeply with her holy chaplain the need of some such means for quicken- ing the spiritual life in country parishes, desired to make an endowment of 16,000 francs to any reli- gious community who would undertake to hold Mis- sions every five years throughout her property, and she charged Vincent to make the arrangement. He first proposed it to the Jesuits, but they were not allowed to undertake it. He next applied to the Oratorians, who also refused; and so it ended by her leaving in her will the sum of 16,000 francs, for the purpose of founding Missions in any place, and after any manner which Vincent might decide upon ; placing it, to use his own words, " a la disposition de ce miserable." CHAPTER TIT. VINCENT LEAVES THE HOUSE OF M. DE GONDI, AND , GOES TO CHATILLON— DISTRESS OF THE COUNT AND COUNTESS — HIS WORK AT CHATILLON — RETURN — DEATH OF THE COUNTESS — FOUNDATION OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION. T 1 THE wonderful success with which it pleased God to bless his preaching, and the marked good which he was the means of accomplishing, notably increased the feelings of veneration entertained by the whole household of M. de Gondi for Vincent de Paul. A deep conviction of his sanctity possessed the hearts of all who knew him, and this could not fail to find expression in outward tokens of defer- ence and respect which were deeply painful to his humility, and he became more and more afraid that his position in that house, with the treatment he received there, was not the best for his spiritual life and growth in holiness. Moreover, he observed with pain that Madame de Leaves M. de Gondis house 43 Gondi, who from the first had taken him as her Con- fessor and Spiritual Director, had come by degrees to lean upon him in an excessive manner, and to feel as if no one else could possibly guide her soul to God. Vincent had endeavoured to check this, by obliging her occasionally to confess to another Priest ; but, in spite of this, she continued to cling to him with an attachment which he felt to be dangerous to the well-being of her soul. He therefore came to the resolution, not without the sanction and approval of his Director, M. de Berulle, to break the ties which he feared might hinder his perfect devotion to God, and to leave the house which had been his home for four years, and the friends to whom he was deeply attached. Vincent knew well the strenuous opposition which would be raised both by the Count and Countess if he informed them of his intention, and he therefore resolved to say nothing about it, and make no formal adieus, but only to take leave of his friends as for a short journey from which he might soon return. It was not till he had reached Chatillon, in the district of La Bresse, the place where, by M. de Berulle's advice, he was going to work, that he wrote to inform M. de Gondi of the step he had taken, and of his purpose not to return; giving as a reason 44 ■">• Vincent de Paul that he felt himself unequal to carry on the educa- tion of his sons. The consternation caused by this letter may be easily imagined. The Count was away from home at the time in Provence ; he wrote at once to his wife, "I . am in despair at a letter I have just received from M. Vincent, and I send it to you to see if nothing can be done to avert the misfortune which it would be to us to lose him. I am extremely surprised that he said nothing to you of his resolution, and that you had no notice of it. I beg of you to use every means that we may not lose him. For even if the reason which he gives (his professed incapacity as a tutor) is the true one, it would have no weight with me ; nothing is of so much consequence as my salvation and that of my children ; and this, I am sure, that one day he will be able greatly to help forward, as well as those resolutions of which I have often spoken to you, and which I more than ever desire to carry out. 1 I have not answered him yet, and I shall wait until I hear from you. " You must judge whether the intervention of my sister (Madame) de Ragny, who is not far from him, 1 Probably this refers to a purpose to leave the world and enter the Religious life, which M. de Gondi did npt carry out till after the death of his wife, when he joined the Oratorians. Distress of the Countess 45 would be of any use ; but I believe no one would have so much influence as M. de Berulle. Tell him that even if M. Vincent is not suited to the instruc- tion of youth, he may have a man under him, but that on all accounts, I am most anxious (Je desire passionn6ment) that he should return to my house, where he shall live as he pleases ; and I may perhaps some day live as I ought, if only that man is with me." Poor Madame de Gondi ! her feelings on receiving this news may best be imagined by those who know what it is to lose, or to be in danger of losing a beloved and revered Father in God. The letter reached her on Holy Cross day, Sept. 14, 1617, and truly a sharp and piercing cross it was to her. For some days she wept incessantly, and could neither sleep nor eat. " I could never have thought it," she wrote to a friend, " M. Vincent was always too full of charity for my soul to forsake me in this manner ; but, God be praised,. I do not blame him; on the contrary, I believe that what he has done has been by the special providence of God, and through a holy love of Him ; but indeed his departure is very strange, I confess that I cannot understand it (je confesse de n'y voir goutte). He knows the need I have of his guidance, and the affairs on which I have to consult 46 S. Vincent de Paul him ; the good that I desire to do in my villages, which it is impossible for me to undertake without his counsel. The good that he was doing to seven or eight thousand souls on my estates will no longer be done. "What — are not these souls as much the price of the precious Blood of our Lord as those of Bresse 1 are they not as dear to Him ? In truth, I know not what M. Vincent thinks about this, but it seems to me of such importance, that I ought to do all that is in my power to have him back. He only seeks the greater glory of God, and I desire nothing against His Holy Will, but I beseech Him with all my heart to give him back to me." In this mind she betook herself to M. de Berulle, and poured out her trouble to him, urging with many tears the reasons which made the help and counsels of her former chaplain so needful to her. When this experienced guide of souls found that in the midst of her deep distress she was yet able to submit her will in this matter absolutely to the will of God, he gave her permission to use all means in her power to win Vincent back, and comforted her yet more by giving her hopes that he would himself use his influence to persuade him to return. Having obtained this permission, and feeling that she could now with a safe conscience set herself to Is advised to return 47 accomplish her great desire, Madame de Gondi not only wrote herself a most pressing letter, but caused others, to whose judgment she thought he might defer, to write also ; and as Vincent remained still unmoved in his resolution, she sent a common friend, M. Dufresne, to plead her cause. He at last suc- ceeded so far as to persuade him to take advice before finally refusing, and to this end he induced him to go with him to Lyons, in order to lay the case before M. Bence, the Superior of the Oratory in that city. His advice was that Vincent should go back to Paris, and there take counsel with those who knew all the circumstances, and seek through them to be assured of what the will of God for him really was. Acting on this advice, he left Chatillon on the 23d of December ; and after further consultation with M. de Berulle and others, the result was that on Christ- mas Eve he returned to his place in the house of M. de Gondi. Before we follow him there, something ought to be said of the work which his four months at Cha- tillon had accomplished. The place was in a miser- able state when he went there ; M. de Berulle had chosen it for him on that very account ; for he knew that the extraordinary vice and irreligion which notoriously prevailed there could only be met by 48 S. Vincent de Paul extraordinary zeal and devotion, such, as Vincent's. And the battle was not only with sin and careless- ness, but also with false doctrine, heresy, and schism. The district of La Bresse, in which Chatillon was situated, had not long been annexed to the kingdom of France. Up to the year 1600 it had belonged to the Dukes of Savoy, and the Calvinistic errors which had unfortunately taken such hold of parts of Savoy, and especially of Geneva, had found their way into this province, and were at least outwardly professed by some of the principal and most wealthy of the inhabitants. It does not appear that at Chatillon the professors of them were any better in point of morality or good living than those who called them- selves Catholics. In truth, religion, in any form, seems to have been at the lowest ebb. Vincent was horror-struck at the condition of things, and he saw at once that it was not a case for single-handed work; so he went to Lyons, and engaged an able and earnest priest, M. Girard, to come and help him. They lived together, and fought side by side ; and step by step they won the ground. In three months' time the face of things had so changed that it was said that Chatillon was no longer Chatillon. As at Clichy, Vincent's in- fluence and example had a great effect on the clergy Work at Chatillon 49 round, so that the good done reached far beyond the bounds of his own parish. A nobleman residing in the neighbourhood, the Comte de Rougemont, who was a notorious duellist, and led a life of unbridled licentiousness, was converted by Vincent's preaching, which he first came to hear out of curiosity, and under his guidance became as eminent in all the fruits of a saintly penitence as he had been in his life of reckless dissipation. Vincent also had the joy and comfort of bringing back to the Fold of the Church many of those who had been led astray by the Genevan errors. Amongst these was M. Beynier, in whose house he lodged when first he went to Chatillon. He was a man of large property, who had been brought up a Huguenot, but was in fact living an utterly irre- ligious and careless life. Under Vincent's teaching he not only returned to the Catholic Church, but became a deeply devout and holy person. Two young men, his nephews, were in like manner received into the Church, and nearly forty years afterwards one of them wrote to Vincent to ask his advice about the vocation of his only son, who wanted to become a Jesuit. He says in the letter, " I am that little Jean Garron, nephew of M. Bey- nier, of Chatillon, in whose house you lived. I en- D 50 6". Vincent de Paul treat you to give me the help which is necessary to keep me from doing anything contrary to the will and purpose of God. I fear to make a mistake, and I thought you would do me the favour to advise one of your children who asks it of you in all humility.'' The letter is full of expressions which show what an affectionate remembrance he had all his life long re- tained for Vincent, and what a confidence he had in his judgment. Thus wherever he went he drew hearts to him, and now he was again to leave a place where num- bers had learned to cling to him. Many tears were shed, and sobs were heard through the church when he preached his farewell sermon at Chatillon. He told the people that it had been his purpose never to leave them, but that, as God's Providence had ordered it otherwise, it was for him and them both to submit. He promised to bear them continually on his heart before God, and he very earnestly asked their constant remembrance of him in their prayers, of which he repeated over and over again that he had great need. While Chatillon was mourning for his loss, the house of de Gondi was filled with joy. Vincent's return was hailed with intense delight by the whole family, but especially by the Countess, who saw in it Death of the Countess 5 1 an answer to her prayers, and a token of the gracious will of God that she should have the help and guid- ance she so prized, not only in life, but at the hour of her death. This desire of her heart was also granted : for eight years they wrought together, heart and hand, in various good works ; in all that she did he was her guide and counsellor; and on the other hand, the support of her wealth and influence, and of her husband's, was never wanting to him in his under- takings for the glory of God, or the good of men; till in the summer of 1625 she was attacked by an illness which proved to be fatal, and on the eve of the Nativity of S. John Baptist, she breathed her last, and Vincent, who had ministered to her all through her illness, commended her soul into the hands of God, its Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Only the spring before her death she had had the satisfaction of bringing to a happy conclusion the work which she had so much at heart, viz., the pro- viding an endowment for a Society of Mission Priests who should carry on in future years the work of evangelizing the peasantry, or at least reviving and deepening the spiritual life in the hearts of the people in outlying rural districts. Of the great need of some agency for this beyond 52 6". Vincent de Paul the regular parochial system, she had long been con- vinced, and she had seen the blessed fruits produced by her holy chaplain's labours. The purpose of making an endowment for this work, which has been already mentioned, was constantly present to her thoughts, and year by year she renewed in her will the legacy of 16,000 livres for the purpose. Vincent, to whom she confided all her plans, exerted himself to the utmost to effect such an arrangement as should seem most likely to carry out her intention ; he made application to the heads of various religious communities, and earnestly pressed them to undertake the work ; but all refused. Each one to whom he applied had some good reason why his community should not be the one to undertake it ; and it is impossible not to see, in the refusals which met him everywhere, the hand of God, who willed that the accomplishment of the design should be reserved for Vincent himself. When Madame de Gondi found that all the exist- ing religious houses declined her offer, it occurred to her that if there were a house in Paris set apart for the accommodation of the few earnest priests who were accustomed to share the work of missions with Vincent, where they could live together, it might form the nucleus of a community which other priests Foundation of the Mission 53 might from time to time be drawn to join, and so a sort of confraternity be formed for the express object of carrying on this work. She spoke to her husband about it, and he not only entered heartily into her plan, but wished to join with her in carrying it out, and in making such an endowment as might serve to place it on a firm and lasting footing. It was a favourable moment for their undertaking. Jean Francois de Gondi, brother of the Count, had succeeded Cardinal Eetz in the See of Paris, which was then first raised to an Archbishopric, and when his brother and sister laid their plans before him, he saw at once how great a benefit might accrue to his whole diocese, and to the Church at large, if such a scheme could be successfully carried out. He not only gave his fullest sanction to their design, but also contributed most effectually towards it, by placing at their disposal, as a home for the mission priests, an old and disused collegiate building called the College des Bons Enfants, which was in his gift. The next step was to find a Superior, and here the brothers and sister laid their heads together, not to consider whom they should appoint — on that point there was not a moment's hesitation — but as to how best to overcome the objections which they thought he 54 S- Vincent de Paul would raise, and oblige Vincent de Paul to allow himself to be put at the head of the work. In this they probably had less difficulty than they expected. God, who by His providence had so guided all things to that end, doubtless made known His will to the inward ear of the saintly man whom He had chosen for this great work, and he at once agreed to their proposal that he should accept the headship of the college, and as such should consent — 1. To be Superior over any priests who might join him there, and have direction over all missions which they should undertake. 2. That the foundation and endowment should be made in his name, on behalf of the College of Mission Priests ; and 3. That he should have the choice of those per- sons whom he judged to be fit, and rightly disposed for this pious work, and that the acceptance or rejection of candidates should rest with him alone. The business being so far settled, nothing re- mained but the formal execution of it. On the 1st of March 1624, the Archbishop of Paris sent to Vincent the rules and constitutions of the corpora- tion of the College des Bons Enfants, and on the 17th of April, in the following year, the Count and Deed of Endowment 5 5 Countess de Joigny jointly executed the deed of endowment, in which they declare that " God hav- ing given them for several years the desire to pro- mote His honour, both on their own estates and in other places, they had observed that whereas it had pleased His Divine Majesty of His infinite mercy to provide for the spiritual necessities of the in- habitants of towns, by the preaching and catechiz ing of numerous holy religious and learned divines whereby the spirit of devotion is kept alive in them, the poor people in the country are in a manner forsaken. That it seemed to them that a remedy might be found for this evil, by the associa- tion of certain ecclesiastics of known learning, piety, and ability, who should be willing to abstain from all work in towns, and also to renounce all benefices and dignities of the Church, in order to devote them- selves wholly and unreservedly, under the direction of the bishops, to the conversion of the said poor country people ; going from village to village (at the charge of their common purse) preaching, instructing, exhorting, and catechizing these poor folk, and lead- ing them to make general confessions of their whole past lives," and that these ministrations were to be performed " without receiving from them remunera- tion of any sort or kind whatsoever, in order that, $6 S. Vincent de Paul having freely received at the hand of God, they may freely give. " That in thankfulness for the graces and mercies which they have received, and daily receive from the Divine Majesty; and in order to co-operate with His burning desire for the salvation of souls ; in honour of the mystery of the Incarnation, and of the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ ; for love of His holy Mother, and also to endeavour to obtain grace so to live for the rest of their days that they may, with their children, attain everlasting glory ; that with these intentions, the said ' Seigneur et Dame ' have given and bestowed the sum of 40,000 livres, which they have paid over into the hands of M. Vincent de Paul, under the following charges and conditions." And then the deed goes on to say that because of the confidence they have in him, and by reason of the experience which he has already had in mission work, " the said ' Seigneur et Dame ' ex- pressly desire that it should be in the power of the said Sieur de Paul to elect and choose every year as many ecclesiastics as the revenue of their Foundation would bear, whose learning, piety, and holiness of life should be known to him, to labour at the said work under his direction, during his life. " That the said ecclesiastics and others who shall JJeed of Jindowment 57 now, or at any future time, desire to give themselves to this holy work, shall devote themselves entirely to the care of the poor in country places, and to this end shall bind themselves not to preach, nor to administer the Sacraments, in any town where there is a bishop, or archbishop, or a civil court of justice, except in cases of manifest necessity. " That they shall live in common, under the obedi- ence of the said Sieur de Paul, and, after his decease, of their Superior, under the name of the Company or Congregation of Mission Priests — ' Compagnie ou Congr6gation des Pr^tres de la Mission.' " That they shall be bound to hold missions every five years throughout the estates of the said Seigneur et Dame, and also to give spiritual assist- ance to poor convicts (forgats). " That the said Seigneur et Dame are co-founders of this work, and as such, that they, their heirs and successors, descendants of their family, shall for ever enjoy the rights and prerogatives granted to patrons by the Holy Canons, excepting always the right of nominating to any office, which they have re- nounced." The deed contains some other rules and directions concerning the life of the mission priests, both during their missions and in the intervals between them, 58 5. Vincent de Paul too long to be quoted here ; enough has been given to show with what a pure intention, and single desire for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, this work was founded. It is remarkable that no mention is made of prayers or masses for the founders, nor of any other office to be discharged towards them, either during their life or after their death. It is plain that their one desire was to leave the mission priests free from all duties that might in any way interfere with or interrupt their work for the poor and ignorant, and in them . for God and His Church. One only token there is of a thought for them- selves, in a clause of the deed, whereby " the said Seigneur et Dame " make a stipulation that " the said Sieur de Paul " should not, on account of his charge of this institution, cease to reside in their house, and to continue to them and to their family the spiritual assistance which for so many years they had received from him. CHAPTER IV. VINCENT IS APPOINTED CONFESSOR TO THE CONVENT . OF THE VISITATION, AND CHAPLAIN-GENERAL OF CONVICTS AND GALLEY SLAVES — GOES TO MAR- SEILLES—VISITS MACON— RETURNS TO THE COLLEGE DES BONS ENFANTS — SKETCH OF HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER. rT^HE direction of the Congregation of Mission •*~ Priests was not the only charge laid upon Vincent during the time of his residence in the Comte de Joigny's house. He was chosen by the saintly Bishop of Geneva, Francis de Sales, to be confessor and spiritual guide to the Convent of the Visitation, lately established by Madame de Chautal in Paris, and, about the same time — strange con- trast — was appointed by the king, Louis xiii., Chaplain-General of convicts and galley-slaves ! Of the first of these appointments it need only be said that hardly any higher testimony could have 6o 5. Vincent de Paul been borne, not only to his personal holiness, but to the repute in which he was held as a skilled guide of souls. In the " Vie Devote," speaking of the choice of a spiritual guide, S. Francis de Sales says, that he must be one chosen out of ten thousand, and that there are fewer than one can say who are capable of this office. If such was his sense of the difficulty of finding a trustworthy spiritual guide for any single soul, how much more anxious and difficult a thing must he have felt it to make choice of one for the infant community in which he took so deep an interest, which was rapidly growing, and whose guidance required all the more light and grace in him who should undertake it, inasmuch as the reli- gious life is higher than that of the world, and any failure or shortcoming in those who follow it more injurious to the Church than the imperfections of ordinary Christians. There were at this time in Paris many ecclesi- astics older than Vincent, and eminent for learning and piety ; but the holy Bishop of Geneva, after long consideration and consultation with Madame de Chautal, and having, according to his own advice to Philothea, laid the matter before God in length- ened prayer, came to the conclusion that he could Confessor to the Nuns of the Visitation 6\ not do better for his spiritual children than to commit them to the charge of Vincent de Paul. The office thus laid upon him, Vincent continued to discharge till his death. More than once, indeed, he sought to lay it down, feeling that, as a Mission Priest, his call was to the poor, the ignorant, and the neglected, rather than to a religious community of devout and well-instructed women, hut his resigna- tion was not accepted. Not content with fulfilling the duties which came to him in this and other ways, Vincent's spirit of burning love for souls, and zeal for God's service, was always finding fresh fields of work ; and as in the country, he sought out the poorest, most igno- rant, and degraded, and made them his special care ; so, when residing at Paris, he devoted his spare time to visiting the cells of condemned prisoners, and seeking to bring some amelioration to their miserable condition, both of soul and body. Frightful was the state in which he found these poor creatures during the interval, sometimes a very long one, which elapsed between their con- demnation and their removal to the galleys at Marseilles or Toulon. Loaded with chains, and confined in dark dungeons, Vincent found them huddled together, half naked, half starved, devoured 62 >S. Vincent de Paid by vermin, and utterly neglected both in body and soul. The fact that his friend and patron, M. de Gondi, was at this time general of the galleys of France, may have had something to do with turning Vin- cent's energies in this direction. Be that as it may, he availed himself of it to procure some alleviation of the poor convicts' miseries. He appealed to the Count on their behalf, told him the condition in which he had found them, and reminded him that, by virtue of the office which he held, they were in a certain sense committed to his care, and that he was bound to see to their welfare as well before as after they were removed to the galleys. At the same time he laid before him a plan by which he thought this might be done. The Count, who was ever ready to attend to the suggestions of his good chaplain, at once authorized him to carry out his design. Acting upon this per- mission, Vincent hired a house in the Faubourg S. Honored near the Church of S. Eoch, to which, as soon as it could be made ready, the poor criminals were transferred while awaiting their removal to the galleys. This was a work after Vincent's own heart ; here he delighted to spend all the time he could. He Chaplain-General of Convicts 63 visited them, instructed them, prepared them for confession and communion, himself administered those sacraments to them, and, not content with caring for their souls, he did all he could for the relief of their bodies also. Two devoted priests, M. Portail and M. Belin, joined him in this work of love. They lived in the Convicts' Home, minis- tered to them continually, and celebrated the Holy Eucharist daily in the house. M. de Gondi, seeing the good that Vincent had done to these men, and wishing to give a wider scope to his charity, obtained for him, from King Louis xiii., the appointment of Chaplain-General of the Galleys. This new office obliged Vincent to make a journey to Marseilles in order to inspect the galleys, and ascertain the condition of the poor convicts, with a view to procuring for them such relief as was possible. Pitiable beyond words was the state of things which he found there. Eeckless misery, blank de- spair, and blasphemy combined, seemed to make of the Bagne a hell upon earth. Touched with feelings of the deepest compassion for these miserable beings, Vincent set himself to comfort and assist them in all ways in his power. Above all, he tried by a loving 64 vS". Vincent de Paul tenderness towards them to soften their hearts and bring them to a state in which they might be suscep- tible of good. He listened patiently to their com- plaints, pitied their sufferings, and did all he could to obtain some mitigation of the severity with which they were treated. And the proofs of his tender compassion and brotherly love went further still, for, finding among the convicts a young man whose case was peculiarly hard, and who was broken-hearted at the thought of his wife and young children left destitute, Vincent prevailed with the officer in charge of the gang to let him take his place, and set the young man free to return to his family. In order to investigate more thoroughly the state of the galleys, Vincent had pre- served a strict incognito, and neither the officer in charge, nor his fellow-galley-slaves had any idea who it was that had made this strange request. It appears that for several weeks he worked in chains with the rest of the gang, until the Count de Joigny, alarmed at hearing nothing from him, caused inquiries to be made which led to his release. The story is indeed a marvellous one, and may well seem almost incredible, because of the great im- probability of the circumstances attending it ; it seems, however, to be sufficiently attested, and there Voluntary Captivity 65 is nothing in it too hard to be believed of a heart so full of love and self-sacrifice as was that of Vincent de Paul. 1 Precious surely in the sight of God and angels, even as " the marks of the Lord Jesus,'' must have been the wounds which Vincent ever after bore, from the pressure of the iron on his ankles, already injured by the fetters of his former captivity, and from this time forward affected by a painful disease, which, as we shall see, caused him for many years of his life great and continually increasing suffering. On his return from Marseilles, Vincent passed through the town of Macon, which lies on the high- road between Lyons and Paris. As soon as he en- tered it he found himself surrounded by a clamorous crowd of beggars. From some cause which is not explained, it appears that the place was at this time 1 It is not given without some hesitation, both on account of the d priori improbability of the circumstances necessarily attending it, and also because it has been disputed. But the testimonies to its truth, quoted by M. Maynard, seem fully to justify it, and having by accident had the opportunity of consulting a very in- telligent and well-informed French gentleman, Governor of a large House of Correction, and who has been for many years Inspector of Prisons in various parts of France, he gave a decided opinion that there was nothing in the story at all incredible or beyond what might very well have happened, the loose state of discipline and penal management at that period having been such that, pro- vided the number of convicts in a gang was complete, it was not likely that the authorities would concern themselves with the identity of the individuals. — Ed. E 66 S. Vincent de Paul thronged with, an extraordinary number of daring mendicants of utterly depraved character and habits, without pretence of religion or any regard to law, either human or divine ; by their numbers and in- solence they fairly terrified the inhabitants, and lived by the tax which they regularly levied upon the in- dustrious and well-conducted part of the population. They were so numerous that no one dared to check them, fearing an outbreak of sedition, and so the evil waxed worse and worse. Vincent de Paul was not the man to let such a state of things pass, when once it had been brought before him, without attempting a reform, though he was but a passing traveller, and had to contend not only with the ragged and lawless throng, but also with the almost inconceivable timidity and want of energy in the authorities. Undismayed by all these difficulties, he boldly set about the work, first secur- ing the support of the civil and ecclesiastical func- tionaries. He next formed an association, both among the men and the women of the town, to help in correcting this crying abuse ; with their assistance he had lists made of all the beggars, their circum- stances were inquired into, and they were divided into two classes — the hardened mendicants, whose trade was begging, and the really suffering poor, who At Macon 6j were only driven by real necessity to ask for alms. For these last care and nursing in time of sickness was provided, as elsewhere by the confraternities of charity, together with such help at other times as might be found needful to supplement their own efforts, care being taken not to let the charit- able relief encourage them in idleness or dependence. For the regular beggars, it was arranged that certain alms should be distributed to them by fixed rules. They were to present themselves every Sunday at one particular church, to attend the service there, and receive religious instruction ; after which they were to receive an allowance of bread, a little money, and firing in winter ; but this relief was bestowed only on condition that they never begged, and that no private alms were given them. In case of any breach of this rule, or other misconduct, their weekly allowance was withdrawn. The necessary funds for this were provided by contributions, either in money or kind, from the clergy and others, who were thankful to be thus re- lieved from the perpetual annoyance and exactions of the beggars. Certain fines and fees were also allotted by the municipal authorities to the same purpose, and collections were made in the churches every Sunday by the young ladies of Macon. 68 S. Vincent de Paul From these sources a sufficient income was col- lected to provide for the distribution every week of twelve hundred pounds of bread, and thirty-five francs in money, besides linen, wood, and coal, which amounted to a considerable sum. There were also the fees for medical attendance, wages to two women for nursing the sick, and payment for two beadles, whose business it was to keep the streets clear of beg- gars, and to see that strangers who came into the town for the night had a lodging provided for them, and were sent off next morning, with an alms of two sous each. Three weeks were spent by Vincent in the arduous work of organizing and arranging this charity. When all was in working order he wished to continue his journey to Paris, but the gratitude of the inhabitants of Macon for his exertions, and for the wonderful improvement which he had brought about, was so great, that he was obliged to leave the town secretly by night, to avoid a public ovation. After his wife's death, M. de Gondi earnestly entreated Vincent to remain with him, but he had never been in his element in a great house ; and although one cannot help seeing how, in the good Providence of God, his connexion with the family of de Gondi was designed to furnish him with means and opportunities for some of his greatest works, yet Retires to the ColUge des Bons Enfants 69 one cannot wonder that, having been now twenty- five years a priest, and having finished the work which had been given him to do for the sanctification of the departed soul, he felt that the time was come when he might lawfully follow the strong drawings of heart which led him to desire a life more with- drawn from the world, and allowing of more un- divided devotion to a priest's proper work than was possible for him as long as he was an inmate of the Count de Joigny's house. He therefore very earnestly asked, and at last with difficulty obtained, the Count's permission to resign the place which he had so long held in his family, and to move into the College des Bons Enfants, of which, as has been said, he was already Principal. It must have been with the feelings of a storm- tossed mariner, who is able at last to steer his boat safely into port, and to drop his anchor in the calm haven where he would be, that this faithful servant of God took up his abode in the religious house which he looked upon as henceforth to be his home. He had long renounced all the honours and dig- nities of the world, and his desire now was to labour without interruption at perfecting holiness in his own soul, and to carry on diligently all those good yo S. Vincent de Paul works which he had been instrumental in setting on foot for the glory of God and the salvation of men. Vincent de Paul was at this time forty-nine years of age. He is described as having been of middle height, and well-proportioned figure. He was some- what bald, and his head was rather large, but not so as to be out of proportion to his body. His fore- head was broad and commanding, his eye keen, his hearing acute, and his bearing grave, but gentle. His natural manner had something of dryness, and was not attractive, at least to persons of the upper class ; to the poor he was always most winning. It was a trouble to Madame de Gondi; not on her own account, but because she thought it hindered his influence. She told him of it, and he set himself at once to correct it. He made it the special subject of his attention in one of his retreats, and, by the grace of God, he succeeded so perfectly in changing it, that it was said of him, as of S. F. de Sales, that it was hard to find a man who made religion so at- tractive, or who had so great a power of winning hearts. He' was of a rather florid complexion, and had the appearance of robust health ; but was very sensitive to changes of the atmosphere, and, later in life, was liable to attacks of fever. Personal Appearance, etc. 71 He was gifted with a large mind, capable of great things, — staid, composed, deliberate. He never took up anything lightly, but when he did apply himself to a subject, he went into it thoroughly, penetrating, so to speak, to the very marrow or kernel of it, and taking in all its bearings and consequences; but, unless obliged to do so, he did not at once give his opinion, and never formed a judgment on any point without weighing well both sides of the question. He was never hurried in matters of business, nor disturbed and flurried by the number of things to which he had to attend, or by any difficulties or complications which might arise; but with an un- alterable calmness he applied his powerful mind wholly to each affair in its turn, and never suffered either inward peace or outward tranquillity to be disturbed. When a matter was under discussion, he readily listened to others, and never interrupted any one ; while, on the other hand, if he was himself inter- rupted, he stopped short at once, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and waited in silence till the other person had quite done speaking before he finished what he had to say. He was not given to use many words, but what he said was simple, clear, distinct, and to the point, 72 5. Vincent de Paul and his speech was not without a certain natural eloquence and persuasiveness, which generally carried his hearers along with him. He was specially averse from all novelties and singularities in religion, and disliked changes of all kinds ; it was one of his maxims that if things were well, one should not be too ready to change them, with a view to making them better. He had a noble, generous, and tender heart, ready to attach itself with warm affection to what was really good ; but he had acquired such command over all his natural impulses that to ordinary beholders it might appear as if he had none. Few persons who have been thrown as he was into such varied circumstances, and brought into contact with so many people, and of such different ranks and characters, have been able to hold a course, not only in itself so blameless, but so entirely free from reproach. Vincent's temperament was by nature" rather slow, and on principle he avoided most carefully all haste and precipitation either in forming a judgment or in acting upon it. He had always a great dread of outrunning in the very least the grace of God, or the guidings of His Providence, and though always ready for any work to which he was led, he used to Character and Maxims 73 express a wish that it had pleased God to work without him, and not through him. He was fully persuaded that the Divine Wisdom did all things well, and also that man in general, and "ce miserable" (as he was accustomed to call himself) in particular, for the most part hindered and marred what he took in hand. His deep humility and lowly esteem of himself was his most striking characteristic. He seldom spoke of himself at all, but if he did, it was as if he were a mass of sin and evil, and had cause to bless God, not for singular graces and gifts of the Holy Ghost bestowed upon him, but rather for the pa- tience which the Divine Mercy showed towards him in bearing so long with what he was accustomed to call his abominable unfaithfulness. There were two maxims in particular which ruled the life of Vincent de Paul, and which he was at pains to impress upon all those who attached them- selves to him. The first was, not to rest satisfied with a feeling of love to God in the heart, with glowing thoughts of His goodness, and great desires for His glory, but to make this love active, and to give proof of it in works. " Let us love God, my brethren," he said one day, when addressing the members of his Community, 74 S. Vincent de Paul " but let it be at the cost of the labour of our arms, and of the sweat of our brow ; for very often these frequent acts of the love of God, of delighting in Him and longing for Him, and other such affections of a fervent heart, though very good and desirable in themselves, are nevertheless to be looked on with suspicion where they do not lead us to the practice of an active love. ' Herein,' our Lord says, ' is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit.' This is what we must look to ; there are many who having attained to a composed and well-regulated exterior, and to an interior filled with great thoughts of God, rest there, and when it comes to deeds, or there is occasion for them to act, they stop short. They pride themselves on their warm feelings ; they con- tent themselves with the sweetness of their com- munings with God in prayer ; they can speak of these things with the tongues of angels ; but beyond this, if there is occasion to work for God, to suffer, to mortify themselves, to instruct the poor, to seek the lost sheep, to be willing to dispense with some comforts, to welcome sickness or any other misfor- tune — alas, they are no longer there, their courage fails them. No, no ! let us not deceive ourselves ; all our work consists in doing (Totum opus nostrum in operalione consistit).'' Ruling Maxims 75 The second ruling maxim of this holy man was, always to behold in others our Lord Jesus Christ, and thus to kindle a fervent desire in the heart to render them all possible duties and services of charity. So completely had this principle possessed his own soul, that he saw our Lord in all persons, whosoever and whatsoever they might be. He saw Him as High-priest and Head of His Church iu the sovereign Pontiff ; in bishops he beheld Him as the Shepherd and Bishop of souls; as a Priest in priests; as a Teacher in teachers. In kings he saw Him the King of kings ; in nobles, as One of high birth ; as a wise Judge in rulers and magistrates, and all in authority ; and inasmuch as the kingdom of heaven is likened to a merchantman seeking goodly pearls, in traders he beheld Him as a Merchant. He found Him as a Workman in artisans ; as a Poor Man in the poor ; as suffering and dying in the sick and the dying. Thus seeing the Lord in all sorts and condi- tions of men, and in each one in particular contem- plating an image of our Divine Saviour, he stirred up himself by this thought to honour, and love, and serve each in our Lord, and our Lord in each. And this practice he set before others as an effectual method to make their charity towards their neigh- bour more perfect. CHAPTER V. CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION — ITS SMALL BEGINNING —RAPID GROWTH — VINCENT ACCEPTS THE PRIORY OF S. LAZARUS — NEED OF MISSIONS — METHOD OF CONDUCTING THEM. "TTT"HElSr Vincent began his residence in the ' * Mission Priests' Home, he had only two companions — one was M. Portail, who had helped him in his work for the convicts ; the name of the other is not mentioned. These three carried on the work of Missions to- gether; they went from village to village, giving their first attention to the estates of the Count de Joigny, but gradually enlarging the circle of their work to other parishes, though chiefly confining themselves at first to the diocese of Paris ; and as they kept no servants, and had no one to leave in charge of the house during their absence, they used to lock it up and leave the keys with some of their neighbours. Beginning of his Congregation 77 This humble beginning was a fitting expression of the interior spirit of lowliness and self-abasement with which these good men entered on their work. They looked upon themselves as the last and least of all those who were engaged in the ministry of the Church, and as called to the lowliest offices, in the instruction and care of the poor and sick in the most neglected and unknown places. They made them- selves in fact the servants, not only of the parochial clergy whose duties they discharged, but of poor peasants, convicts, and the most degraded and miser- able of the people. And all this without return of any kind, purely for the love of God ; counting it an honour to be allowed to serve our Lord Jesus Christ in these His poor members, and gratefully accepting it as a personal favour when the clergy allowed them to carry on their works of love in their parishes. Truly in them was fulfilled the word of God, that " He giveth grace to the humble." In the year 1626 the Archbishop of Paris issued a formal approbation of the Institution of Mission Priests ; and in the following year Louis xm. by his letters-patent granted to the Society permission to establish themselves in community in any part of his kingdom of France that they might choose, and also conferred upon them the status of a legal corporation, 78 5. Vincent de Paul and the right to receive any legacies or gifts that might be bestowed upon them. Six more priests were soon after added to the Society, and to complete its establishment and organi- zation, it received the approval of the Holy See in a Bull of Pope Urban viii., by which it was con- stituted a religious body, under the title of " Pre'tres de la Congregation de la Mission," and power was given to Vincent to frame all needful rules and laws for its due and proper management. The seed having been sown, and the young plant having thus taken firm root, the growth was wonder- fully rapid. In the course of the first seven years, 140 Missions had been held by them, and their num- bers had so greatly increased, that the small and somewhat sorry buildings of their old College had become inconveniently narrow, and hardly sufficed for their accommodation. They concerned them- selves very little about this ; all their time and thoughts were given to the work to which they had dedicated themselves ; but while they were working thus for God, He in His Providence was preparing for them a place which should afford means and opportunity for the full development of the great and varied works to which, in His secret counsels, Vincent and his company were called. S. Lazarus 79 Outside the walls of Paris, between the city and S. Denys, there stood a large conventual building called the Priory of S. Lazarus. The date of its foundation is unknown, the earliest deeds and records belonging to it having perished during the wars with England ; but it is believed to have been very ancient, and to have occupied the site of an old abbey, which had been destroyed by the Normans in the ninth century. On its ruins there was raised, about 300 years later, a vast lazar-house, or hospital for lepers, who were then very numerous in Paris. The disease had been brought from the East, chiefly by the Crusaders ; and, at the time of the death of Louis vil, there are said to have been 2000 persons thus afflicted in the town of Paris alone. The hospital is believed to have been built in the first half of the twelfth century, and the situation was chosen because it was outside the walls, and quite clear of the city. It seems to have been the custom for the kings of France, when going to S. Denys on any solemn occa- sion, to make a visit to the Hospital of S. Lazarus ; within its extensive precincts there was a kind of Lodge or Royal Pavilion, appropriated to their use ; it was there, that on first coming to the throne, they used to receive the oaths of fidelity from all orders of the town, before they made their solemn 80 >S. Vincent de Paul entry into Paris; and on the death of the King, his body was always first carried to the Church of S. Lazarus, and lay there for one hour before it was taken with solemn pomp by the monks of S. Denys to the royal vaults. In consequence of this connexion with the crown, the Hospital and Community of S. Lazarus had been endowed with various gifts and privileges; their territorial domain was very large, extending over all that tract of land which, in the modern city, lies between the terminus of the Strasbourg Eailway and that of the Eouen and Havre line. Of course all trace of it is now blotted out, and like our own great cities, Paris has spread itself over the fields and farms which belonged to it ; but the names of the Eue S. Lazare at one end, at such a distance from the Con- vent, now a prison, at the other, shows how far the property of the hospital reached. It was the first ecclesiastical Seigneury in the kingdom, and had legal rights and power of life and death over its vassals. The sick in the hospital had a right to choose every year ten hogsheads of wine out of the royal cellars. And every Eogation-tide, the Chapter of the Cathe- dral of Paris made a procession to the Church of S. Lazarus, an honour not granted to the oldest parish church in the city. S. Lazarus The Lazar-house was served by a community of monks and nuns — the brothers ministered to the sick in spiritual things, the sisters in bodily. By degrees, as the frightful disease of leprosy died out, the original purpose of the hospital no longer existed, but the buildings remained, with their spacious pre- cincts, extensive possessions, and dependencies, occupied by a prior and a few monks, one of the richest and grandest of the benefices belonging to the richly endowed Church of France. Such was the home which, without his seeking, or rather, it should be said, in spite of his strenuous opposition, God's Providence had designed for Vincent de Paul and his little company. The history of its transfer to him, and how the poor Mission Priest found himself, in spite of himself, in- stalled in the grand old hospital convent, possessed of its vast buildings and dependencies, and invested with all the ecclesiastical and civil rights and powers which belonged to the Prior of S. Lazarus, has been fully recorded by M. Lestocq, doctor of the Sorbonne and incumbent of the Church of S. Lawrence in Paris. He was a friend of Vincent's, and it was through his intervention that the business was ac- complished. After Vincent's death, at the request of his suc- F 5. Vincent de Paul cessor, he drew up a statement of all that had taken place on the occasion. It is a very curious history ; the circumstances attending it are so characteristic of Vincent de Paul, and the whole story is so quaintly told, that it must be given at length, as nearly as may be in M. Lestocq's own words : — " In the year 1630, Monsieur Adrien le Bon, monk of the Order of Canons-Eegular of S. Augustine, and Prior of S. Lazarus, had some difference with his brethren, which led him to wish to make an exchange of the said priory for another benefice. He would have found no difficulty in doing so, as the Priory of S. Lazarus was a very desirable position in a worldly point of view, and many abbeys and other wealthy benefices were offered him in exchange. But having mentioned his intention to his friends, they dissuaded him from it, and said that the disagreement which had arisen between him and his monks might be accommodated by a mutual conference. This was agreed to on both sides, and the meeting took place. The Prior made a statement of his grievances, which the Sub-Prior answered on behalf of the monks, after which it was agreed that they should draw up a formal rule of life to be followed for the future. This was done ; but, notwithstanding, Monsieur the Prior still persevered in his wish to give up his Priory ; The Prior's Offer 83 and having heard talk of certain good priests who devoted themselves to conducting Missions, under the direction of one Monsieur Vincent, of whom he knew nothing, it came into his mind, that if he were to establish them in the said Priory, he might, by doing so, have some share in the work which they were doing in the Church. He inquired where they lived, and having been informed of the place, he begged me as a neighbour and friend to go with him, which I did very willingly, telling him that he could not do better, and that this thought could only have come from Heaven, which had raised up these good priests for the benefit of the country, where there was sore need of them, both for the instructions they gave to the villagers, and also for hearing the confessions of their sins at the tribunal of penitence, where the poor unburdened their consciences freely and entirely, and made known things which they had not dared to say to the confessors of the place, either from shame or for want of being questioned. I told him that I could answer for this with con- fidence, as I had been with them, and had had experience of their work, that at all events he would see in their company a man of God, meaning M. Vincent, who was their director. So we went together to the College des Bons Enfants near the 84 5. Vincent de Paul Gate of S. Victor, and there M. the Prior, in conver- sation with M. Vincent, informed him of the matter which had brought him there, which was, that he had heard a very good account of his congregation, and of the charitable works to which they devoted themselves for the benefit of the poor country people ; that he would be happy if he could help in any way to forward their work, and that he had the House of S. Lazarus, which he would will- ingly make over to them for such a worthy purpose. " This offer, so full of advantages, greatly surprised this humble servant of God, and had the same effect upon him as an unexpected clap of thunder which comes upon a man suddenly, and leaves him as it were stunned ; which, when the good Prior per- ceived, he said, ' Eh, what, Monsieur, you tremble % ' ' It is true, Monsieur,' was the reply, ' that your proposition startles me, and it appears to me so far beyond us that I should not dare to think of it. We are poor priests, who live in great simplicity, without any other purpose than that of being of service to poor people in the country. We are very greatly obliged to you, Monsieur, for your good-will towards us, and we very humbly thank you.' In a word, he showed plainly that he had no inclination to accept this offer ; on the contrary, he drew back His Reluctance to accept 85 from it so entirely as to take away all hopes of his changing his mind on the matter. Nevertheless, M. Vincent's sweet and affable ways so touched the heart of M. le Bon, that he would not give up his design, and told him that he would give him six months to think of it. "At the end of this time he begged me to go with him once more, that he might see M. Vincent again ; he repeated his proposal, and conjured him to accept his Priory ; assuring him that he felt him- self more and more guided by God to place it in his hands. I, for my part, pressed him also, and prayed M. Vincent not to refuse so grand an oppor- tunity. " All this had no effect in changing his mind and his decision; he insisted that their number was too small ; that their society was only just born ; that he did not wish to be talked about ; that the thing would make a noise ; that he did not like notoriety ; and lastly, that they did not deserve this favour from M. the Prior. " Upon this, M. le Bon, hearing the bell ring for dinner, said to M. Vincent that he should like to dine with him and his community : and this,'in fact, he did, and I also. " The modest behaviour of these priests, their 86 5. Vincent de Paul good reading, and all their orderly conduct, pleased M. le Bon so much that he conceived a great vener- ation and love for them, and would not let me leave off urging M. Vincent to yield, which I did again and again, as many as twenty times in the space of six months, till it came to this, that, being a great friend of M. Vincent's, I told him many times that he was resisting the Holy Ghost, and that he would have to answer before God for this refusal, inasmuch as he might by this means establish his Society, and form a body and a congregation complete in all respects. " I cannot tell with what importunity we pursued him. Jacob did not toil with so much patience for Rachel, nor seek the blessing of the Angel with such perseverance, as M. the Prior and I were obliged to use, in order to get one ' Yes ' from M. Vincent to our pressing requests that he would accept the offer. We cried after him more vehemently than the woman of Canaan after the Apostles. " At last, at the end of a year, M. the Prior ven- tured to say to him, ' Monsieur, what a man you are ! If you will not listen to us in this matter, tell us at least of whom do you take counsel % who is there in whom you have confidence ? what friend have you in Paris to whom we may refer to get the Consents at last 87 question settled ? for I have the consent of all my monks, and I only want yours. There is no one who wishes you well but would advise you to accept what I offer you.' " Then M. Vincent mentioned M. Andre Duval, doctor of the Sorbonne, a holy man, and author of some Lives of Saints. We will do,' he said, ' what- ever he shall advise.' Whereupon M. the Prior went to call upon him, and having gone into the plan together, they agreed upon the conditions, and a deed was drawn on 7th of January 1632, between the Prior and Monks of S. Lazarus for the one part, and M. Vincent, with the Priests of his congregation, for the other." The Prior was to have the right to reside in the convent during his life, to take part in the chapel services, and both in the chapter and in the refectory to retain his place as former, Superior. He was to have a certain charge upon the revenues of the con- vent ; all moneys due up to the day that Vincent entered into possession were to be his, and he was to receive payment for all provisions and stores actually in the house. The Monks were to be free to leave the convent if they pleased ; in which case they were to receive an annual pension of five hundred francs each, pro- 5. Vincent de Paul vided that their place of abode and manner of life were approved by the Archbishop of Paris. If, on the other hand, they chose to remain at S. Lazarus, they might do so ; they were then to board with the brethren of the Mission, and their yearly allowance was to be three hundred francs each. All were to have the right of medical treatment from the infirmary of the convent free of all cost, if they should require it, and of sepulture at S. Lazarus, with the rites and cemeronies customary towards benefactors. The conditions proposed were at once accepted without difficulty or hesitation by Vincent, except one which he absolutely refused to agree to. The good Prior, who was conscious of the lax condition of his monks, and had tried in vain to reform them, thought that it would greatly tend to their improve- ment if they were to occupy the same dormitory as the Brethren of the Mission. The sons of M. Vin- cent, he thought, were too good to take any harm, and his monks could not fail to be the better for associating with them. But Vincent would not hear of such an arrange- ment. He was determined not to expose his chil- dren to the danger he knew there would be in the society of the lax and indevout ; and he declared Arrangements with the Prior 89 that he would rather break off all negotiations at once than agree to this condition. Another little hitch arose about the habit which M. le Bon wished them to adopt, but which Vincent thought would convey the impression that the Mis- sion Priests, in going to S. Lazarus, had abandoned something of the simplicity of their character. These two points the Prior was obliged to give up ; all the rest were accepted. " And thus did M. Vincent yield at last to the importunate appeals that were made to him, amongst others by myself, who can truly say that I talked myself hoarse, 'raucce facta sunt fauces mem.' I would gladly have taken this Father of Missionaries upon my shoulders, and carried him to S. Lazarus, to oblige him to accept it ; but he paid no regard to the external advantages of the place and of all that goes with it, and he never even went to see it all this time, so that it was not the grand position which drew him there at last, but only the will of God, and the thought of the spiritual good which it might enable him to do. " And so, having at last accepted with this one motive, after making all imaginable resistance, on the morrow, being the 8th of January 1632, he went there, and everything was done pleasantly, and 90 .S. Vincent de Paul to the satisfaction of the whole house. - This it is which makes it evident that 'digitus Dei Mc est,' that it was the promised land, to which Abraham was led ; I mean M. Vincent, a true Abraham, and great servant of God, whose children are destined to fill the earth with blessing, and whose descendants shall endure for ages to come." The deed of gift by which Vincent and his com- munity were put in possession of S. Lazarus was ratified at the time by the Archbishop of Paris, and confirmed three years later by Pope Urban VIII., in a Bull dated 15th of March 1635. It has been said that in the space of the first seven years, before they moved to S. Lazarus, one hundred and forty missions had been held, either by Vincent himself or by members of his community ; and from the year 1632 to his death in 1660, no less than seven hundred missions were held, by priests from S. Lazarus alone, not to speak of those conducted by priests from branch houses of the Society, which were by that time established in no less than six- and-twenty dioceses of France. What good was thus done throughout the Church of France, how the parochial clergy themselves were in many cases roused to a sense of their high calling, how many poor souls, hidden indeed from the eyes Missions approved by Bishops of the world, and unknown to man, but precious in the sight of the Lord, were instructed, converted, and saved, will never be known till the Day of judg- ment. The outward and visible improvement wrought was so manifest as to attract the attention of all, both laymen and ecclesiastics, who had at heart the welfare of the Church and the promotion of true religion among the people ; and Vincent was con- tinually receiving letters from bishops, landed pro- prietors, and other persons of influence and position, begging him to come, or send some of his congrega- tion, to conduct missions in various places. The Bishop of Chartres, writing to him some years later, says : — " No more welcome or agreeable news could have reached me, than that which I have just received, namely, that you are willing to continue your mis- sions in my diocese if I approve. There is no diocese in France in which you are more absolutely at liberty to do what you will, and I know not whether there can be any in which missions would be more useful or more needful, on account of the extraordinary ignorance which I discover in my visitations, and which perfectly horrifies me. I will not determine anything : neither time, place, nor 92 5. Vincent de Paul work. I leave all to you ; to use the words of Abraham — 'Is not the whole land before thee V And I am truly, and with all my heart, yours, etc." Another bishop, writing to him in 1651, says : — " The Mission is one of the greatest and most needed benefits that I know of, for there is the greatest ignorance among our poor people, and if you could see what it is in my diocese, it would move your compassion. I can say with truth that the greater number are Catholics only in name, and because their fathers were so before them, and not from any knowledge of what it is to be a Catholic. And what causes us infinite trouble is, that if we attempt any reform in the diocese, those to whom it is not acceptable are just as ready to go to the Protestant Service (au Priche) as to Mass." Vincent was only too well aware by his own ex- perience of the extreme need the people had of instruction, and of all that could be done to revive their faith and devotion, but he never allowed his Missioners to work anywhere until they had re- ceived a written mandate from the Bishop of the diocese. This they were obliged to present to the parish priest, and obtain his full consent, and receive his blessing, or, in his absence, that of his curate, be- fore performing any function whatever in his parish. missions, memoa oj conducting 93 In case of a refusal, they were instructed to with- draw at once, humbly taking leave of the clergy who would not receive them, after the pattern of our Lord, when the people besought Him to depart out of their coasts. But if they were favourably received and wel- comed by the clergy of the place, their plan was for one of their company to open the Mission, on a Sunday or other Feast-day, by a sermon, generally preached in the morning, to give notice of the ap- proaching arrival of the Mission Priests, to explain the object of their coming, and to exhort the people to repentance, and to prepare for confession. Then again, after Vespers, there was usually an- other sermon, in which more particular instructions were given as to self-examination, with explana- tions of the Commandments, and of prevailing forms of sin, with renewed exhortations to repentance. After a few days, the other priests appointed to the work in this parish would arrive, and begin at once the regular Mission course. This consisted of preaching, catechizing old and young, hearing con- fessions, bringing about the reconciliation of those who were at enmity, visiting and consoling the sick, giving loving warning to the impenitent, remedying as far as possible any public abuses or irregularities, 94 •$• Vincent de Patd and generally performing all the spiritual works of mercy and charity which lay in their power, or for which Divine Providence found them opportunity. Notwithstanding the pressure of the work which generally flowed in upon them, they were most care- ful never to neglect their own proper practices of devotion, especially mental prayer, the reciting of the Divine Office in common, the Celebration of the Blessed Sacrament, general and particular examina- tion of conscience, and other spiritual exercises. Their time was all regularly marked out for them. They had fixed hours for rising and going to bed (except,indeed when the number of penitents was so great that in order to attend to them all it was needful to spend great part of the night in the Con- fessional). Time was allotted for refreshment, for meditation, for saying Mass and the Divine Office, and for all other exercises, as well as for the ser- mons, catechizings, hearing confessions, and other functions proper to the Mission. Three public instructions were generally given daily, namely, a sermon very early in the morning, at such an hour that poor labouring people could go to it before their work j an instruction in the lesser Catechism at one o'clock in the afternoon, and in the greater Catechism in the evening, when the work of Missions, method of conducting 95 the day was over. Vincent held the catechizing to be of the greatest importance. In a letter to one of his community he says :— " I have been much vexed to hear that in your Mission you preached in the evening instead of doing the greater Catechism. This ought not to be, first, because the morning preacher might not like the introduction of a second sermon ; secondly, because the people have greater need of catechizing, and it does more good ; thirdly, because in catechizing we seem to do greater honour to our Lord Jesus Christ, who chose it as His way of in- structing and converting the world; and fourthly, because it is our rule, and one which it has pleased God greatly to bless, in which also there is more room for the practice of humility.'' Towards the end of the Mission they prepared children who had not yet received it, for their first Communion ; and if there was time, they also took care to teach the little ones who were not of the right age to communicate, but were old enough to offend God by many faults, how to confess their sins, and gave them easy little instructions suited to their capacity, to prepare them for this duty. They were the more careful about this, because a practice had grown up in some places of making the chil- dren confess in public, and all together ; while in g6 S. Vincent de Paul others they were not brought to confession at all till they were of an age to make their first Com- munion. The. Mission Priests also made a point of seeing the schoolmaster or mistress of the place, talking over their work with them, entering into their diffi- culties, and giving them suggestions how best to draw the hearts of the little ones committed to their care to the love and service of God. And lastly, the parochial clergy themselves were not forgotten ; they were invited to spiritual con- ferences with the Mission Priests, in which the duties and responsibilities of their office were dwelt upon, and many helpful counsels given in that spirit of gentleness, humility, and brotherly love, which won their way into the hearts even of those who first received them with some suspicion and unwilling- ness. It does not come within the scope or purpose of this little work to give a full or detailed account of the Missions carried on by Vincent and his com- panions, the records of which would easily fill volumes. A few extracts from letters written at the time will serve to give some idea of the work and of its fruits. In the year 1636 M. Olier, the founder and first Missions, their Results gy Superior of S. Sulpice, writes to Vincent about a Mission which had been held at his request in the diocese of Saint Flour, and in which he had himself taken part. He says : — " The Mission was begun the Sunday after Ascension Day, and lasted till the 15th of this month. The people at first came as we could have wished, that is to say, as many as we were able to confess ; but towards the end they came in such crowds, and pressed us with such eagerness, that it was almost impossible for us to satisfy them. They might be seen from dawn of day until night, waiting in the church, without food or drink, for an oppor- tunity to make their confession. And sometimes for the sake of strangers, we were obliged to go on with the Catechism for more than two hours, and even then they went out hungering as much for the Word of God as when they came in. There was no room in the church for the crowds that filled it, even the doors and windows were crammed with listeners. The same thing was seen at the morning sermon and at the instruction in the evening." In a letter written the following year, giving an account of another Mission, he says that two thousand general confessions had been made in it. "We were beset with people, who came in great num- bers from seven or eight leagues' distance, in spite of G 98 5". Vincent de Paul the severe cold and the inconvenience of the place, which is a real desert. " These good people brought provisions for three or four days, and used to betake themselves to the barns ; and there they might be heard talking over amongst themselves what they had heard in the sermon or in the catechizing. And now we see the peasants and their wives keeping up the Mission themselves in their families ; the shepherds and the labourers singing the Commandments of God in the fields, and questioning one another on what they learned during the Mission." The following remarkable case is reported by Vincent himself. " I beg of you," he says, address- ing his community, "to return thanks to God for the blessing which He has bestowed on the Missions which have just been held, and particularly that of N., which was remarkable. There was a strange strife in this parish ; the inhabitants had a great dislike to their vicar ; and the vicar on his side had reason to complain of the ill-treatment he had received from his parishioners, on account of which he had gone to law with them, and had imprisoned three or four of the leaders, who had gone so far as to lay violent hands on him, or on some one belonging to him, in the church. The greater number of the parishioners Missions, tfieir Results 99 would not even hear his Mass, but left the church when he went to the altar ; it was a very bad state of things, such as I had never seen before. The people declared that they would never confess to him, but would rather pass their Easter without communi- cating. " Finding themselves in this condition, some of them came a little while ago to beg us to give them a Mission, This we did, and by God's mercy they have all returned to their duty. But that which we have special cause to bless God for is that they are perfectly reconciled with their pastor, and are now in great peace and unity, which is a cause of great satis- faction on both sides, and of equal gratitude ; for ten or twelve of them came to us here, to return thanks to us, on behalf of the whole parish, and said so much good of the Mission that it was a distress to me to hear it. " Who has done this, but God alone % Was it in the power of man to accomplish this reconciliation ? If a whole parliament had taken in hand to accom- modate matters between spirits so entirely alienated from one another, they would hardly have succeeded in bringing about even an outward pacification. It is then God who is the author of this good work, and to Whom we should return thanks, which I entreat ioo S. Vincent de Paul you to do with all the affection that you can : and also to implore His divine goodness that He will grant to our Society a united and uniting spirit (which is nothing else but the Holy Spirit Himself), in order that being always at one amongst ourselves we may be able to unite others also. For the very purpose of our Institution is to reconcile souls with God, and men with each other." But perhaps the most striking of all is the account given of a Mission held in Bretagne, in the diocese of S. Malo, in a letter written to Vincent by the Superior of the Mission Priests established in that diocese. " There were," he says, " every day, even working-days, more than twelve hundred persons present at the catechizing. The principal people of the place never failed to be there, as well as at the sermon. Several men and maid servants have been known to leave their masters and mistresses, because they would not allow them time to come, choosing rather to lose their situations than to miss such an opportunity for instruction. " There have been mothers who, after performing their own duties in the Mission, have hired them- selves out for service in place of their daughters, in order to procure for them the means of doing the same; and other servants have begged their masters Missions, their Results 101 and mistresses to allow them to attend the instruc- tions, and to deduct from their wages the time which was so employed, and in which they did not do their work. " On Quinquagesima Sunday and the two following days there was such a vast and extraordinary crowd of people who presented themselves to receive the Holy Eucharist, that it was found needful to con- tinue the administration till seven o'clock in the evening." And of another Mission he writes : — " Several men who came to me for confession told me that they had been waiting their turn in the church for ten days, and I believe this was the case with more than five hundred." Thus God was pleased to bless with an abundant harvest His servants' work ; nor were their labours confined to the Church of France ; they soon spread to neighbouring countries, and in process of time to more distant ones, so that before the death of Vincent we hear of Missions from his congregation in Italy, Switzerland, Corsica, Barbary, Poland, Ireland, the Hebrides, and Madagascar. CHAPTER VI. APPALLING STATE OF THE CLERGY— THE BISHOP OF BEAUVAIS CONSULTS VINCENT — INSTITUTION OF RE- TREATS FOR THE ORDINANDS — RULES, STUDIES, AND EXERCISES OF THE RETREATS — VINCENT PRO- MOTES THE USE OF RETREATS FOR ALL SORTS OF PERSONS. "T TIN CENT well knew how little lasting fruit was * to be expected from Missions, if, on the de- parture of the Mission Priests, the people were left to careless and indevout clergy, and it was his con- stant and most ardent desire to see this great evil remedied. He used to say that, as a conquering general, if he would keep possession of the towns which he has taken, must leave strong garrisons behind him ; so, after Satan had been driven from his strongholds, it was very necessary for faithful soldiers of Christ to occupy the ground ; and that, unless good and earnest priests could be provided to care for and State of the Clergy 103 help on the souls which had been won for God, it was almost certain that they would fall back again, and their last state be worse than the first ; and yet he was well aware, from his own acquaintance with the clergy in country places throughout the length and breadth of the land, as well as from the com- plaints which reached him from all sides, how few such were to be found. The terrible evils which prevailed at that time among the clergy are unhappily, as has been already said, but too well known as matter of history, and yet the picture drawn in some of the letters which Vincent received applying for help, is so appalling, that if the words were those of opponents, or of per- sons outside the Church, one could not but shrink from repeating them ; but they are the expressions of good and earnest Churchmen, who were doing all that in them lay to reform abuses and stem the tide of corruption. Such an one, an ecclesiastic of known piety, canon of a cathedral church, wrote to Vincent in 1642, in these words : " Here, in this diocese, the clergy are without discipline ; the people without fear ; the priests without devotion and without charity ; the pulpits without preachers ; learning is without hon- our; vice without rebuke; virtue is persecuted; 104 5. Vincent de Paul the authority of the Church is hated or despised ; private interest alone has any weight in the balance of the sanctuary ; the most scandalous are the most powerful, and flesh and blood have, as it were, sup- planted the Gospel and the Spirit of Christ. Your own mind, I feel sure, will move you sufficiently to come to the help of this diocese when you learn its great need. ' Quis novit utrum ad regnum idcirco veneris, ut in tali tempore parareris % ' The occasion is indeed worthy of your charity, if you will think seriously, as before our Lord, of the humble prayer which I make to you, and which comes from one of your first children." A good bishop wrote to him that he was labour- ing with his grand vicars, as much' as possible, for the good of his diocese, " but with very little success, on account of the great and unaccountable number of ignorant and vicious priests of which my clergy is composed, who can be reformed neither by word nor by example. I shudder at the thought that there are in my diocese nearly seven thousand drunken and immoral priests, who celebrate daily at the altar and have no vocation." Another prelate wrote, " Except the theological canon of my church, I do not know one single priest among all those of my diocese who is fit to under- The Bishop of Beauvais consults him 105 take any ecclesiastical office. You will judge by this in how great need we stand of labourers ; I implore you to leave us one of your Mission Priests to help us in our ordinations." Such an appeal as this was sure to meet with a ready response ; for Vincent had long felt that, if any effectual remedy was to be brought to this sore evil, it could be only by taking all possible pre- cautions to secure that henceforth none but fitting and duly prepared candidates should be admitted to Holy Orders. The See of Beauvais was at this time occupied by a- good and zealous bishop, M. de Gesvres, who had a great esteem for and confidence in Vincent, and frequently sent for him to Beauvais, or else himself visited him in Paris, in order to confer with him, and get his advice how best to deal with the evils which he found in his diocese, and especially with the lamentable state of his clergy. Vincent told him plainly that he believed it to be almost impossible to reform, or bring to true repent- ance and amendment, those who had grown old in sin, and in the desecration of the most holy things. He advised him rather to devote all his care and pains to procuring a better set of men for the future, and to this end he advised him, first, to receive none io6 5. Vincent de Paul as candidates for Holy Orders but those who were sufficiently instructed, and gave satisfactory proof of a true vocation; and, secondly, to endeavour that those who were admitted as ordinands should receive such training as might make them capable of ful- filling the obligations of their office, and imbue them with a truly ecclesiastical spirit. M. de Beauvais entered heartily into this view, and it is said that one day, as he was driving, aud Vincent and others were with him in the carriage, the good bishop remained long silent, with his eyes shut. Those who were with him thought he slept, and they took care not to speak lest they should disturb him, which, when he observed, he opened his eyes and told them that he had not been asleep, but had been pondering in his mind what would be the best way of training and preparing his ordi- nands, and that he thought it would be a good plan if he made them all come to his house, and spend some time there in retreat before their ordination, giving them, at the same time, such spiritual exer- cises as should be helpful to them in their prepara- tion. This proposal of the bishop's rejoiced the heart of Vincent, and he exclaimed, " Oh, Monseigneur, this is a thought which comes from God ; this will Retreats for the Ordinands 107 indeed be a means whereby your whole clergy may little by little be reformed." Thus encouraged, the bishop began at once to make preparations for carrying out his design. He begged Vincent to draw up a rule for the Retreat, and a course of exercises for the ordinands, and made him promise that he would come to Beauvais about three weeks before the September ordination, in order himself to conduct their Retreat. All this was done, and the good resulting from it was so evident that the Archbishop of Paris was led to adopt the same plan, only, instead of receiving them himself, he required all his candidates to make a Retreat of ten days at the house of the Mission Priests, that they might receive from Vincent the instruction and spiritual preparation which had already borne such good fruit elsewhere. To use Vincent's own words : — " M. the Archbishop, agree- ably to the ancient practice of the Church, when bishops caused all those who desired to receive Holy Orders to be carefully instructed for many days beforehand, has ordered that henceforth those in his diocese who have this desire must spend ten days with the Mission Priests, in order to make a spiritual Retreat, to exercise themselves in meditation, which is so needful for ecclesiastics, to make a general con- 1 08 5". Vincent de Paul fession of their past lives, to go through a course of moral theology, particularly with regard to the use of the Sacraments, to learn rightly to perform the ceremonial of all holy offices, and all other things needful for the clergy. During this time they are lodged and fed, and, by the grace of God, such good results from it that all those who have gone through these exercises have been found afterwards to lead a truly priestly life ; and indeed the greater number have given themselves with special devotion to works of piety, so that their profiting has begun to appear unto all." The first of these Eetreats was held before the Lent ordination of 1631 ; the Mission Priests were then in their original home, the College des Bons Enfants, where neither the accommodation nor the revenues were equal to so great a burden. But Vincent accepted it as a most blessed charge, which had come to him unsought. " Did we," he says, in an address to his community, " did we ever seek this work of conducting the Eetreats of the ordi- nands, that richest and most precious deposit that the Church could have put into our hands ? No ; it had never entered into our minds." And again, on another' occasion, " To be employed to make good priests, to bear a part in it as secondary, efficient, Retreats for the Ordinands 109 and instrumental cause, is to perform the office of Jesus Christ, who, during His mortal life, seems to have taken it upon Him as His special work to make twelve good priests, namely, the Apostles ; and to this end He willed to spend several years with them, to in- struct them, and to form them to this divine ministry. We then have been all called by God to the state of life which we have embraced, in order that we may labour at a ' chef-d'ceuvre ; ' for it is the greatest work that can be done in this world to make good priests, than which one can imagine nothing higher nor more important. . . . But who are we, that this ministry should be committed to us ? We are but miserable creatures, poor labourers and peasants ; what fitness is there in such as we are for so holy, so exalted, and celestial an employment 'i And yet it is to us that God has intrusted so great a grace as that of contributing to the reform of the clergy. To this end God did not turn to wise doctors, or to the many communities and religious houses, which are full of learning and sanctity, but He has chosen to employ this poor, mean, pitiful company. What has God found in us to fit us for so 'great a work? Where are our fine exploits ? What striking and illustrious, actions have we performed 1 In what does our great capa- no j?. Vincent de Paul city' consist 1 There is nothing of the sort. God, of His own free-will, has made choice of a set of poor miserable idiots to labour for the repair of the breaches in the kingdom of His Son. Oh, Messieurs, take we good heed not to lose the grace which God has bestowed upon us in preference to so many- learned and holy persons who were so much more worthy of it. For if we let it lie idle through our negligence, God will withdraw it from us to give it to others, and to punish our unfaithfulness. " Alas ! which among us will be the cause of so sad an evil, and will deprive the Church of so great a good ] Will it perchance be my miserable self ? Let each one of us lay his hand on his conscience, and say within himself, 'Is it I who shall be this unhappy one ? Lord, who seest me all covered and filled with sins, do not on my account take away Thy grace from this little company.' " In the first year after these Retreats were begun, six ordinations were held in Paris (the number was afterwards reduced to five), and before each of them the candidates made their Retreat under the direc- tion of Vincent. At first it was for those only who were to be ordained for the diocese, but after a time Vincent was asked to receive candidates from other dioceses who came to Paris for their ordination, and Retreats for the Ordinands in at the same time a devout lady, who earnestly- desired that the benefit might be as widely spread as possible, offered to give a thousand francs at every ordination for five years, to help towards the ex- penses of the candidates ; other pious persons assisted in furnishing rooms for them. In the extensive premises of S. Lazarus there was room enough and to spare, but the funds of the Society were far from sufficient to bear so heavy a burden. From seventy to ninety men were lodged and fed five times a year for eleven days free of all expense, for Vincent would never allow them to pay a single sou towards their maintenance at these times. One of his friends, in whom he placed great confidence, was talking to him one day about the serious expense which was thus brought upon his house at every ordination, and representing to him that under the circumstances it would not be un- reasonable to require some small payment from each of the candidates who came to S. Lazarus ; but Vincent only smiled and answered, " When we have spent all in our Lord's service, and have absolutely nothing left, we 11 put the key under the door and go." Till that time should come the ordinands were received as welcome guests, and in all respects treated as such. Those of the community who were 112 5. Vincent de Paul in the house at the time hastened to meet them on their arrival, carried their things for them, showed them their rooms, explained the rules of the house and the time-table of the Eetreat, — in a word, helped in all ways to make them feel at home, that they might be able to enter fully into the spirit of the place. During the Eetreat they waited upon them like servants ; attended to their rooms, made their beds, and performed all menial services for them ; Vincent himself once blacked the shoes of one of the ordi- nands, when some reluctance had been shown by one of the brothers to do it. He desired that their com- fort and advantage should, for the time being, be the first object and concern of every one in the house. But above all things he exhorted his whole com- munity to fervent and unceasing prayer for them. Especially he set great store by the prayers of the lowest and humblest of the brotherhood. " It may be," he said one day, when he was exhorting them all to pray earnestly, " it may be that if it should please God that some good fruit should come of this, it will be through the prayers of a brother who will have nothing whatever to do with 'Messieurs les Ordinands.' He may be busy about his ordinary work, and while he is at work he will often lift up Ordinands' Retreats 113 his heart to God, to pray that He will be pleased to bless the ordination, and perhaps without his think- ing of it, God will grant him what he asks, because of the good dispositions of his heart. There is a verse in the Psalms, ' Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the poor'" — here Vincent stopped short, not being able to recollect the latter half of the verse ; and in his humble, familiar way, turning to those who were present, he said, " Who will tell me the rest?" One of them answered: "Thou pre- parest their heart, and thine ear hearkeneth thereto." " God bless you, Monsieur," he said ; it was his usual form of thanks : and struck by the beauty of the words, he repeated them over and over with great joy and devotion, saying, " Wonderful words, worthy of God the Holy Ghost ! The Lord hath heard the desire of the poor : His ear hath heark- ened to the preparation of their heart — the prepara- tion: even before they have made their prayer. What great consolation there is in this for us ; surely we ought to encourage ourselves in the ser- vice of' God, even though we see in ourselves only misery and wretchedness." This was the order of the Eetreat : Every day two addresses were given, one in the morning and one in the evening, each followed by a sort of conference, in H 1 14 .S- Vincent de Paul which the ordinands were divided into groups or classes of about fifteen, classed together according to the state of their advancement and knowledge ; one of the Mission Priests being appointed to each class, who went over the chief points of the address which had just been delivered, explaining more fully any difficult points, answering questions, and impressing the whole more firmly on their minds. In the morning the subjects of the addresses were, the chief points of Moral Theology, and practical matters necessary to be known by priests. In the evening, the special virtues and graces needful in those who would receive Holy Orders. As the Retreat lasted for ten days, these subjects were treated under ten heads. Those of the morn- ing addresses were : — First day. The censures of the Church in general. Second day. The same, in particular ; that is to say, of excommunication, suspension, the interdict. Third day. Of the Sacrament of Penance; its institution, outward form, effects, and the qualifications of a good confessor. Fourth day. Of the right dispositions for receiv- ing the Sacrament of Penance ; of contrition, confession, and satisfaction; to which was added the subject of indulgences. Exercises of the Retreat 115 Fifth day. Of Laws, human and divine ; and of sins, their nature, kinds, degrees, causes, effects, and remedies. Sixth day. Of the First Table, as containing the duty towards God; and of the three theo- logical virtues. Seventh day. Of the Second Table, or duty to- wards man. Eighth day. Of the Sacraments in general ; and of Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist in particular. Ninth day. Of the Holy Eucharist treated as a Sacri- fice ; of Extreme Unction, and of Marriage. Tenth day. Of the Creed — treating of its articles separately ; with instructions how to teach it. The -subjects of the evening addresses were divided as follows : — First day. Of Mental Prayer, the need and the na- ture of it ; with instructions how to perform it. Second day. Of a true Vocation; the need and the tokens of it ; how to recognise and cor- respond to it. Third day. Of the Ecclesiastical Spirit ; the need, the nature, and the marks of it; how to obtain and to perfect it. Fourth day. Of Holy Orders in general; their n6 6". Vincent de Paul institution, necessity, matter, form, effects, differences, and the needful dispositions for rightly receiving them. Fifth day. Of the Tonsure ; its meaning, and the obligations which it imposes. Sixth day. Of the Minor Orders, severally. Seventh day. Of the Sub diaconate, and its proper virtues, especially chastity. Eighth day. Of the Diaconate, and its proper virtues, especially charity. Ninth day. Of the Priesthood, and the knowledge needful in order to fulfil its functions. Tenth day. Of the Ecclesiastical Life, and the need that those who receive Holy Orders should lead a more holy life than laymen ; and of the means helpful to this end. The ordinands were allowed two hours of recrea- tion daily, after meals, and seven hours and a half of sleep ; they spent every day half an hour in mental prayer, and had also daily instruction how to perform it. The rest of their time was occupied in preparing for a general confession, and in learn- ing how to perform correctly the rites and ceremonies of the Church, reciting carefully the Divine Office together, and familiarizing themselves with the cere- monial of the Mass, both high and low. At meals The Tuesday Conferences Wj there was always reading aloud of Holy Scripture, or some other good book. This was the rule and order first drawn up, as has been said, by Vincent, at the request of the Bishop of Beauvais, and found so successful that it became the established form, and was strictly followed on all such occasions. The great blessing which visibly attended this careful preparation of the candidates for Holy Orders, and the marked improvement which by this means was gradually diffused throughout the whole body of the clergy, was a source of joy and thankfulness to Vincent; but he knew the frailty of human nature, and how easily the good impressions and resolutions of the Retreat might be effaced by contact with the world, and by the examples all around of careless and indevout clergy, and he was full of anxious care how to contrive some means for strengthening the newly-ordained in their good purposes, and for arm- ing them against the temptations which would so soon surround them. He thought long over this, mistrusting his own plans, and slow to act without some guiding token of the will of God, for which he waited with un- ceasing prayer. It came to him one day, in a pro- posal from a priest who had assisted at one of the 1 1 8 .S. Vincent de Paul Retreats, that those who had gone through the exer- cises together should be encouraged to form them- selves into a confraternity, with a few simple rules for mutual protection ; that they should meet once a week for conference together, and so strengthen one another's hands, and keep fresh in their minds the instructions which they had received, and the holy resolutions which they had made. Vincent received the suggestion as coming from God, and with the approval of the Archbishop of Paris he very soon set it on foot. The young clergy to whom he first proposed it entered heartily into the scheme, and it was agreed that they should meet at S. Lazarus every Tuesday, to confer together on the duties of their ministry, and the graces needful for its due exercise. At their first meeting, Vincent set before them very clearly and simply the object which he had in view . " Having the honour to be priests of Jesus Christ," he said to them, " you are bound to fulfil, and to fulfil unto the end, the duties of the state of life which you have embraced. " It would be very sad that any one of you should give occasion for it to be said of him, as of the foolish man in the Gospel, that he began to build, but had not courage enough to finish his building. The Tuesday Conferences 119 " You know as well as any one that this evil, de- plorable as it is, is not the less common. Yes, there are but too many priests who every day justify the words of Jeremiah, that ' the gold is become dim, the most fine gold changed, the precious stones of the sanctuary poured out in the top of every street,' and trampled under foot in all public places. For a man to fall into this sad condition, it is not necessary that he should give himself up to great crimes — it is enough if he grows cold in the service of God ; if he leaves his first love, if he lets himself walk carelessly in the broad ways of the world; for the stewards of the sacred mysteries are out of order as soon as they fall from the perfection which their holy profession requires. " My design, however, is not to lead you to separate yourselves entirely from the world, nor to induce you to live all together in one house. You may go on living by yourselves, or with your rela- tions ; but I think it would be helpful to you to , draw closer those bonds of charity which already unite you. It is easy to do this, and you will succeed in doing it effectually if you will submit yourselves to a certain rule of life, practise the same holy exercises, and confer from time to time with one another, on the holiness and the duties of your vocation. " I doubt not that by following this plan you will 1 20 S. Vincent de Paul be able to stand firm against all your enemies. This rule will strengthen you against the corruptions of the world, and will make you faithful to the obliga- tions of your condition." Only those who had received Holy Orders and had passed through the exercises of the Ordinands' Retreat were to be admitted into the confraternity, and they were to hold themselves bound to one another by special ties ; they were to visit and assist one another in sickness, and in case of the death of any of their number, he was to be followed to the grave by the confraternity, and each priest among them was to offer the Holy Sacrifice three times for him ; those who were not yet priests were to com- municate with the same intention. They had also a rule of daily life, which bound them to rise at a certain hour, to spend at least half an hour daily in mental prayer, to say Mass, and every day to read, bare-headed and on their knees, a chapter of the New Testament. In the middle of the day they were to make a short examination of conscience, and the whole of their time was to be spent in the studies or active duties befitting their condition. Like his other works, these Tuesday conferences at S. Lazarus grew to a size and impor- tance of which Vincent had never dreamed. He The Tuesday Conferences 121 selected the subjects for their consideration, and himself (at least, at first) presided over and con- ducted their discussions. His wonderful knowledge of Holy Scripture, and power of applying it, the fervour and unction of his words, which were always simple and unpremeditated, yet full of point and force, and his gift of presenting under a new light, and bringing home to the consciences of his hearers, truths with which they were already familiar, pro- duced a great effect. " Often," his biographer says, " he added nothing or very little to what others had said ; he merely enlarged a little upon some good thought, or some word which had been suggested by another, but he gave new force to it, for he treated the most common and ordinary things in a manner altogether extraordinary, and with expressions which touched hearts with a true and unfailing aim, and always with good effects, which made it appear that our Lord Jesus Christ spoke by his mouth, and ani- mated his words as well as his heart." All the clergy of Paris of any mark were eager to join these assemblies; Olier, and his cousin Per- rochel, the Abbe de Coulanges uncle of Madame de Sevigne, Pavilion Bishop of Alet, and last, not least, Bossuet, were a few among the distinguished members of them ; and so remarkable were the fruits 122 5. Vincent de Paul which they produced in raising the tone of the clergy, and setting a higher standard of life and work, that the fame of them reached Cardinal Richelieu. He sent for Vincent, and inquired particularly into the nature and objects of the Institution, the subjects dis- cussed, and the names of those who took part in them. He expressed his approval of the plan, and desired Vincent to name any of the clergy whom he con- sidered specially qualified for the Episcopate, or for other advancement in the offices of the Church. After this interview, the Cardinal is said to have remarked to his niece, the Duchesse d'Aiguillon, " I had a great opinion of M. Vincent before, but since the last conversation which I had with him, I look upon him as quite a different man from what I first imagined." And henceforward in his nominations to Bishoprics and other ecclesiastical benefices, he gave practical proof of his confidence in Vincent's judgment. While by means of these conferences and con- fraternities Vincent sought to stablish, strengthen, and settle the newly ordained in all outward habits and practices of holy living, he provided yet further help for their interior life, and for the continual renewal of their fervour and devotion, by inviting them to the frequent use of Spiritual Retreats. He knew the immense value of such seasons of Retreats for all Classes 123 retirement, for bringing to bear upon souls, according to their needs, the powers of the world to come ; for arresting the thoughtless, and enabling those whose spiritual faculties are dulled by the whirl of this world and visible things, to realize the super- natural and the unseen ; as well as for repairing the waste and damage in the spiritual life of those who are already seeking to live to the glory of God ; and therefore he did all in his power to bring this great means of grace within reach of all ; not of the clergy only, but of lay people of all ranks and professions. Vincent has given us in a few words his defini- tion of the nature and objects of a Retreat : — " By the words Spiritual Eetreat," he says, " we must understand a separation from all temporal business and occupations, in order to apply ourselves seriously to know our own inner selves, to examine thoroughly the state of our conscience, and, by meditation, con- templation, and prayer, to prepare our souls to cleanse themselves from all sins, evil affections and bad habits, that so we may be filled with the desire of virtue, and may seek, and find, the will of God — and having found it, may submit to it, conform our- selves to it, unite ourselves with it, and so con- tinually tend, and advance towards, and at last arrive at, our proper perfection." 124 -5- Vincent de Paul For lie always took care to impress upon those with whom he had to do, that except in those cases where a person's special object was to seek guidance in his choice of a state of life, the proper end and purpose of all the spiritual exercises of a Retreat was to perfect each one in his own vocation : — to make of a student, a perfect scholar; of a military man, a perfect soldier; of one engaged in the profession of the law, a perfect lawyer; of one in Holy Orders, a perfect ecclesiastic; of a bishop, a saintly man after the pattern of saintly bishops. And concerning the effects which ought to be produced by a Retreat he says : — " A Retreat well made is a complete renewal ; one who has made it as he ought passes into another state ; he is no longer what he was, he becomes another man." With a deep sense of the value and need of this means of grace, and knowing how difficult it often was, for lay people especially, to find place, and time, and opportunity for it, Vincent felt that he could not turn his spacious building at S. Lazarus to better account in the service of God than by freely receiving there all those whose hearts were led by His grace to desire thus to withdraw for a time from the world, and seek in Retreat for closer communion with Him. At first there were but few who came, but as the blessing and spiritual refreshment of it became more Numbers received in Retreat 125 widely known, so many persons of all sorts and de- grees availed themselves of his hospitality with this object in view, that Vincent used jokingly to say that .the house of S. Lazarus was like a Noah's ark, where all sorts of animals, great and small, might be found. There might often be seen in the refectory together noblemen and artisans, soldiers and eccle- siatics, scholars and hermits, peasants and lackeys, all making their Retreat together. It has been cal- culated that as many as seven or eight hundred persons were annually received in this way, so that reckoning from the year 1635, which was the time when the practice began to be most frequent, till the death of Vincent, twenty-five years later, the number cannot have been less than twenty thousand. And as in the case of the ordinands, so with these, — all was done freely, and without charge. Those who were able, and who wished to make an offering to the funds of the community might do so — such con- tributions were thankfully accepted, — but none were ever asked, and whether it was that not many were able, or that they did not think of it, certain it is that very few out of all that multitude gave this little token of gratitude. One of the brothers once ventured to expostulate with Vincent about it, and to say that it seemed to 1 26 S. Vincent de Paul him that they received too many, to which he only replied, " My brother, they are seeking to save their souls." On another occasion, when there was talk among the community of the great expense of enter- taining such numbers, Vincent answered, "If we had but just enough to support our house for thirty years, and by receiving these people in Retreat we could only go on for fifteen, we must not on that account leave off receiving them. It is true, that the expense is great, but the money cannot be better employed." And to the remark that out of all these numbers there were many who did not profit as they ought, he replied, " It is no small thing if a few of them profit by it." " But," said one, " there is reason to fear, that some come for the sake of the food and good things for their bodies, rather than to seek good for their souls." "Well," said he, "it is always an act of charity which is pleasing to God. If you make a difficulty about receiving them, it may happen that you put back some whom God would by this means draw to Himself; and if you examine too closely into their motives, you will cause some to lose the desire which they had of giving themselves to God." S. Lazarus could of course only be available for men, but Vincent did not forget that women had Retreats for Women 127 the same spiritual needs, and he contrived that opportunities should be provided for them also, under the care of the Sisters of Charity, of whom nothing has yet been said, but who were by this time established in Paris and elsewhere. He himself gave instructions as to the method of their Eetreats, and the rules to be observed in them, and he not only interested himself in them in general, but watched with fatherly care over individual cases. We see a proof of this in the following remarks written by him to the Superior who had sent, for his judgment and approval, the resolutions made by a lady in Eetreat : — " I return Madame N.'s resolutions, which are good; but they would, to my mind, be better if they entered a little into particulars. It would be well that those who make their Eetreat with you should attend to this. Anything else is only the work of the mind, which, when it has found a cer- tain facility, or even sweetness in the contemplation of some virtue, natters itself with the thought that it is virtuous. Nevertheless, in order truly to be- come so, it is expedient to make good practical resolutions, on particular acts of virtue, and to be very faithful in performing them ; without this, virtue is often only imaginary." CHAPTER VII CONFRATERNITIES OF CHARITY— THEIR ORIGIN, SUC- CESS, AND FAILURE— SISTERS OF CHARITY. TTTE must now turn to that one of Vincent de Paul's works which is perhaps best known, and most generally connected with his name. In a life so full of active labours for God and the Church, it is almost impossible to bring in everything in order of time, and it seemed better to follow out with some degree of completeness the subjects of Missions and Eetreats as they arose. But it must be remembered that these and various other great and good works were all going on together, and now, if we would trace the origin of confraternities and Sisterhoods of Charity, we must go back as far as the year 1617, to that short space of four months which Vincent spent at Chatillon, in La Bresse, when he had left Paris with the intention of break- ing off his connexion with the house of de G-ondi. Here it happened, that one Sunday or other Confraternities of Charity 129 Festival day, a lady of the neighbourhood who had come on purpose to hear him preach, stopped him as he was going up to the pulpit, and asked him to make mention in his sermon of a poor family living about half a league from Chatillon, where there was much sickness and great need of help, and to re- commend them to the charitable offices of their neighbours. This he did, and with such effect that when the people came out of church several set out at once to visit the poor people, and took with them bread, meat, wine, or anything they were able to contribute towards their relief. After Vespers, Vincent himself set out to visit them, not knowing how many had already been, and was quite surprised to meet such numbers of people coming back. He perceived at once what a waste of charity it was ; that the poor people must have had more given them than they could use, and so some of the provisions would be spoiled, and after- wards they would be as badly off as before. This set him upon thinking how to systematize and organize the charities of the place. He invited the principal women of all ranks to meet him and talk it over, and the result was the formation of a Parochial Association, which he called the Confra- ternity of Charity, the first beginning of an institu- 1 30 .S. Vincent de Paul tion which, under his guidance, soon spread, and was established in all parts of France, and in other countries also. Vincent used in after years often to tell this story, as a proof how he had been led, as it were, by accident to this work, that it had not been of his own seeking, but had grown out of the circumstances in which he found himself. His object in the establishment of these confra- ternities was to provide the care and nursing needed by the sick poor, at their own homes, through the charity of their neighbours, by associating together under a simple rule any devout women who, for the love of God and His poor, were willing to undertake the work, and to bind themselves to a regular and systematic discharge- of it. The confraternity might include both married and unmarried women ; but ■ girls were required to have the consent of their parents, and married women that of their husbands, before they were allowed to join. Every two years, on Monday in Whitsun-week, they were to have a general meeting of all the mem- bers, and to elect by vote, in the presence of the parish priest, three among their number to serve as officers of the Society. The first was to be Superior Rules of the Confraternities 131 or Directress ; the second, Treasurer or first assistant ; the third, Wardrobe-keeper or second assistant. The duty of the Superior was to see to the observ- ance of the rule ; to watch over the conduct of the members, and, with the help of her assistants, to decide on the fitness or unfitness of the cases which applied for relief from the Society. The duty of the Treasurer was to take charge of the money, to keep the accounts, and to act as chief counsellor or assistant to the Superior. The Wardrobe-keeper was, as her name expressed, to take charge of the linen belonging to the Society ; to see to the washing and mending of it ; to give out what was required in cases of sickness, under orders from the Superior, and to be ready to help the Superior in any way that she asked her. With the advice of the vicar of the parish they were also to make choice of some good, dependable man, living in the place, to act as their agent or man of business. His office was to receive and take account of collections made in church, or any other gifts to the Society ; to give receipts ; to look after the income of the confraternity, and to audit the Treasurer's accounts. He was also bound to keep a register or minute-book, in which was to be written a copy of the rules, the date of the formation of the 132 5. Vincent de Paul Society, the names of its members, with the date of their admission, and death or removal; together with minutes of the biennial meeting for the elec- tion of officers, the names of the sick and poor who were assisted by the confraternity, their death or recovery, and anything which took place worthy of note. The duty of the members or sisters of the con- fraternity was to take it by turns, each on her appointed day; to attend upon those sick persons whose application for help had been accepted by the Superior ; to visit them, prepare their food and their medicines, make their beds, dress their sores, and do all they could, not only for the needs of their bodies, but also of their souls, leading them to seek the ministrations of the clergy, preparing those who were in danger of death for the last sacraments, and trying to draw those who recovered to lead better lives for the future. They were also, in their turns, to ask alms {/aire la quite) for the Society from house to house, as well as in church; to- notify to their agent the results of their quite, and to pay over to the Treasurer the money they received. On the first or third Sunday of every month they were to communicate together, if possible ; and after Rapid spread of the Confraternities 133 Vespers, on the same day, a short address was to be made to them by the priest of their parish, and they were to have a meeting in order to discuss any matters of interest to the confraternity. They, were to hold themselves specially bound together in the love of our Lord ; to visit one another in sickness, and follow one another to the grave. As in the case of Missions, Vincent's original intention in founding these confraternities was to provide for the needs of the poor in outlying and neglected country places ; and wherever he or any of the priests of his congregation held a Mission, there was almost sure to follow the establishment of a confraternity of Charity. Very soon these parochial associations for works of mercy were formed throughout the length and breadth of the land ; the rules which Vincent had drawn up were everywhere adopted, and he exer- cised, as far as he could, a kind of supervision over them, although it was not possible for him, amid all his manifold undertakings and occupations, to give as much attention to them as they required. The good Providence of God was, however, already preparing one to be his helper in this work. Louise le Gras (nde de Marillac) had been left, after twelve 1 34 5 1 . Vincent de Paul years of married life, a widow, not rich, but in easy circumstances ; her husband, M. le Gras, had been secretary to the Queen-Mother Marie de Medicis ; she was a person of earnest devotion, and, after her husband's death, she desired to give herself wholly to the service of God in the care of the poor. For several years she had been under the direction of the Bishop of Belley, the friend and biographer of S. Francis de Sales, to whom she was related on her mother's side ; but when this strong desire to con- secrate her life to the service of the poor manifested itself, he advised her to place herself under the guidance of Vincent de Paul. He, though slow to accept a charge of this kind, always feeling that his work as a Mission Priest lay with the poor and ignorant and neglected, and not with the well-in- structed and devout, yet would not refuse a request which came to him through Bishop Camns ; he became Madame le Gras's director, and he found in her one who seemed to have been specially endowed by God with such gifts, both of nature and of grace, as fitted her to be an able assistant in his works of charity. He gave full consent to her desire to de- vote herself to the service of the poor, and proposed to her to undertake the office of general superin- tendent, under his direction, of the various confra- Madame le Gras 135 ternities of Charity which had been established in every direction. This she willingly agreed to do, and she travelled from village to village, wherever these associations had been formed, making herself personally acquainted with the members of them, advising them, helping them, hearing their diffi- culties and troubles, putting fresh life into those which were flagging, encouraging new members to join them, giving them practical instructions in nursing the sick, and in preparing and dispensing medicines ; inspecting and replenishing their sup- plies of linen, and doing all in her power to add to their efficiency. She generally spent some time in each place that she visited, and besides her supervision of the con- fraternity of Charity, she made herself of use in other ways also, always under the direction of the clergy- man of the parish. She gathered the young girls of the village round her for religious instruction, she looked after the school if there was one, and if not, did all she could to get one established. In alt that she did, she placed herself absolutely under the directions of the clergy of the place, or of the bishop of the diocese when she was within reach of him. This Vincent always insisted on : "I find no bless- ing in acting otherwise," he writes to her. " You 136 .S. Vincent de Paul ought to look upon him (the bishop) as the inter- preter of the Lord's will touching the matter which you have in hand. If he thinks well that you should alter something in your manner of proceed- ing, follow him exactly, if you please. If he thinks well that you should come away, do so peacefully and cheerfully, since you are doing the will of God." After spending many months in these visits of inspection, she used to return to Paris to give an account to Vincent of all that she had seen and done, and receive his counsels and instructions for the future. The first intention of these confraternities was, as has been said, for the benefit of the sick poor in rural districts ; but the same need existed in towns, and certain Parisian ladies, who when they were in the country had seen the good that was done by this means, obtained Vincent's permission to associate themselves in the same way, and under the same rules, for the care of the sick poor in the town. The parochial clergy of Paris were glad to accept their help, the Archbishop gave his sanction and approval to the movement, and in the course of a very few years the confraternities of Charity were in active operation in almost all the parishes of the city and its suburbs. Origin of Sisters of Charity 1 37 After a time, however, it was found that the ladies of rank and position who had enrolled them- selves in these Societies were not always to be depended upon. They might be quite willing and desirous to take their regular turn of waiting upon the sick, but it did not always suit their husbands, or unforeseen engagements would arise, and social duties, either real or imaginary, would interfere, and prevent them from duly and regularly performing the work which they had undertaken. When these hindrances arose, they would depute their servants to take their place in waiting upon and nursing the sick ; but this was not at all the same thing. The servants might obey their mistress's orders, and carry food or medicine to the poor attics and cellars to which they were sent, but the loving devotion which was the life and soul of the work was wanting. This trouble it was which gave rise to the well- known and now world-wide order of Sisters of Charity. Vincent felt the need of women whose whole life should be given to the care of the poor and sick, and whom charitably-disposed ladies might employ as their substitutes in these works of mercy, when either their position in the world or social ties and duties prevented them from becoming them- 138 ^. Vincent de Paul selves the servants of the poor. It occurred to him that in his Missions in country places he not seldom met with well-disposed women, unmarried, but who perhaps had neither the vocation nor means for a cloistered life, amongst whom some might probably be found who would gladly devote themselves, for the love of God, to the service of the sick poor. One in [particular he remembered to have found, who gave proofs of an unusual devotion and strength of character. This poor girl had taught herself to read almost entirely alone, while she was employed in keeping cows. When people passed by, who she thought might help her, she used to ask them to teach her the letters, and show her how to put them together, and then, while her cattle were grazing, she studied her lesson. And she did this with no merely selfish desire for her own improvement only ; as soon as she could read she devoted herself to the service of God in teaching the children of her village. It was at Villepreux, and when Vincent came to hold a Mission there she opened her heart to him, told him her story, and asked him whether she would be pleasing God by going on teaching the little ones. The good priest approved her purpose, and en- couraged her to persevere. But, as usual, one of First Sister of Charity 1 39 the fruits of the Mission was the establishment of the confraternity of Charity in the parish. This turned her devotion into another channel, and henceforth she gave herself to the service and nurs- ing of the sick. She was the first whom Vincent invited to come to Paris to undertake the work which the ladies could not or would not perform. One of their difficulties was the risk of infection. Some feared it for themselves, others were afraid of bringing diseases home to their families and chil- dren, and some who were willing themselves to face the danger were forbidden to do so by their husbands. No hindrances of this kind checked the course of this poor peasant girl. She went so far in her generous self-devotion as to share her bed with a poor plague-stricken woman. She caught the infec- tion, indeed, and died, but not till she had done wonders in more than one parish in Paris ; and by her act of self-sacrifice she laid the foundation of the Sisters of Charity in what may almost be called a martyrdom. Such was the first Sister; others soon followed ; one offered herself from one village, an- other from another, until there were a sufficient number to allow of one being placed in most of the parishes of Paris, to work under the ladies of the confraternity of charity. 140 S. Vincent de Paul These women were however quite untrained ; they were gathered from different places, with no connexion either with one another or with the per- sons under whom they were employed, and the result, as might have been foreseen, was not very satisfactory. It was evident that, in order to supply the need effectually, there must be a careful training in sick- nursing, instruction in the preparation of medicines, and other things belonging to the profession of a nurse. Vincent saw that this was not all that was required ; but that those who gave themselves to the work ought to have a course of interior discipline and training in prayer and the spiritual life, since nothing less than this would avail to enable them to persevere faithfully in a vocation so full of trial and difficulty, and of all that is most repugnant to human nature. He saw, too, that if a sufficient number of women could be thus trained in a spirit of obedience, devotion, and self-sacrifice, and also instructed in the art of good nursing, the poor would in the end be better cared for than by any association of women living in the world, whatever good dispositions they might have for the work. As his custom was, Vincent thought long and prayed much over this before he took any step ; but at last he made up his First Community of Sisters 141 mind to attempt something of the kind. From amongst those who offered themselves for the work he selected three or four young women, and placed them under the charge of Madame le Gras, to whom he had already communicated his design, and asked her to receive them into her house, to be carefully trained and prepared for the service to which they were ready to devote themselves. It was in the year 1633 that this first little seed- « bed was sown, which was destined to serve as a nursery garden, out of which so many fruitful trees were in due time to be transplanted far and wide throughout the fields of the Church. The plan was at first only tentative, and Vincent himself looked upon it quite as an experiment ; but it proved a very successful one. The women thus trained were found most valuable helpers in every parish in which they were employed, and very soon the demand for them was so great that it was with difficulty sufficient time could be allowed for their training. A great blessing seemed to rest upon the work, and Madame le Gras became so much interested in it that she was desirous to devote her life entirely to it. She told Vincent of this wish, and repeatedly pressed him to give her permission to do so; but after the manner of wise directors, he checked her 142 S. Vincent de Paul over-eagerness, and would not for a long time give her a decided answer. " As to this work," he wrote to her, " I beg of you, once for all, to think no more of it, until our Lord shows us plainly what His will is. For one often desires many good things with a desire which seems to be of God, and, nevertheless, it is not always so ; but God permits these desires in order to prepare the soul for that which is indeed the intention of His Providence. Saul was seeking for his asses, and he found a kingdom; S. Louis was attempting the conquest of the Holy Land, and he won a victory over himself, and a heavenly crown. You want to be the servant of these poor girls ; but God wants you to be His servant, and, perhaps, that of a larger number than you could serve in this way. Seek, Madame, to honour in your heart the tran- quillity of that of our Lord, and thus yours will he in a condition to serve him. The kingdom of God is peace in the Holy Ghost. He will reign in you if you are in peace. Therefore, abide therein, if you please, and honour above all the' God of peace and love." And in another letter he says : — " My heart is not sufficiently enlightened before God in this matter : there is a difficulty which hinders me from seeing what His will is. I entreat you, Madame, to lay this purpose before Him in prayer during these Madame le Gras first Superior 143 holy days in which He bestows more abundantly the gifts of His Holy Spirit." Thus he kept her in suspense, always refusing to give her a definite answer, and bidding her go on from day to day, trusting in God, and waiting for a fuller assurance of His will. At the end of two years he gave his consent, and she became Superior of the first community of Sisters of Charity. In this, as in his other undertakings, the work soon grew to dimensions which Vincent had not con- templated. His thought had been how best to supply, in Paris only, the place of fashionable ladies who, with the best intentions, could not always be de- pended on for the service of the poor, and out of this arose a whole army of handmaids of the Church, a vast and most effective agency for good works, which even during the lifetime of the founder had spread throughout the whole of France, and beyond it. After a short time, Madame le Gras moved her family, by his desire, out of Paris, to the village of La Chapelle, about half a league distant from the city, as Vincent thought a country life more suited to the simple habits, and the spirit of poverty and humility in which he desired that these " servants of the poor" should be trained. But in 1642 it was found more desirable that the Mother House should 144 S. Vincent de Paul be in Paris, and they were established in a house taken for the purpose in the neighbourhood of S. Lazarus. Vincent drew up their rules and constitu- tions, which were approved by the Archbishop of Paris, and by his authority they were constituted a company or congregation under the title of " Sisters of Charity " (Filles de la Charite), and " Servants of the Poor." As their numbers increased they began to be employed in other works besides that of nurs- ing the sick poor at their own homes. Some were engaged as school-mistresses, others had charge of foundling children, and great numbers were em- ployed as nurses in the hospitals. " A Sister of Charity," Vincent says, " has need of a higher degree of virtue than the members of the most austere religious order. There is no Order of religious women which has so many duties to per- form as they have, for the Sisters of Charity have themselves to discharge almost all the offices of other orders. In the first place, they have to labour after their own perfection as earnestly as the Carmelites and others • next, they nurse the sick, like the nuns of the H6tel Dieu and other hospital Sisters, and, lastly, they undertake the education of girls, like the Ursulines." And he gives the following beautiful instructions to those in particular whose work was Sisters of Charity 145 to be nursing the sick poor in their own homes : — " They will remember that although they are not nuns, that condition not being suitable for the works of their vocation, nevertheless for the very reason that they are more exposed than those that are cloistered and enclosed, they have need of a higher virtue than if they were professed in a religious order. For, instead of a convent they have only the dwellings of the sick ; for a cell, some poor chamber, often a hired one ; for a chapel, the parish . church ; for a cloister, the streets of a town ; for enclosure, obedience ; for a gate, the fear of God ; for a veil, holy modesty. For this reason they must endeavour to behave themselves in all these places with at least as much self-restraint, recollection, and edifica- tion as regular nuns use in their convents ; and to obtain of God this grace, they must study to acquire all the virtues which are recommended to them by their rules, and particularly a deep humility, a per- fect obedience, and a great detachment from all creatures. Above all, they will use every possible precaution to preserve perfect purity of body and mind." And then after very full instructions how to com- bine spiritual with corporal works of mercy, and to make their attendance upon the poor in sickness an K 146 S. Vincent de Paul occasion for leading them to what should be for the good of their souls whether in life or death, he goes on to give some practical directions full of the dis- cretion and good sense which are conspicuous in all his rules. " And lest the spiritual offices which they render should interfere with those bodily services which they are bound to give, —a thing which might easily happen, if by staying too long talking to one patient they let others suffer, through neglecting to give them their food or their medicines at the proper times, — they will take pains to manage the arrange- ment of their time, and what they do, according to the number and the needs of their patients, whether great or small. And since their duties in the even- ing are not generally so pressing as those in the morning, they may choose that time for instructing and exhorting them in the manner which has been pointed out, particularly when they give them their medicines. " In their attendance upon the sick they will make God their only object, and so they will be indifferent alike to the praises which may be given them, and to the hard words which may be dealt them, except that they will turn both to good account, inwardly rejecting the former, and humbling themselves in Rules for the Sisters 147 thought of their own nothingness; and -welcoming the latter, in honour of the revilings of the Son of God upon the cross, by those very men who had received of Him so many favours and graces. " They will accept no gift, however small, from the poor whom they assist, and will beware of thinking that they (the poor) are in any way obliged to them for the services they render them, seeing that, on the contrary, it is they themselves who are indebted to them, since for that small charity which they bestow, not of their substance, but only of a little care, they make to themselves friends, who shall one day have a right to receive them into everlasting habitations. And even in this life they receive, through the poor on whom they wait, more honour and more true satisfaction, than they could have dared to hope for in the world ; and this they must take care not to make a wrong use of, but rather abase themselves in the consciousness of their own unworthiness." " They will remember that they are called Sisters of Charity, that is, Sisters whose profession it is to love God and their neighbour ; and therefore that, beside the sovereign love which they must have for God, they ought to excel in the love of their neighbours, and especially of their companions ; accordingly, they will shun all coolness and dislike 148 vS". Vincent de Paul towards any, and, at the same time, all special friendships and attachments to some above others, since these two vicious extremes are sources of divi- sion, both in Communities and among private per- sons, if they dwell upon them and entertain them. And if it should happen that they have given one another any annoyance, they shall ask pardon one of another, at the very latest, before they go to bed. " Moreover, they will bear in mind that they are called servants of the poor, which, in the eyes of the world, is one of the lowest conditions, to the end that they may always have a low opinion of them- selves, and reject immediately the least thought of vain-glory which might present itself to their minds, if they hear any good said of their works, remem- bering that it is to God that all the glory is due, because He is the only author of them. " And since their employments are, for the most part, very trying, and the poor, on whom they wait, sometimes hard to please, so that they may some- times even be reproached when they have tried to do their best for them, they will seek, with all their might, to lay up in their souls a good store of patience, and they will entreat our Lord every day to bestow this grace upon them abundantly, and to Rules for the Sisters 149 grant them to partake of that which He exercised towards those who spoke evil of Him, buffeted, scourged, and crucified Him. " They will be very faithful and exact in follow- ing their rule, and all the praiseworthy customs which have hitherto been observed in their manner of life, particularly those which concern the perfect- ing of holiness in themselves. " But, nevertheless, they will remember, that when- ever necessity or obedience requires it, they must always prefer the service of the poor to their own practices of devotion, bearing in mind that in so doing they are leaving God for God. " And in order that it may please God to give them the grace to accomplish all these things, they will confess and communicate every Sunday, and on all the principal festivals, in the parish church, or hospital, where they may happen to be, and they will perform the spiritual exercises (of a Retreat), as far as possible, every year, in the house of their Community." This was the interior spirit of lowliness and humi- lity in which it was Vincent's aim to train his ser- vants of the poor ; and for their outward behaviour he instructed them to take the Blessed Virgin for their pattern, and, in all circumstances, consider how ISO 5". Vincent de Paul she would have acted. They were to be loving to one another, kind and helpful to all, and a source of edification everywhere. When sent to a distant place, they were to be careful not to let the hin- drances or distractions of travel lead them to omit their usual exercises of devotion, but to perform them in the early morning, before they set out, or else on the road. When they arrived at the end of their journey, they were first to visit the church, and make an act of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament ; then to wait upon the vicar of the parish, and receive his orders ; but, having once been informed of the work which he wished them to do, they were to have as little recourse to the clergy as possible. They were always to behave towards them with the greatest respect, and obediently to follow their directions ; but they were to avoid all familiarity with them, never speaking to them with- out cause, nor needlessly visiting them, and never undertaking to wait upon them or nurse them in illness. They were warned not to take charge of the church linen, or to make themselves responsible for the washing of surplices ; they were to have nothing to do with the ornaments or decorations of the altar, or with the lamp, because these occupa- tions, however holy and good in themselves, would Rules for the Sisters 151 take up some of the time which belonged to the poor, and divert them from their proper work. For the same reason they were not allowed to nurse in the houses of the rich, not even their sick servants or children, or to frequent them in any way ; but they were always to remember that they were wholly dedicated to the service of Christ's poor. CHAPTER VIII. ASSOCIATION OF LADIES TO VISIT THE HOTEL DIEU ; THEY UNDERTAKE THE CARE OF FOUNDLINE CHIL- DREN, AND OTHER GOOD WORKS. " T~)EHOLD how great a matter a little fire -*— * kindleth ! " may, thank God, be said of the pure flames of a holy love, as well as of the evil fires of the tongue, of which S. James was speaking, and certainly the glowing fire of charity which burned so brightly in the heart of Vincent de Paul does seem at this time to have set Paris on a blaze. New works of mercy, both corporal and spiritual, were constantly being taken up, and societies, associations, or confraternities formed for carrying them on, and in all, he was applied to for help and counsel ; it seemed as if nothing of the sort could be undertaken without his being first consulted, and asked to take more or less the direction of it. And though he was never forward to interfere, or take part in things, and, even in those good works which he himself Ladies' Association 153 originated, he always followed, as we have seen, some manifest leading of God's Providence, yet neither would he ever refuse such help and counsel as was sought, in order to spare himself trouble or responsibility. In the year 1634, the year after the first founda- tion of the Sisters of Charity, he was much pressed to take in hand the improvement of the internal management of the H6tel Dieu, the great hospital of Paris, where the number of patients averaged from one to two thousand, and in the course of the year from twenty to twenty-five thousand were received. A devout and charitable lady, Madame Goussault, who was in the habit of frequently visiting there, was distressed to observe so much mismanagement and so many abuses allowed, both in the corporal and spiritual care of the poor sufferers which it con- tained, and she earnestly entreated Vincent to turn his attention to it, and contrive some means whereby more care might be taken both of their bodies and souls. This, however, he declined to do ; the hos- pital had its own proper staff of governors and direc- tors both of its temporal and spiritual affairs, and he felt that it would be meddling with the work of others if he were to interfere. Madame Goussault, finding that she could not prevail to overcome his 1 54 >S. Vincent de Paul scruples, applied to the Archbishop of Paris, telling him how much need there was of reform, and what good might be done by some regular system of visiting, if only Vincent would take it in hand. By her representations she succeeded in inducing the Archbishop to lay his commands on Vincent to undertake the work, and, having received his orders, Vincent did not hesitate any longer, although he foresaw that there would probably be many diffi- culties arising from the opposition of those whose mismanagement would thus be exposed and corrected. By his discretion, forethought, and gentleness, how- ever, all possible precautions were taken against giving unnecessary offence, or provoking opposition. His first step was to ask Madame Goussault to in- vite any ladies who would be willing to act as visitors to meet him at her house, that he might propound a plan to them. At this first meeting it was resolved to undertake the work ; all those who were present were to mention it among their friends and acquaintances, so as to get a good many to join ; they were all to offer the design to God specially in their Communion on the following Sundaj r , and there was to be a second meeting on the Monday to arrange details. " We shall want you," he wrote to Madame le Gras, " and some of your Sisters ; it is Care of the Hotel Diat 1 5 5 thought that four will be sufficient, so you must take care to have good ones." Vincent's next care was himself to call upon the secular and religious Superiors of the Hotel Dieu, to inform them that certain pious ladies were anxious to be allowed to undertake a regular system of visiting the patients, and that he had been directed by the Archbishop of Paris to make such arrange- ments as should enable them most effectually to carry out their good intentions. We may be pretty sure that, with the wisdom of the serpent, Vincent would not fail to mention some of those whose high rank and titles would go far to reconcile the hos- pital authorities to their visits. The lady visitors themselves he charged, when they went to the hospital, never to fail to present themselves at once to the nuns who had the care of the sick, offering to assist them, and expressing their desire to be allowed to share in their good work. Nor did he suffer them to rest satisfied with such out- ward expressions only, but in their hearts they were to reverence them, and " esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake." They were invariably to address them with gentleness and humility, and to defer to them in everything. If it happened that the Sisters did not take their offer of help in good 156 5. Vincent de Paul part, they were at once to apologize to them, and try to enter into their feelings, and never on any account to contradict or oppose them, or endeavour to carry things against their will. " Our object," he says, " is to contribute to the relief and to the salvation of the poor, which is a thing that cannot be done without the help and goodwill of those good nuns, who are already in charge of the hospital. It is therefore right to treat them with all respect as mothers, to honour them as the spouses of our Lord, and also as the ladies of the house ; for it belongs to the Spirit of God to work sweetly, and our surest means of success is to imitate Him in this manner of acting." Guided by these gentle and considerate counsels all seems to have gone smoothly. The respect and attention shown to the nuns won their hearts at once, and the lady visitors were very soon free of the whole hospital, and might go from ward to ward, and from bed to bed, to do their charitable work for the suffering inmates. And to win the hearts of the patients too, and make their visit acceptable to them, Vincent ad- vised that the visitors should never go empty-handed. And since the hospital provided all that was really needful for the patients, it was agreed that the Instructions to tlw Lady Visitors 157 ladies should take them something extra, as a little collation between dinner and supper, — a little fruit if it was in season, or some jelly, or preserve, any of the sweetmeats or " bonbonnerie " that the French especially love. A room was hired near the hos- pital, where two Sisters of Charity were constantly employed in helping the ladies to prepare these little dainties, and where the syrups and jam-pots, as well as the necessary utensils, spoons, plates, etc., might be kept. Surely we shall not be wrong if we see in this a faint and touching reflection of the tenderness of the great Giver of all things, who provides His children, not with absolute necessaries alone, but with unnum- bered superfluities and indulgences, delightsome to eye and ear, and taste and smell. And as our Lord made His miracles of healing to open the way to His gracious words of doctrine and reproof, so the hearts of these poor people were opened by these kindnesses to listen to the words of exhortation which the visitors were instructed to speak for their good. Here, too, we see, in the instructions given them, the considerateness of the holy man who was their director. He drew up a little book of rules for their guidance, of which each of the associates was to have a copy. 158 5. Vincent de Paid Amongst the rules were the following : — To wear the very plainest dress they could when they went to the hospital, that the sight of rich clothing and superfluous ornaments might not raise any evil thoughts, and so hurt the souls of those whom they sought to benefit. Always to hold their little book of rules in their hands when speaking, in order to avoid the sem- blance of preaching, and that they might not seem to be discoursing out of their own minds, but only giving what they were told in the book. To behave with the greatest gentleness, sweetness, and humility towards the poor invalids, seeking to win their hearts for God, by a loving cordial fami- liarity. As, for instance, in trying to prepare them for confession, they were instructed to speak to them thus : " My good sister, is it long since you have been to confession ? Don't you think you could have sufficient devotion to make a general confession, if you were told how you are to do it % I have been taught that it is very important for my salvation that I should make a good general confession before I die, to repair the defects of my ordinary confessions, which perhaps I have not made rightly, and that I may conceive a greater sorrow for my sins when I remember what grave ones I have committed all my instructions to the Lady Visitors 159 life long, and the great mercy of God, who has not cast me into hell, as I deserved, but has given me time to repent, and will receive me into Paradise if I turn to Him with all my heart, as I hope to do by the help of His grace. Now, perhaps, you may have the same reasons as I have, to make a general con- fession, and to give yourself up to God, to lead a holy life for the future. " And if you want to know what you ought to do, in order to remember your sins, and to make a good confession, I will tell you how I have been taught to examine myself ... I have also been told how to raise in my heart a true repentance for my sins, and to make acts of sorrow and contrition, thus . . . and I have been instructed to make acts of faith, hope, and love to God in this way, etc. . . ." Thus gently taking them as it were by the hand, the poor souls were led on, and lovingly drawn to the per- formance of their religious duties. When they had been sufficiently instructed and prepared, the asso- ciates took care that they should have opportunity to make their confession ; and as the vast numbers who were constantly coming and going made the work more than could be effectually performed by the regular chaplains, they provided that six addi- tional priests should be attached to the hospital, 160 S. Vincent de Paul whose sole charge should be the souls of the sick within its walls. They were to have rooms and board in the house, and the Ladies' Association gave to each, out of their own funds, a stipend of 200 francs a year. Thus good Madame Goussault had the happiness before her death of seeing all that she wished accomplished for the H6tel Dieu. Nor was this the only work to which the asso- ciated ladies turned their attention. The miserable case of deserted infants moved the heart of Vincent de Paul ; from 300 to 400 of these poor little crea- tures, too often the offspring of sin and shame, were, at this time, annually exposed and forsaken in the streets of Paris and its suburbs. It was the duty of the police to take account of such cases, and the poor innocents, when found by them, were all com- mitted to the tender mercies of an old woman, who, with two assistants, was supposed to take care of and rear them. The treatment they generally received was too horrible to be described, and at Vincent's suggestion the lady associates took in hand to try and remedy this crying evil. They began by taking charge of only twelve of the infants ; they were chosen by lot, and placed under the care of some of the Sisters of Charity, in a house which was hired for the purpose. Here the poor little creatures Care of Foundling Children 161 throve so well, and the contrast between these for- tunate ones and those who were left was so painful to behold, that the charitable ladies were moved to add to the number from time to time, till, after going on in this way for two years, they resolved to under- take the care of all. Vincent heartily approved and encouraged them in this design, but advised that it should be begun as an experiment only, and that they should not bind themselves in any way to go on with it permanently. He interested the Queen in the plan, and obtained for them from the Crown a small endowment of 12,000 francs; but the annual expenditure was more than three times as much, and to make this up they depended on the alms of the faithful, and the contri- butions of charitable persons. It was a heavy pull, and after carrying on the work for eight years, the Ladies' Association began to fear that their funds would fail, and a general meeting was called to take into consideration the question of giving up the undertaking, which they were in no way pledged to go on with. On this occasion Vincent made them an address, reminding them of the miserable state in which they had found these poor children ; how many they had already been the means of saving from destruction L 1 62 6". Vincent de Paid both of body and soul; and how certainly they would be left to perish as before, if they gave them up. He ended with such a fervent exhortation to them, not to abandon the good work which God had enabled them so far to earry on successfully, that all hearts were touched, and the ladies resolved unanimously that at all costs they must go on. Vincent made interest for them again at Court ; and the old castle of BicStre, a few miles out of Paris, was granted by the King for their use. The revenues of S. Lazarus were also largely drawn upon to help ; it was a work of mercy which Vincent had very much at heart. " God knows," writes one of his friends, "how many sighs and groans M. Vincent has breathed to Heaven on the subject of these poor little children ! how he has recommended them to the prayers of his congregation ! what means he has used, and what plans he has tried, to rear them at small expense, and what care he has taken to have them visited by the Sisters of Charity, at the houses where they have been put out to nurse, and this year by one of the brothers of his order, who has spent almost six weeks in making this inspection." The brethren of S. Lazarus did not all share their Superior's loving interest in the welfare of the babies, and complaints were made that their house was Care of Foundling Children 163 too much impoverished, since, besides contributing towards the work, many charitable gifts and offerings which might have been made to them, were diverted to the maintenance of the foundling children. When Vincent heard that one of his priests had spoken thus, he exclaimed, "May God pardon him this weak- ness, whereby he is so far removed from the principles of the Gospel ! what a little faith to think that our Lord will be less good to us, because we have tried to do good to poor forsaken children such as these — He who promises to reward a hundred-fold what is given to Him ! Since this kind Saviour said to His disciples, ' Suffer the little children to come unto Me,' can we refuse them or abandon them when they come to us, without putting ourselves in opposi- tion to Him 1 What tenderness did He not show to little children, when He took them up in His arms, laid His hands upon them, and blessed them 1 Did He not make use of them to give us a rule, when He commanded us to become as little children if we would enter into the kingdom of heaven 1 Now, to show charity towards children, and to take care of them, is in a manner becoming as a little child ; and to provide for foundling children is to take the place of their fathers and mothers; or rather, to take the place of God, who says that if a mother 164 .S. Vincent de Paul forgets her child, He will take care of it and will not forget it. If our Lord were living now among men, and saw these deserted children, can we suppose for a moment that He would have deserted them too 1 Assuredly it would be doing wrong to His infinite goodness to have such a thought ; and we should be unfaithful to His grace if, when He has made choice of us by His providence to provide both for the bodily and spiritual care of these poor foundling children,, we were to weary of the work, and forsake them, because of the trouble they give us." By words like these Vincent kindled in other hearts something of the tender love which burned so fervently in his own, and the poor little forsaken ones were ,all cared for. When first found they were put out to nurse in the cottages of the country people, but, as we have seen, not left without surveillance, and when they were weaned they were brought back to the Sisters, who took care of them, taught them, trained them in habits of devotion, and in useful work, and when they were fit for service found situations for them, where they would be kindly treated, and cared for both in their bodies and souls. The castle of Bicetre was found too cold, and in other ways not suited for the purpose, so a large house was taken for them not far from S. Lazarus. Hospitals 165 Another good work done by the Ladies' Associa- tion was the founding a sort of Providence Home for girls, where those who found themselves out of place, and without home or friends in Paris, might find a refuge, and be sheltered from the perils of a great city. They contributed largely both to the foundation and support of other hospitals, especially one at Marseilles for the convicts, and a very large one for the accommodation of the numerous poor pilgrims who flocked to Sainte Reine, in Burgundy, not far from Dijon, famous in those days both as a place of pilgrimage, and also for its warm springs of mineral water. Foreign missions were also largely helped by them, particularly those in Madagascar, India, Tonquin, and China; and they assisted Vincent in collecting large sums of money for the relief of the peasantry in those parts of the country which were suffering from the ravages of war. A fuller account of this work must be reserved for another chapter. CHAPTER IX. RELIEF SENT TO THE FAMISHING PEASANTRY OF LOR- RAINE—MISSION TO THE ARMY — DEATH OF LOUIS XIII. — ECCLESIASTICAL SEMINARY ESTABLISHED AT THE COLLEGE DES BONS ENFANTS. TT is a sad and strange contrast to turn for a moment from the record of all the works of mercy, which at this time sprang up and flourished so vigorously in France under the auspices of one man, to contemplate the suffering and anguish, the untold miseries, brought upon the country in great measure by another, an ecclesiastic also, and, like Vincent, dedicated to the service of the Prince of Peace. The unscrupulous ambition of Cardinal Kichelieu, his immense ability and consequent influence over a weak and indolent monarch, threw the authority and power of the crown practically into his hands, and made him in fact despotic. The King felt his thral- dom, and grumbled under it, but had not energy to Ambition of Richelieu 167 resist, or ability to do without his powerful and overhearing minister. From time to time, when provoked beyond endurance, he would resolve, when peace was re-established and things were in order, to take the reins into his own hands. This Riche- lieu was determined that he should not do; and thus it became his interest to keep the country involved in continual wars, that the moment might never arrive when the King should find himself sufficiently at ease to dispense with his services. No doubt there mingled in his motives a real desire for the glory of France, and probably he deluded himself so far as to imagine that this was his chief object. Without some such self-deceit, it is hardly conceivable that on his death-bed he could have made that awful appeal, as to the disinterested- ness of his intentions, which sent a shudder through some at least of the bystanders. It is possible that all his life long he blinded him- self thus, and believed himself to be acting a truly patriotic part ; while others saw in his schemes the result of personal ambition, and an insatiable love of power, leading him for his own selfish purposes to persist in a line of policy which brought all the horrors of war on his unhappy country, first in one direction, then in another. 1 68 S. Vincent de Paul At the time of which we are now speaking, the Duchy of Lorraine was governed by Charles iv., a man of courage and enterprise, but wanting in some of those qualities which go to make up the character of a good ruler or an able general. He belonged to a younger branch of the house of Lorraine, and had succeeded to the Dukedom by virtue of his marriage with the Princess Nicole, daughter of Duke Henry n., surnamed the Good. But not satisfied with de- riving his title from his wife, Charles caused his father to be proclaimed Duke as Francis II., who abdicated immediately in his son's favour, and by this intrigue Charles hoped to establish his own hereditary right. The Emperor of Austria suffered this transaction to pass without protest ; the Pope gave a kind of tacit consent to it ; but France would not let it pass so easily. Part of the Duke's possessions were held in fief under the French crown, and King Louis xin. declined to receive homage for them in the name of Charles alone, while he for his part, refused to pay it in the name of his wife. Here was a cause of quarrel, of which Eichelieu, who already had designs upon Lorraine, was not slow to avail himself. Further ground of offence was found in the marriage of Gaston, Duke of War with Lorraine 169 Orleans, brother of Louis Xin., with Margaret of Lorraine, sister of the Duke. The political complications which followed hardly belong to the life of Vincent de Paul. It may suffice to say that war was declared between the King of France and the Duke of Lorraine, in which the latter suffered severely, and was obliged to make humiliating concessions to his powerful neighbour. The Thirty Years' War, though drawing to its close, was still distracting Europe, and if Charles had had manliness and firmness enough to choose his side, and ally himself with the Emperor of Austria, he might have had help and protection against France and her Swedish allies ; but, by his vacillating policy, and breach of engagements, he in turn made enemies of all ; and those ill-fated provinces, Lor- raine and Alsace, which seem destined so often to bear the brunt of war, became the theatre of a devasta- ting campaign, in which they were by turns ravaged by the armies of France, Austria, Sweden, and their own, and in a short time reduced to utter desolation. Frightful accounts are given by contemporary writers of the state to which the country was brought. Many towns and villages were deserted ; others were burned and in ruins ; those of the inhabitants who could by any means escape fled 1 jo S. Vincent de Paul from the country ; the poor who remained were reduced to the extreme of misery and famine. Agriculture was wholly suspended ; the fields were untilled, for if sown, the corn was trodden down and destroyed as soon as it appeared above ground. Wild fruits, acorns, and roots served for food, and half-putrid carrion or poisonous reptiles were eagerly devoured by the starving people. In some places it is said that even worse horrors were enacted than those of the siege of Jerusalem. The population was thinned and reduced to such a degree that the country was over-run by wolves, who prowled about both by night and day, and were so fierce and savage that they attacked women and children, and tore them to pieces in broad daylight. When the report of these horrors reached Vincent, he could not rest without seeking to bring some relief. The huge amount of the evil, the vast numbers to be relieved, and the difficulty of doing anything effectual in the midst of such utter devas- tation, would have made a less brave heart sink, and hesitate about attempting so gigantic a task. But to one so full of faith and love all things were pos- sible. His burning zeal kindled other hearts ; a wonderful response was made to his fervent appeals on behalf of the famishing people j abundant alms Sufferings of the Peasantry iji flowed in, which he sent by the hands of some priests of his congregation to be employed by them to the best advantage for the relief of the sufferers. The money thus collected by him, and distributed through the Mission Priests, is said to have amounted to two millions of francs. One priest alone made fifty-three journeys into Lorraine during the nine or ten years that the distress lasted, and though he always carried large sums of money, and had to pass through a dis- trict where all was lawlessness and disorder, it was remarked that he never was robbed, or lost any of the alms committed to 'his charge. The missionaries were not content with merely distributing the money intrusted to them ; they pro- vided and cooked wholesome food, and served it out to the starving people in rations proportioned to their needs, giving the best and most nourishing allowances to the sick and feeble, and to nursing mothers. They also supplied them with clothing, washed and mended the poor rags they had, nursed the sick, dressed their wounds, and in the midst of all these cares for their bodily needs, these good men toiled unceasingly for the souls of the poor crea- tures. One of them, writing to Vincent, describes the people as being "like skeletons covered with skin, and so horrible to behold that, if our Lord did 17- 5". Vincent de Paul not strengthen me I should not dare to look at them. Their skin is like tanned marble, and so drawn that the teeth are dry and uncovered, and the eyes and face all ghastly ; in short, the sight is most awful. They hunt for roots in the fields, which they cook and eat. I earnestly commend these great calamities to the prayers of our Society." Another, whom Vincent had sent as a sort of Superior, to oversee the work and report to him how things were going on, writes : — " Amid the extreme destitution of temporal goods, they are so eager after spiritual things that there are as many as two thousand persons who come to hear the cate- chizing. This is a large number for such a small town, where many of the principal houses are de- serted. The poor people are very careful to be there, and to frequent the Sacraments. They all have the greatest possible esteem for the Mission Priest who is here, who instructs them and assists them, and each one thinks himself happy if he can but once speak to him; indeed, he works with great charity and much labour in his district, and he has been so overwhelmed with the work of hearing confessions, and with want of nourishment, that he has been very ill." These charitable offices were not without danger ; of the two Mission Priests who were sent to Bar le Death of a Mission Prj.est. 173 Due, one died, the other had a dangerous illness. They lodged at the Jesuit College in the town, and the Principal wrote to Vincent as follows : — " You will have heard of the death of M. de Montevit, whom you sent here. He suffered much in his ill- ness, which was long, and I can say with truth, that I have never seen greater patience and resignation than his was ; we never heard him speak a word which bore marks of the very smallest impatience ; all his discourse breathed a piety which was far from common. The doctor told us frequently that he had never treated a more obedient and childlike patient. He often communicated during his illness, besides the two last times, when he received the Viaticum. His delirium, which lasted eight whole days, did not prevent his receiving Extreme Unction with full consciousness. The wandering of mind ceased during the administration of that Sacrament, but returned immediately afterwards. He died as I hope, and as I beg of God, that I may die. " The two Chapters of Bar attended his funeral, as Well as the Augustinian Fathers : but that which most honoured his burial was the six or seven hun- dred poor who accompanied his body, each one with a wax taper in his hand, and who all wept as if they were following the funeral of their father. 174 £■ Vincent de Paul " The poor owed him this gratitude, for he had caught his illness while healing their evils and relieving their poverty; he was always amongst them, and breathed only the fetid atmosphere which surrounded them. He used to be so assiduous in hearing their confessions, both in the morning and the afternoon, that I could never prevail with him to take the relaxation of a walk. We have buried him near the confessional, where he caught his dis- ease, and where he laid up in store the merits of which he is now reaping the fruit. " Two days before his death, his companion fell sick of a constant fever, which held him in danger of death for the space of eight days. He has now recovered. His illness was the effect of too much toil, and too unceasing labours among the poor. On Christmas eve he was four-and-twenty hours without food or sleep, and never left the confessional except to say Mass. " Your brethren are gentle and very docile in every thing, except the advice one gives them to take a little rest. They think their bodies are not of flesh, and that their life need only last for one year.'' It has been said that all who were able had fled from the devastated province ; great numbers took refuge in Paris, and amongst them were several Invasion of France 175 families of noble birth, but reduced to utter desti- tution by the loss of all their property. For these, Vincent had a special compassion, and he encouraged all who were charitably disposed to assist them to the utmost, " for the honour of our Lord, who was very noble, and at the same time very poor." The troubles of the times brought other experi- ences of the calamities of war upon the peace-loving brotherhood of S. Lazarus. The invasion of Picardy, in 1636, by the united armies of Austria and the Netherlands, under Piccolomini and the warrior Car- dinal Fernando, and the threatened march upon the capital, threw all France into commotion, and roused even Louis xiii. out of his usual selfish nonchalance into something of spirit and energy. Vigorous steps were taken to raise and equip an army for the defence of Paris, and the precincts of S. Lazarus were chosen as temporary barracks, and a depot for arms and ammunition, as well as a place for drilling and preparing the hastily enrolled troops. Vincent writes to one of the brethren, who was in Auvergne engaged in conducting Missions with the Abbe Olier, that " the stables, the woodhouse, the hall, and the cloisters are full of arms, and the court is full of soldiers. Even on this holy Festival of the Assumption there is no respite from the I j6 S. Vincent de Paul tumult and crowd ; the drum begins to beat before seven o'clock in the morning, and within the last eight days seventy-two companies have been drilled here. " Although things are in this condition, our whole congregation continue their retreat, with the excep- tion of three or four, who are just about to set out on a distant journey. I am writing to M. l'Abbe that I shall be able to send him four or five of our priests ; I shall also send some to my Lords of Aries and Cahors, and I hope to get them off at once, before matters grow worse here." Thus calmly did this wonderful man, who had come to be a sort of generalissimo of the armies of the Church, continue his spiritual drill, and equip with those weapons of warfare which are not carnal, the soldiers under his command, undisturbed by all the din of the world's strife, and the clash of arms going on within the very courts of his convent. He was not able to fulfil his purpose of sending some more missionaries to M. l'Abbe Olier, for, before he could despatch them, he received an order from the King to send twenty of his Mission Priests immediately to the army, that they might provide for the spiritual needs of the soldiers. This was an entirely new field of work, and one Mission to the Army 177 in which neither he nor any of his confraternity had any kind of experience. But loyalty and devotion to his sovereign were ruling principles with Vin- cent, and he at once sent off fifteen priests, all he could muster, to the camp, and went himself to the King, who was then at Senlis, to place himself and his congregation at his disposal. Having done this, he left one of his company behind, to receive the King's orders, and communicate them to those who were with the army, while he saw to the needful outfit for them. He bought a tent for their use, sent them furniture and supplies, with a baggage- mule and cart; and he drew up a rule for their guidance under such new and unusual circumstances. They were to set this thought before them, that our Lord had called them to this work, (1.) to offer up prayers and sacrifices to God for the success of the King's good designs, and the preservation of his army ; and (2.) to assist the soldiers who were living in sin to forsake it, and those who were in a state of grace to continue in it ; in short, to do their utmost that those who should die might depart from this world in a state of salvation. They were to have a particular devotion to the name which God takes to himself in Holy Scripture of "the Lord of Hosts," and to remember the words of M 178 S. Vincent de Paul our Lord : " I came not to send peace, but a sword." They were to cultivate, with special care, the virtues of charity, fervour, mortification, obedience, patience, and modesty. And for their outward rule of life, they were to say Mass daily, to keep silence at the appointed hours, and in all respects, as far as pos- sible, to observe the same rules as in other Missions, such as the hour of rising and going to bed, the recital of the Divine Office, mental prayer, spiritual reading, and examination of conscience. If possible, they were to live together, and their Superior was to allot to each their different offices. One was to be Sacristan, and have charge of all that concerned Divine service ; another was to be Confessor to the little band, and arrange the reading at meals ; another was to be housekeeper, and see to the vic- tualling department ; another to. the tent and its furniture, attending to the packing and unpacking of it when they had to follow the movements of the . army. One and all were to discharge their spiritual offices towards the soldiers, preaching, confessing, and ministering to them, as appointed by the Superior. After six weeks of unceasing labours, some of the party were allowed to return to S. Lazarus ; the rest remained with the army till November, when the invading forces withdrew, and the campaign ended. Death of Louis XIII. 179 It is hard to estimate the blessing of such a com- pany of earnest, holy, devoted priests attached to an army ; and that Louis XIII. should have cared to procure such help for his poor soldiers, gives ground for hope, that there was more good in him than his slothful, self-pleasing, frivolous life would have led one to suppose, and that when, seven years later, he sent for Vincent to help him to prepare for the death which he felt could not be far off, there may have been some real comfort and hope in ministering to him. The first time that he was summoned, Vincent spent eight days with him at S. Germains, during which the King frequently saw and conversed with him, consulting him not only as to the state of his own soul, but also on his plans for the good of the Church and nation. Among other things he is reported to have said, " Ah, M. Vincent, if I recover, the bishops shall all spend three years with you." When his death drew near he desired that Vin- cent should be sent for again ; he arrived at S. Ger- mains on May 11, 1641, and remained constantly with the King till the 1 4th, when he expired, and the reign of Louis xiv. began. The death of Louis xm. had been preceded, only six months before, by that of Cardinal Eichelieu, whose restless and unprincipled schemes for the 1 80 ,S. Vincent de Paul aggrandizement of the crown and kingdom of France, and for his own, had brought so much misery upon the country. Amid all the busy intrigues and un- scrupulousness of his political life, he seems always to have treated Vincent de Paul with respect and consideration; and one of the last acts of his life was to give his consent and sanction to a plan, which Vincent had much at heart, for establishing a Theo- logical College or Seminary for the Clergy. We have seen how much had already been done for the better preparation of the candidates for ordination, and how abundantly Vincent's labours in this work had been blessed ; but he felt that one great want was still unsupplied, viz., that of places of ecclesiastical education, where young men destined for the ministry of the Church might go through a regular course of study to prepare them for their holy profession, and where they might have, not ten days only of preparation, however earnest, as in the Ordinands' Eetreats, but a year at least, of training and exercise in all that might best fit them for the discharge of ecclesiastical functions. The attention of other earnest men had been drawn to this subject. Bourdoise, Berulle, de Con- dren, and Olier, the future founder of S. Sulpice, had Ecclesiastical Seminaries 181 already been working in this direction; and the latter, with the counsel and approval of Vincent and others, had opened a small college at Vaugirard, one of the suburbs of Paris. He had felt a special call to the work of ecclesiastical education, and set- ting it before him as his life's object, he had declined the appointment of Coadjutor-Bishop of Chalons sur Marne, which Cardinal Richelieu had offered him, but had accepted the cure of souls in the parish of S. Sulpice, then notorious for the wickedness which prevailed there. It was the resort of the most depraved portion of the society of Paris, and was famous for the number of duels which took place there. Thither M. Olier transferred his college from Vaugirard ; but all his efforts were at first absorbed in a hand-to-hand fight with the vice and immorality of the place, and it was not till after three years of unremitting labour, when a wondrous reform had been effected, and the face of society changed in his parish, that he was able to pursue his long-cherished purpose of founding a Seminary for Priests, — that Seminary which was to become so famous, and yield such rich fruits to the Church of France. In accordance with a decree of the Council .of Trent, Seminaries had been founded in several dio- 1 82 S. Vincent de Paul ceses, for the education of boys, especially of the poorer class, who showed signs of unusual aptitude for learning, or in whom such dispositions were observed as gave promise of a vocation to the Priest- hood. But corruptions and abuses had crept into these institutions ; they had been diverted from their original purpose ; and instead of furnishing an education for poor boys who were destined to the service of the Church, they were made to supply a cheap education for the sons of the bourgeoisie of those towns where they had been founded. They were very glad to be saved the expense of sending their boys to school, and used all their interest to get them admitted into these Seminaries, quite irre- spective of any intention of bringing them up for the Priesthood. Thus the whole intention of the founders was defeated, and the Church reaped no benefit. Vincent's first thought had been to do something t to remedy this great abuse, by opening such a Semi- nary as the Council had intended; and when he and his congregation of Mission Priests moved to S. Lazarus, he did in fact begin one, in the College des Bons Enfants. But the boys were received at the age of twelve, and, under the most favourable circumstances, many Ecclesiastical Seminaries 183 years must pass before any of them could be added to the ranks of the Church's army ; besides, the hope- ful signs of childhood might not always develop into a true vocation, and many of them might never come to be ordained at all, so that it was evident that Seminaries of this kind, however good in themselves, would never supply the want which was so pressing. What Vincent ardently desired was to see in every diocese a Seminary or Theplogical College, where those who had entirely resolved to seek Holy Orders, or who had already received them, might have a thorough and effectual training, for one or two years, in all that belongs to the priestly office, in the ad- ministration of the Sacraments, preaching, catechiz- ing, the ritual of the Church, plain song, and all the ceremonial of Divine service, as well as instructions in moral theology and in the right way of dealing with cases of conscience ; while at the same time, they might labour at the perfecting of their own spiritual life, in all those graces and virtues, which belong most particularly to the sacerdotal character, and, above all, in prayer, of which Vincent was wont to say, that " what a sword is to a soldier, prayer is to a priest." With his usual humility and self-distrust, Vincent would not take any step in this matter on his own responsibility, but laid it before Cardinal Eichelieu, 1 84 .S. Vincent de Paul urging that, whereas there were academies provided for young nobles and gentlemen, where they were trained in all that belonged to their condition, and whereas every trade, however mean and insignifi- cant, required those who wished to profess it, to serve an apprenticeship of many years, before they were allowed to pass for masters of it, there was but one profession, — that one to which belonged the highest functions, and divine ministries, — into which men were allowed to enter, almost without any pre- paration at all. The Cardinal heard him very favourably, and ap- proved of his design ; he urged him to take steps for establishing such a Seminary, and gave him five thou- sand francs to help towards the expense of starting it. With this encouragement, Vincent did not hesitate to appropriate his College des Bons Enfants to this purpose. He moved his boys into a house in the neighbourhood of S. Lazarus, which he called the Seminary of S. Charles, where the priests of his con- gregation continued to watch over, and superintend, the training, both " moral and intellectual, of the young lads, and in February 1642 he began to re- ceive divinity students into the College. All who entered were expected to remain for one year at least. Ecclesiastical Seminaries 18$ "Within a short time Seminaries of a like sort were established in many dioceses of France, and some of the bishops made it a rule to ordain no candidates who had not passed through them. This rule was much approved by Vincent, and he wished to see it made general. CHAPTER X. ACCESSION OF LOUIS XIV. — REGENCY OF THE QUEEN- MOTHER — SHE APPOINTS VINCENT ONE OF A COUNCIL OF SIX TO MANAGE ALL AFFAIRS OF CHURCH PA- TRONAGE—HIS DISCHARGE OF THE DUTIES OF THIS OFFICE. ~T~ E Grand Monarque was only five years old when -*— * his father died, and his mother, Anne of Austria, ' became Regent during his minority. Richelieu's place had been filled by Cardinal Mazarin, who practically held the reins of government under the name and authority of the Queen-Mother. She had long before, in the lonely neglected days of her early married life, come under Vincent de Paul's influence, and it is probable that she had been the means of procuring his summons to the dying King's bed-side. She seems to have had some sense of the responsibility which now came upon her, especially in matters ecclesiastical, and she took the wise step of appointing Vincent to be one of a council of six, by whom all Church patronage was to The Council of Conscience 1 87 be administered. All appointments of bishops and presentations to benefices were to be in their hands. The other five were Cardinal Mazarin, the Bishops of Beauvais and Lisieux, the Chancellor, and the Grand Penitentiary of Paris. Great and unfeigned was the surprise of the humble Mission Priest, when he found himself in such company, and with so heavy a responsibility laid upon him, and very earnestly he besought the Queen to allow him to decline an office, which was all the more distasteful to him, because it was one of honour and dignity in the eyes of the world. The Queen, however, would not yield to his entreaties, but insisted that he should not refuse to perform this service for God, and the King her son. When Yincent found that he could not prevail, he saw in the command of the Queen, an expression of the will of God, and at once laying aside all his own likes and dislikes, he offered himself to our Lord, to fulfil all His good pleasure. He foresaw the extreme difficulty of the office; he well knew how impossible it would be to dis- charge it faithfully as in the sight of God, and for the real interests of the Church, without drawing down upon himself the ill-will of many, and perhaps 1 88 5. Vincent de Paul their revenge ; but lie surrendered himself wholly to the Divine Providence, with the resolution to fulfil conscientiously the charge which had been laid upon him, and to be faithful to God, and to the King, at any cost. One favour, however, he obtained of the Queen, namely, that he should be excused from all attend- ance at Court, except when he was really required, on affairs connected with his office. His time was too precious, and had already too many claims upon it, to allow of his spending it on mere formalities, and ceremonies of state, and the Queen well knew that, though no courtier, she had in him a faithful servant, ever ready to attend to her commands, when she required his service. "While in a spirit of obedience and submission, Vincent accepted this office, and bore the burden of it patiently for ten years, he never ceased to beg of God in his prayers, that he might be released from it, and never offered the Holy Sacrifice without making the same petition. At one time it happened that he had left Paris for a short time, and it was reported that he was in disgrace, and had been ordered to retire from Court ; on his return, one of his friends congratulated him that the report was not true ; but Vincent, raising his eyes to heaven, Letter from Cardinal Mazarin 189 and striking his breast, exclaimed, " Ah, miserable .man that I am, I am not worthy of such a grace." "Well might Vincent shrink from the task of attempting to reform the gross corruptions, and abuse of patronage, which prevailed at that time, in the Church of France ; and certainly it cannot have lightened the difficulty, to be obliged to act with, and under, so unscrupulous a man as Mazarin, and one who was himself so enormous a pluralist. It seems to have been the wish of the Queen that Vincent should have a voice in all ecclesiastical appointments, and it was his particular charge to ascertain, and report upon, the fitness of the persons who applied, or for whom application was made, for benefices. But the Cardinal frequently nominated them without reference to, or consultation with, his colleagues ; in these cases Vincent was of course powerless to interfere, except by his private personal influence. How this was used may be seen in the following example. At a time when the Court was absent from Paris, Vincent one day received the following letter from Cardinal Mazarin : — " Monsieur, — These lines are to inform you that Monsieur N. having sent a despatch here, to ask of the Queen, for his son, the Bishopric of N., which has been vacant for some days, she has granted it to him, with 190 kS. Vincent de Paul the more satisfaction because he has the necessary qualifications for it, and her Majesty has been very glad of so favourable an opportunity to acknowledge, in the person of the son, the services of the father, and his zeal for the welfare of the state. The Queen promised to write to you herself on the subject : but I have been desirous to do so beforehand, in order that you may take the trouble to see him, and to give him such instructions and enlightenment as you may judge to be necessary, to the end that he may rightly fulfil the duties of the office," etc. etc. This letter was a sore trouble and perplexity to Vincent, for he knew that the man on whom the Bishopric had been conferred was utterly unfit for it ; moreover, that the Diocese was a large and im- portant one, and one which had been sadly neglected by former bishops, and needed all the care and labour of an earnest and faithful pastor, who would live there, and work, as he had no hope that this man would do. It was too late to expostulate with the Queen, for the deed was done, and besides, he was aware that the Court had at this time special need of the services of the father. But his duty to God and the Church would not suffer Vincent to rest, without doing some- thing, not only to avert, if possible, the scandal of His Remonstrance 191 such, an appointment, but also in charity for the souls both of the father who had applied for it, and of the son who was accepting it, — to save them, if by any means he could do so, from the sin of sacrilege. So he called on the father, with whom he had always been on friendly terms, and at the risk of giving deep offence, he set before him as earnestly as he could the evil of what he was doing. He repre- sented to him how utterly unfit his son was for the charge of a Diocese, and how much better it would be not to expose him to the fearful responsibility, which it must bring upon him, and to the unhappy consequences of an unworthy promotion, which might justly draw down upon him and his whole family the •wrath of God. He left nothing unsaid that could move him from his purpose, and with loving fer- vour he entreated him to draw back, before it was too late. His remonstrance was well received. The father listened attentively, without any sign of displeasure, to all he said, thanked him for his counsel, and pro- mised to consider it. Some days afterwards Vincent had occasion to call upon him, on some other business, and, as soon as he saw him, he exclaimed, " Monsieur, Monsieur Vincent, what bad nights you have given 192 S. Vincent de Paul me," and then he began to talk to him of his circum- stances and the state of his affairs ; his advanced age and the number of his children, and his desire to see them provided for before his death, and how his son would have good ecclesiastics to assist him, and advise him, that with their help, he would be able to conduct the affairs of the Diocese so as to avoid the evils which Vincent feared — in short, it was plain, that though the words of Vincent, and his deep sense of the tremendous responsibility, had touched his heart, he could not bring himself to forego, for conscience' sake, the worldly advantages and wealth which it would bring. Vincent had already said all he could, and pro- bably had discernment to see the hopelessness of doing more. One can imagine how sadly he must have taken his leave, and with what bitter self- reproach his words must have returned to the father's mind, when the son, for whose worldly advancement he had defied the voice of conscience, and braved the terrors of God's judgment, was carried off by a pre- mature death, just as he had entered on the posses- sion of the dignities and emoluments which had been bought for him at such a price. A refreshing contrast to this sad history was the case of a good man, who had been many years one of Letter to a King's Chaplain 193 the King's chaplains, and by long and faithful service really had a claim for promotion, which, at times, he was tempted to put forward. His better self told him, how much safer it was, for his eternal welfare, to leave all such things in the hands of God's Provi- dence, and not to seek great things for himself ; but he was troubled by the solicitations of his relations, who were constantly urging him, after the manner of the times, to make application for a Bishopric, saying that if he did not speak for himself, no one would do it for him, he would be altogether passed over and forgotten, etc. At last he determined to write to Vincent on the subject, not so much, as it would appear from Vin- cent's answer, for the sake of asking his advice, as for the strengthening of his own good purpose ; and surely it must have been strengthened by such a letter as this : — " Monsieur, — I have received your letter with all the respect which I owe you, and with all reverence and gratitude to God for the grace which He has bestowed on you. " When we consider the natural inclination all men. have to advance themselves, it is plainly God alone Who has given you contrary thoughts and disposi- tions, and since He has done so, He will surely give N 194 •$■ Vincent de Paul you strength to put them in practice, and to accom- plish in this respect that which is most pleasing to Him — in which, Monsieur, you will be following the rule of the Church, which does not permit that per- sons should push themselves into ecclesiastical digni- ties, and especially into the Episcopate ; and you will be following the example of the Son of God, Who being a Priest from all Eternity, yet did not come to exercise that office of Himself, but waited, till He was sent of His Father, although He had been so long expected as the Desire of all nations. Your conduct will be a source of edification at this present time, when unhappily but few are found who do not transgress this rule and Example. And if ever it should please God to call you to this Divine office, you will have the consolation, Monsieur, of having an assured vocation, since no human instru- ments will have been employed to bring you to it. You will be assisted by those special graces from God, which are attached to a lawful vocation, which will enable you to bring forth the fruits of an apostolic life, meet for a blessed Eternity ; for expe- rience shows, that God blesses in a marked manner, both in their persons and in their lives, those who have taken no step to advance themselves to the Episcopate. Letter to a King's Chaplain 195 " And lastly, Monsieur, at the hour of death, you will not have cause to regret, that you have, by your own act, taken upon yourself the charge of a diocese, — a burden which will then appear insupportable. Indeed, I cannot write this, without at the same time giving thanks to God, that He has kept you from the danger of seeking such a burden, and has given you the resolution not even to put yourself in the way of it. This is a grace which cannot be sufficiently prized and cherished." We have another example of his way of dealing with this subject, in a letter written to a member of a religious order who had consulted him. He was a man highly esteemed in his order for his strict observance of rule, and renowned, in the Church at large, as a preacher. He wrote to Vincent, to tell him that, owing to his long labours, and the austerity of his rule, he found his strength failing, and he feared that he should not be able to serve God and the Church much longer. The conclusion of his letter will hardly be read without a smile. " If," he says, " the Crown would make me Suffragan to the Archbishop of Rheims, I should, as Bishop, be dis- pensed from fasts and other religious austerities, and might yet preach for many a day, with power and good results. I beg you, as my friend, to tell me 1 96 .S. Vincent de Paul what you think of this, and, if your opinion is favourable, to help me to obtain a nomination from the King, in which I am sure of the support of persons who have credit and influence at Court." Vincent's answer will show what he thought of this proposal. After kind expressions of personal esteem and affection, and of his sense of the great gifts with which God had endowed him for the edi- fication of his order, as well as for the benefit of the whole Church, he adds, " I do not doubt that your Reverence would do wonders in the Episcopate, if you were called to it by God ; but He has given you such good success in all your works, in the place where you are, that there is no reason to suppose it is His will to remove you. For if His Providence called you to the Episcopate, it is not to yourself that He would apply, to place you there ; He would rather put it into the hearts of those, in whose power it is to appoint persons to ecclesiastical offices and dignities, to make choice of you, without your put- ting yourself forward, and in that case, your vocation would be pure and certain. But to offer yourself could hardly be right, and you could not hope for the blessing of God on such a change, which could neither be desired, nor sought after, by a soul truly humble, as yours is. And besides, my reverend Letter to a King's Chaplain 197 Father, what a wrong you would do to your Holy Order, by depriving it of one of its principal sup- ports, which sustains and adorns it, both by doctrine and example. " If you were to open the door you would give occasion to others to go out, as well as yourself, or at least to grow weary of the practices of penitence. They would be sure to find some excuse for lighten- ing and diminishing them, to the injury of your rule. For nature wearies of austerities, and if we consult her, she will say it is too much, that we must spare ourselves in order to live longer, and do God more service ; instead of which our Lord says, ' He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life shall keep it.' You know better than I do, all that may be said on this subject, and I should not have ventured to write you my thoughts about it, if you had not desired me to do so. " But perhaps you have not thought enough of the crown which awaits you. my God, how glorious it will be ! You have already done so much, my reverend Father, to win it, and perhaps there remains but little more for you to do. You only need to persevere in the narrow way on which you have entered, which leadeth unto life. You have already overcome the greatest difficulties ; you must 5". Vincent de Paul therefore take courage, and hope that God will give you grace to conquer the lesser ones. " If you will take my advice, you will desist for a time from the labour of preaching, in order to recover your health. You may yet render many services to God, and to your Order, which is one of the holiest and most edifying in the Church of Jesus Christ." Another, perhaps the most remarkable case of all, is thus graphically related by one of Vincent's biographers : — " The See of Poitiers was vacant. One of the ladies-in-waiting on the Queen, a Duchess, whose name is not given, set her heart on obtaining the appointment for her son. Well knowing, and with good reason, that Vincent would not enter into her views, she went straight to the Queen and applied for it, representing that the income was but small, but that, as the family estates lay in Poitou, the desirableness of the position would counterbalance the smallness of the revenue. " Anne of Austria promised it, and charged the Duchess to let Vincent know that she would expect him next day at the usual hour, in order that she might put her signature to the deed of nomination. The Duchess went at once to S. Lazarus, and in Expostulates with the Queen 199 order to avoid all explanations, she feigned to be very much hurried, and delivered the Queen's mes- sage, in the shortest and most abrupt form. In vain Vincent de Paul tried to detain her, and entreated her to allow him a few moments' conversation,' on the subject of her visit ; she would not listen to him, and only repeated that she had nothing to add to the commands of Her Majesty. " The next day, Vincent appeared at the Royal Palace, with a roll of paper in his hand : 'Ah,' said the Queen, ' it is the nomination to the Bishopric of Poitiers which you have brought me to sign,' and she took the paper. It was blank. ' How is this,' exclaimed the Queen in astonishment, ' have you not prepared the nomination?' 'Pardon me, Madame,' gently replied the holy man, ' but if your Majesty is determined on this choice, I must beg that you will yourself write your appointment, in which in con- science I can take no part.' ' How sorry I am, Monsieur Vincent, that I did not speak to you before I engaged my word. But I have been told that the person in question, though deficient in some respects, is equal to the post. The name decided me. I granted the request at once, fearing that the family might change their mind, and not be satisfied with so moderate an income ; and indeed I hoped that 200 S. Vincent de Paul. you would be as well pleased as I was, to be let off so cheaply.' "At these words, which seemed to show that the Queen took no very special interest in the case, Vincent breathed more freely, for there was room to hope, that by working on the religious feelings of the Queen, he might yet succeed in saving the honour of the Episcopate. He therefore answered : — ' It is true, Madame, that, humanly speaking, such a request may appear to your Majesty a very modest one; and that whenever Monsieur l'Abbe N.'s conduct shall be worthy of his birth and of his condition, he may well aspire to the principal places in your kingdom ; but unhappily, that time does not seem to have yet arrived. " ' Yesterday I much wished to have submitted some respectful observations to Madame the Duchess, in the hope of persuading her, in her piety, to with- draw a request so full of peril to her soul ; but not having been able to make her listen to the truth, it becomes a sacred duty for me to speak without con- cealment, though with great regret, to your Majesty in the interests both of your honour here, and your salvation hereafter.' " ' I see plainly that advantage has been taken of me,' said the Queen with pain, ' but I have given Expostulates with the Queen 201 my word, and you are not the man to advise to break it.' " ' Madame, according to all laws of morals, the revocation of a promise is not only a right, but a duty, where that promise has been extorted on false pretences, and still more is this the case where it cannot be fulfilled without crime.' " ' Crime ! Monsieur Vincent, do you mean to tell me then that I have promised to commit a crime V " ' Certainly not, Madame ; your Majesty neither intended, nor believed, that what you were promising was a crime — consequently your promise was not one. But you would indeed commit a crime, and a very great crime, if you were to sacrifice a whole Diocese to an excess of scruple, and in my soul and conscience I believe, that such is the position in which you now stand.' And, urged on by his zeal, em- boldened at the same time by the disposition in which he found the Queen, he went on to reveal to her the whole truth. " ' This Abb6, Madame, whom it has been proposed to you to make a bishop, spends his time in public- houses ; he is habitually so sunk in debauchery that he may be found almost every evening, dead drunk at the corners of the streets, incapable of remem- bering even his own name ; his family are not 202 S. Vincent de Paul ignorant of his conduct ; they have good reason for wishing to remove him from Paris — but it is not to an Episcopal throne that he ought to retire.' " ' I retract my promise,' exclaimed the Queen in alarm, ' and I nominate to the See of Poitiers who- ever you recommend to me. But it must rest with you to make my peace with the Duchess of N., and by repeating to her our conversation, you must not only remove from her mind all thoughts of com- plaining, but make her see the impossibility of ever speaking of what has passed.' - — "Not a pleasant commission ! but never mind. Having no longer anything to fear except for him- self, Vincent went with a light heart to the hotel of the Duchess. He desired the brother who always accompanied him, to remain in the antechamber, while he entered the salon. He was received with great joy, as if he were bringing the Bishopric in his pocket. ' You come from the Queen V inquired the Duchess. " ' Yes, Madame, I have this moment left her Majesty, and I come by her desire, to submit to you some observations, which I had not the good fortune to be able to lay before you yesterday.' And he related what had passed between him and the Queen. ' For the sake of your eternal salvation, Madame,' he added, Interview with the Duchess 203 'do not take upon yourself, for such a son, the respon- sibility inseparable from the demand of a Bishopric. Seek rather to turn this event to account, in recalling him to his duty. Pardon, Madame, the liberty I take in speaking thus. The Queen also is deeply distressed at the pain she is giving you, but you would not desire, that for your gratification, she should sacrifice her soul. She counts on your religious principle, and does not doubt, that on re- flection, you will, after a few days, feel thankful to her (as you certainly will in Eternity), that she has withdrawn her promise.' " At these words, the Duchess, who for some time had hardly been able to contain herself, rose, and not content with words, the story goes on to say that, in her rage, she took up a footstool and flung it at Vincent. It struck him on the forehead, making a wound from which blood flowed freely. Without a word, he wiped it with his handkerchief, and left the room. The brother whom he had left in the ante- room, had heard the noise, and at the sight of Vincent, he guessed what had happened. Indignant that his Father, a Priest, and the King's Minister, should be treated thus, he would have sprung towards the door of the room, but Vincent stopped him. ' You have nothing to do there, my brother; this is our way, let 204 >S. Vincent de Paul us go,' and he drew him away. ' Is it not a wonder- ful thing,' he added, as they went out, ' to see how far a mother's love for her son will carry her?' This was all his revenge. He. made the brother promise to keep entirely secret the cause of the hurt, whieh he could not conceal, and at S. Lazarus he let it be supposed that it was the consequence of a fall." 1 But probably the case in which his strict conscien- tiousness cost him most dear, was when he felt bound to refuse an urgent request of Monsieur le Bon, the former Prior of S. Lazarus. This was not a question of granting preferment, but of maintain- ing the discipline of the Church. A certain abbess had been deposed from her office, and imprisoned for flagrant misconduct ; from some motives of per- sonal obligation, M. le Bon took up her cause, and * pleaded earnestly with Vincent to have her sentence repealed, and that she might be reinstated in her convent, a thing which it was quite within his powers to effect. In all that did not touch matters of right and wrong, Vincent was accustomed to defer implicitly to the wishes of the former Prior, to whom he felt bound, by ties of duty and gratitude, as well as respect, and perhaps M. le Bon was hardly pre- 1 S. Vincent de Paul, sa Vie, etc., par M. l'Abb(5 Maynard, torn. iii. page 415. M, le Bon's request refused 205 pared for the decided refusal which he met with in this case. He continued to urge his request in a very pressing manner, but Vincent replied that it was impossible for him to yield, as it would be against his conscience. " Is it thus, then," said the old man, " that you treat me, after I have placed my house in your hands 1 Is this your gratitude for the benefit I con- ferred upon you, in thus providing a home for you and your whole Congregation?" " It is true," replied Vincent, " that you have loaded us with honours and gifts, and that we are bound to you as children to a father; but be pleased, Monsieur, to take it all back, since, according to your judgment, we are not worthy of it." At these words the good Prior was silent, and turned away in high displeasure. But, a few days afterwards, he came to Vincent, and kneeling down before him, acknowledged that he had been wrong, and asked his forgiveness. Vincent would not hear him without himself kneeling too, and so, humbling themselves together, and " in honour preferring one another," he listened, while M. le Bon told him, that he had. not fully known the guilt of the person, whose cause he had so vehemently espoused ; that now he was better informed, he saw that it would have been 206 S. Vincent de Paul wrong to yield to liim ; he humbly begged his pardon for what had passed, and hoped that Vincent would persevere in his determination, which he fully ap- proved, as not only right in itself, but also the truest charity towards the guilty person. CHAPTER XI. DAILY LIFE OF VINCENT DE PAUL — HIS HUMILITY— HIS DEALINGS WITH AND GUIDANCE OF INDIVIDUAL SOULS. ~VTT"E can well imagine what a heavy addition to his daily burden of toil and care, this office must have brought upon Vincent ; indeed, when we reflect upon all the multitudinous works in which he was already engaged, the many institutions, societies, and confraternities which looked to him for direc- tion, the numbers of his congregation who were em- ployed in Missions all over France, and far beyond (all of whom were in constant correspondence with him), not to speak of the many individual souls who hung upon him for guidance, it is hardly possible to conceive how he could have found time to attend to all. But in the midst of these unceasing calls and cares, he possessed his soul in such patience, that inward peace was never for one moment ruffled. It was wonderful to behold the perfect serenity of countenance, and saintly gentleness, with which he 2o8 5". Vincent de Paid received all who came to him, never hurrying any one, giving his whole attention to each alike, whether rich or poor, great or small ; always ready to listen to all they had to say, without showing any sign of weariness or annoyance, though we can hardly doubt that his place in the Council of Church Patronage must often have exposed him to interviews, not only wearisome and distasteful to the natural man, but deeply painful and distressing to all his high and holy Christian feelings. Besides the applications of this sort with which he was beset, he was continually consulted, not only by those around him, but by total strangers, and per- sons at a distance, which involved a large amount of correspondence. Bishops, Abbots, Directors, consulted him on mat- ters of the greatest delicacy, as well as importance ; royal ladies wrote to ask either for Missions to be held in their territories — a petition which he never refused — or for permission to enter some one of the convents of which he was Director, — a favour which he hardly ever granted. The Congregation de Pro- paganda Fide applied to him for missionaries for heathen lands, or the Papal Nuncios wanted his advice on points affecting the well-being of particular Dioceses, or of the Church at large. His large Correspondence 209 One day an afflicted mother would beg him to do something for her son, who was a captive in Bar- bary, and in danger of losing either his life or his faith ; the next day, perhaps, a renegade wrote to him from Algiers, imploring him, in his charity, to find means to recover him from his apostasy. All orders of the clergy had recourse to him as to a father, always ready to help them, in the difficulties of their ministry, or of their own spiritual life. But especially the heads of religious houses, who desired the reform of their order, looked to him, and leant upon his wise and prudent counsels. Sometimes an abbess, overwhelmed with the difficulty of her ad- ministration, and not knowing what step to take, applied to him for guidance ; and his next letter might be to a young girl, who, after some months of her novitiate, was tempted to return to the world. At one time it was a missionary, who needed strength- ening in his vocation, or recalling to his early fer- vour ; at another, some good priest, whose earnest spirit would not suffer him to rest, and whose zeal needed to be restrained, that it might last the longer. As long as Vincent lived, S. Lazarus was to the people of France, what the house of the Seer was in the days of the Judges in Israel, when, if a man went to"* inquire of God, he said, " Come, and let us O 210 .S. Vincent de Paul go to the Seer." So, all earnest persons, who sought to know the will of God, in any difficulty or per- plexity, betook themselves, either in person or by letter, to this man of God, and drew from his coun- sels the light and guidance of which they were in need. At Paris, no good work was undertaken without being first submitted to him, and his house was the resort of all persons, who had any scheme at heart, or on hand, for the glory of God or the good of men. Besides this, he was Confessor and Director to the Nuns of the Visitation. This office he had undertaken, as has been already mentioned, at the earnest request of S. Francis de Sales, and the Mother de Chantal, when the first convent of the order was founded at Paris, and he retained it till his death. Their numbers had much increased, and, at the period of his life which we have reached, there were three convents in Paris, and one at S. Denis, to all of which he was Spiritual Father. With all this load of work upon him, his rule was to rise every morning at four o'clock, and to spend three hours in church in mental prayer, celebrating Mass, and saying part of his Office. He was accus- tomed to spend a long time in preparation for, and thanksgiving after Holy Communion; this he did Daily Life 211 with an unalterable tranquillity of spirit, and no press of business, however great, could induce him to omit, or even shorten these devotions. All day long he was occupied in seeing people, giving to each one as much attention as if he had nothing else to do. His charity was sometimes sorely ■ tried by timid, scrupulous souls, who were continually coming to him with groundless fears, and making themselves miserable over trifles. It needed nothing short of a saintly patience and for- bearance to receive them, as he did, with invariable sweetness, even though they came to him perhaps three or four times in the course of an hour ; never to show them the least sign of weariness, or to betray, by word or look, the very serious inconveni- ence caused by their perpetual interruptions, and to go over his counsels to them again and again, and answer their often-repeated questions with unruffled serenity of voice and manner. " M. Vincent," writes one who was conscious of having thus tried his patience, " had always a great forbearance towards me, and treated me with the greatest gentleness when I was troubled in spirit. I used to intrude upon him continually, even when he was preparing to celebrate Mass, or to say his Office, and when I had had his answer, I would go away, and 212 5. Vincent de Paul then come back again almost immediately, to speak to him; and this over and over again, and it went on for a long time. But I never heard him speak a hard word to me ; on the contrary, he always answered me with the greatest sweetness, and without re- proaching me, which he might well have done, con- sidering how I went on troubling him. ... At whatever hour I went to him, though it was often very late, and far into the night, or perhaps at other times when he was much occupied and engaged in business with others, he always received me with the same kindness, and answered me with a gentle- ness and charity which I cannot explain." In the afternoons Vincent generally went out on some errand of mercy or work of love, which often occupied him till late ; and as soon as he came in he knelt down to finish his Office, which, as long as his infirmities allowed, he always said upon his knees. In the evening he received those of the house who wished to speak to him, and then wrote letters, or attended to other business, often till late at night; never failing, however late he might be, to rise at his usual hour next morning. He made a spiritual Retreat every year, and never allowed any amount of business to interfere with Annual Retreat 213 this ; for he well knew that the sanctification of his own soul, and the conforming of his whole being to the will of God, was a work which should come before all others. Great indeed must hare been the refreshment to his soul, of laying aside for a short time all external cares and duties, and thus going " apart into a desert place, to rest awhile " with his Lord ; and surely it was then and there, in the wilderness, alone with God, that the wondrous grace was won, which bore him so marvellously through the toils and distrac- tions of a life of almost unexampled labour, and made even his bodily countenance to shine with an unalterable serenity, — a faint reflection of the peace which reigned within. His office and place at Court, and the influence which he was known to have over the distribution of Church Patronage, did not fail to bring upon him the trials which he had foreseen. Ill-will was stirred up against him ; hard words were used about him ; and slanders unscrupulously circulated; but they could not touch him in his deep humility. Never was the pro- mise to the meek-spirited, that they shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace, more manifestly fulfilled. The shafts of malice and calumny could not but fall powerless on a man, who honestly thought worse 214 ■$"• Vincent de Paul things of himself, than it was possible for others to say. Instead of justifying himself when accused, he humbled himself before those who attacked him, and asked their pardon. It must have been somewhat embarrassing to a hot-headed young gentleman, who, when he could not have his way in some matter, told Vincent he was' " an old fool," to see the vener- able man kneel down before him, and ask his pardon for any occasion he might have given him to call him so. Another time, when he had been the means of preventing the nomination of an unfit person to a Bishopric, the relations of the disappointed man were very indignant, and put about an injurious calumny against Vincent. This came to the ears of the Queen, and the next time she met him, she asked him with a smile, whether he knew what was being said of him, and that he was accused of such a thing? To which he replied, with a countenance and manner quite unmoved, " Madame, I am a great sinner." " But," said the Queen, " you ought to justify yourself." " Madame," he answered, " they said worse things of our Lord, and He never justified Himself." In the political troubles of the year 1648-1649, His Humility 215 although, he used all his influence to endeavour to persuade the Queen to give a fair hearing to the claims of the Parliament, and to redress some of the wrongs which had so exasperated the people, none of the popular party gave him credit for his exer- tions in their behalf; he was supposed to be alto- gether on the side of the Court, and much ill-will was entertained against him on this account. He was often insulted, and attacked not only with hard words, but sometimes even with blows. Once, in particular, an angry man, on pretence that he had hustled him in a crowd, struck him a box on the ear, and openly accused him of being the cause of the heavy taxes which were laid upon the people. Instead of having the man arrested for this assault, he knelt down before him, literally turned to him the other cheek, publicly confessed (not that he was the author of those taxes and imposts, which he deeply regretted, but) that he was a great sinner, and as such, in his measure, answerable for the miseries of his country, and asked pardon of the man who had attacked him, for having given him cause to treat him thus. This wonderful humility was too much for his rude assailant ; how he received it at the time is not mentioned, but next day he went to call upon 2 1 6 6". Vincent de Paul him at S. Lazarus. Vincent received him as a dear friend, pressed him to pay him a week's visit, in- duced him to make a Retreat in the house, and by his gentleness and love, completely conquered him, and not only won his heart to himself personally, but drew it also to the love and service of God. One who was arguing with him on some of the disputed points of the Jansenist controversy, doc- trines to which he was always strongly opposed, finding that he could not persuade Vincent to be of his mind, fairly lost his temper, and in a fit of anger told him he was a most ignorant man, and he only wondered how his Congregation could endure to have him for their Superior ; to which Vincent humbly answered, that he himself wondered still more, " for," said he, " I am much more ignorant than you think." A priest of his order, who was in one of the branch houses, wrote to him to complain that the Superior of the house where he was, was a very uncultivated person, and not suited to the place. Vincent, in his answer, having first spoken of the virtues and excellent qualities of the said Superior, adds, " And I, what sort of a person am I ? and how is it that I have been borne with until now, in the office which I hold ; I, who am the most uneducated, His Humility 2 1 7 contemptible, and foolish of men ; who cannot speak six words to men of education without showing that I have neither sense nor judgment; and what is worse, I have not any virtue to compare with that of the person in question ?" He let pass no opportunity of referring to his humble birth, and was careful to inform those who were not aware of it. One day a poor woman accosted him, as he was at his own door, with several persons of distinction ; she asked alms of him, and pleaded that she had been his mother's servant. On which, in the presence of all his high-born friends, he said, " My good woman, you are taking me for some one else ; my mother never kept a servant ; on the contrary, she was a servant herself, and was the wife, as I am the son, of a poor peasant." On one occasion a gentleman whom he had been visiting would show him the respect of accompany- ing him to the door. Vincent tried by all means to prevent this, and at last said, "Are you aware, Monsieur, that I am the son of a poor villager, and that in my youth I kept sheep in the field 1" To his no small discomfiture his host promptly replied, that that had also been King David's occupation. Once only, we are told by his biographer, he had for a moment a movement of pride, when he heard 2 1 8 >S. Vincent de Paul that his nephew, a rough, ill-clothed peasant lad, was come to Paris to see him. His first impulse was to send for him to be brought to his room privately ; but he was no sooner conscious of the feeling than it was conquered. He left his room, and went down into the street to meet his nephew, embraced him, took him by the hand, and led him into the court of the convent, where he introduced him to the brotherhood as the best man of his family. And, on the first opportunity, he accused himself publicly before the assembled brethren, of having had a feeling of shame at his nephew's arrival, and an impulse to receive him secretly, because he was but a peasant, and badly dressed. It was ever his practice thus to humble himself by a public confession of anything, ever so small, in which he was conscious of being wrong, and he would kneel down before the lowest of his inferiors to ask pardon for the least shadow of a fault. On one occasion, when he was giving directions about lodging a poor traveller, the brother to whom he was speaking made so many objections and difficulties, that he was obliged to insist firmly on the thing being done. Afterwards it came into his" mind that he had spoken more strongly than he need, whereupon he went into the garden, where His Htimility 219 some of the elder priests of his community were assembled, and kneeling down on the ground before them, he asked pardon of the scandal he was daily giving in the house, and particularly of that which he had just then caused, by speaking rudely to a brother. One of those who were present relates the circumstance, and adds, " This was seen by all ; but what I myself alone saw, when, as usual, I went into his room that evening, was M. Vincent kissing the feet of that brother." His deep humility made Vincent the tenderest of directors, without in any degree weakening the firm- ness of the hand with which he guided, restrained, or checked the souls under his care. A grave re- proof from him, when he was obliged to give it, was a thing never forgotten, but whenever it was possible, his reproofs were rather given lightly, sometimes with a kind of playfulness, and always with a careful attention to the disposition with which he had to deal, and to the most favourable moment for produc- ing the desired effect. He was frequently heard to say, that he had only three times in his life spoken sharply in finding fault, thinking at the time that there was cause to do so, and that he had repented of it ever since, for that it had done no good ; whereas, on the contrary, 220 .S. Vincent de Paul he had never failed by gentle words to obtain what he desired. His spiritual daughters, the Nuns of the Visitation at Paris, say of him, " None could be compared with ' him for patience in bearing with the infirmities of others, as well of their bodies as their souls ; and although his presence inspired great respect, this respect had the effect of opening hearts to him rather than closing them. No one ever so drew souls to con- fide in him, and to lay bare their most secret thoughts, and the weaknesses most difficult to speak of. He bore with them, and excused them, as the tenderest mother does the faults of her child. " Only when he had to find fault with some negli- gence' in saying the Divine Office he seemed to be possessed with a new spirit ; he burned with a holy zeal, and spoke with such force and vigour that he imprinted on our hearts, in ineffaceable characters, a fear and reverence for the majesty of God." If any of the Nuns, or one of them alone, asked his blessing, he would kneel down, and gather up himself, as it were, before he gave it, in sight of his own nothingness, and of the majesty of God, and then, with a few touching words of encouragement, pray for a blessing on them and their work. After the death of S. Francis de Sales, he became As a Director 221 the Mother de Chantal's director, and she writes to him with a warmth of affection and a confidence which can hardly have been surpassed in her inter- course with her first saintly guide, the Bishop of Geneva. Thus one of her letters begins, " Although my heart, my very dear father, is insensible to all things except pain, yet will it never forget the charity you showed towards it, on the day of your departure. For, my very dear father, it was much relieved in its sorrow, and strengthened for those things which are continually arising on one side or another. " I prostrate myself in spirit at your feet, and ask your pardon for the trouble I have given you by my immortification, and I willingly embrace and cherish the humiliation which it causes me. But to whom should I show my infirmities, and make them known, but to my truly incomparable father (mm trte-imiqw Pkre), who will know how to beaT with them 1 I hope in your goodness that you will not weary of me." Again she writes from Annecy, when she had a hope of his coming there, " Alas, my true and very dear father, can it indeed be possible that my God will do me this favour, of bringing you to this coun- try 1 It would be the greatest consolation that I could receive in this world, and I believe that it 222 5. Vincent de Paul would be a special mercy of God to my soul, which would be beyond measure comforted by it (as it seems to me), in an inward trouble, which I have suffered now more than four years, and which is to me a very martyrdom." Still more touchingly childlike and dependent, is the following letter from M. Brulard de Sillery, one of the Knights-Commanders of the Order of S. John of Jerusalem, who had spent his life in affairs of state, been ambassador in Italy and Spain, and filled other official positions during the reign of Louis xm. In his old age, his heart was drawn in a remark- able manner from the things of this world to the love of God ; he placed himself entirely under the direc- tion of Vincent de Paul, and, under his guidance, gradually withdrew from the world, parted with his Hotel Sillery, where he had lived in all the sumptuous splendour of the French nobility of that time ; dis- missed his servants and retainers, rewarding and providing for those whose faithful service gave them a claim upon him, and after a due course of prepara- tion, consecrated the latter years of his life to the service of God as a holy and devoted priest. This is how the old soldier and statesman writes to his spiritual father : — " Monsieur, my reverend and very dear father, I doubt not that knowing as M. de S tilery's Letter 223 you do the heart of your miserable son, your wish was, by such a loving and cordial letter, so to fill it with the sweetness of your abundant goodness, that though in the matter of affection to you it yields to none, yet you oblige it to lay down its arms, and acknowledge you (as it very willingly does) in this, and in everything else, as its master and superior. And, in truth, one must be very hard and unculti- vated, not to be melted with love at such charity, so tenderly exercised, by such a kind and worthy father, towards a son, who is good for nothing but to give him trouble. But there is no help for it. I humbly and willingly accept the humiliation of all the littlenesses and weaknesses which you have to bear with in me, and in all reverence and submission I ask your pardon for them. I promise you, my very dear father, that I have a firm intention, by the grace of our Lord, in good earnest to amend them. Yes, indeed, my only father, I do believe that I have never felt myself so touched in this respect as I am now. Oh, if we could only work together effectually for the thorough amendment of so many miseries as your reverence knows that I am full of, and surrounded with, on all sides, I am sure that it would be to you an inexpres- sible comfort. And if this good should not come to pass, as quickly and as manifestly as your piety 224 •$"• Vincent de Paul would desire, I implore you, my good father, per viscera miserecordim Dei nostri, in quibus visitavit nos miens ex alto, that you will not weary of me, and that you will never forsake your poor son. You know that he would be under too bad a guidance if he had none but his own." It was by no means an uncommon thing for Vincent to receive letters from persons who were in doubt as to their vocation to the religious life. Such a one writes : — " Monsieur, I place myself in your hands to do whatever you decide that God requires of me. Tell me what I ought to do. ... It seems to me that God refers me to you to learn His will. I am entirely indifferent as to the choice I should make, and I will follow your advice as the most sure token of the will of God." To such applications as this his answer was, "The resolution of your doubt is a matter to be settled between God and your own soul. Go on praying that He will put into your heart what you should do. Go into retreat for some days with this intention, and believe that the resolution which you will form there, in the presence of our Lord, will be that which is most agreeable to His Divine Majesty, and the most for your real good." It was very seldom that he would consent to His guidance of Souls 225 decide such a question for any one, lest he should forestall the will of God, or outrun the leading of His Providence, which he rather sought in all things humbly to follow. When a person came to him who had made up his mind to leave the world, and enter a religious house, but had not decided what order to join, in" he men- tioned two, equally well ordered and desirable, Vincent still advised that the choice between them should be made under the guidance of God alone. If one of the two orders proposed was his own con- gregation of S. Lazarus, he would say, "Oh, Monsieur, we are not worthy to be compared with that other holy society. Go there in the name of God ; you will be incomparably better off than with us.'' Those who came to him with a fixed desire to enter his community he was very slow to accept. He made them undergo a very searching probation, and kept them waiting a long time to test their vocation : but when once they had been received, he was equally firm against allowing them to change. To a brother who had written to ask his permis- sion to leave the community, he replied in a letter full of fatherly affection and encouragement, ending with these words, " No, my dear brother, I could not consent to your leaving us, for this reason, that it is 226 5. Vincent de Paul not the will of God, and that it would be at the peril of your soul, which is very dear to me. If you will not believe me, at least I entreat you not to leave the community by any door except that through which you entered it, which was none other than a spiritual retreat. This I beg you to make, before you resolve on a step of such importance. Choose any one of our three houses nearest to the place where you are, and do not doubt that you will be well received in any one. The goodness of your heart has gained all the affection of mine, and that affec- tion has but one aim, — the glory of God and your sanctification. You believe this, I am sure, and you know that I am all yours in the love of our Lord." His tender considerateness for his children appears in the directions he gave to some whom he was sending on a distant foreign Mission. " You know," he says, " that there will be danger to your health in this new climate, until you are a little accustomed to it. On this account I warn you not to expose yourselves to the sun, and not to apply yourselves much to anything, except learning the language. Make believe that you have become little children, and are learning to speak, and in this spirit suffer yourselves to be guided entirely by Monsieur N., who will be to you as a father.'' Care of Sick Brethren 227 Vincent was always very careful of any of the brothers who were ill. He visited them, and him- self waited upon them, asking affectionately about them, and making particular inquiries whether proper attention was paid to them, and whether they had all they wanted, saying that he would rather the holy vessels of the church should be sold, than that a sick brother should want for anything. But this care for their bodies did not make him less careful for their souls ; and if he thought that any one was inclined to make too much of his illness, and excuse himself unnecessarily from his spiritual exercises, he would give a gentle and fatherly warning, not to let the indisposition of the body affect the soul, and make it tepid and unmortified. And he was wont to protest strongly against that anxious care about health which makes it a first object, and suffers the pursuit of it to interfere with the work and service of God. In an address which he made to his community on self-denial, he says, " There is another passion which rules over many, and which we must renounce ; and that is, the im- moderate desire to be well, and to preserve one's health, . . . and that excessive care to do all that is possible (and what is impossible too) for one's own preservation. For this immoderate anxiety and this 228 6". Vincent de Paul fear of suffering the least discomfort which one sees in some persons who give all their thoughts and all their attention to the care of their miserable life, these things are great hindrances in the service of God, and prevent them from following Jesus Christ freely. Messieurs and my brethren, we are dis- ciples of that Divine Saviour, and yet He finds us chained slaves — chained to what ? to a little health ; to an imaginary remedy ; to an infirmary where we want for nothing, to a house which pleases us ; to a walk which refreshes us ; to a repose which savours of sloth. But one will say, ' The doctor has advised me not to apply myself so closely, to take the air, to change my abode.' Oh miserable weakness ! Do the great of this world leave their homes because they are sometimes indisposed 1" It need hardly be said that Vincent's practice agreed with his precepts on this matter. In the latter years of his life he was subject to frequent attacks of ague, and suffered much from great swelling of his legs, ending in a painful disease; but he never altered his way of life, or allowed himself any in- dulgence in the observance of his rule. He con- tinued to kneel for hours on the bare floor of the church, not even using a mat, until the complaint in his legs became so bad that he was absolutely His Mortification 229 unable to do so, and even in extreme old age, for he lived to be eighty-four, he continued to rise at four o'clock at all seasons of the year, although his large correspondence and press of other work often kept him up great part of the night. " It is true," his biographer adds, "that he had not much reason to be fond of his bed, for it was nothing but a coarse straw paillasse without mattress or curtains; and in a room without a fire, until the last three or four years of his life, when he was persuaded to sleep in a room with a fire-place, because a little fire was necessary for the dressing of his legs. He also con- sented at last to have a curtain round his bed, but he never would have anything to rest upon more luxurious than his hard paillasse." To the end of his life Vincent bore the burden of ruling and guiding his Congregation. Once he made an earnest endeavour to lay it down : it was in the year 1642, ten years after the settlement of his com- pany at S. Lazarus, when all had been fairly esta- blished, and the Society, although comparatively only in its infancy, numbered ten distinct houses. He called a general assembly of the brethren, and when the ordinary business had been disposed of, md their sitting drew to an end, they were utterly taken by surprise as their revered Father and Founder 230 5. Vincent de Paid suddenly rose from his place, and falling on his knees before his brother priests, with many tears begged their forgiveness for all his faults, and the frequent scandals he caused, and expressed his desire to resign his office of Superior, requiring them, at the same time, to proceed at once to the election of his successor. Having said this, he rose, and giving them no time to reply, before they had recovered from their amazement, he left the room, that they might deliberate and make their election more freely in his absence, merely saying as he went out, that on whomsoever their choice might fall, he confirmed and ratified it beforehand, and by the grace of God, would yield as willing an obedience to the new Superior as the lowest and youngest amongst them. As soon as they had recovered themselves, the Mission Fathers with one consent agreed that they could not accept his resignation, and they sent certain members of their body as a deputation to entreat him to return, and resume his proper place among them. The messengers sought him for some time in vain. At last they found him in a small side-chapel of the Church of S. Lazarus. There, turned towards the high altar, and prostrate before the Blessed Sacra- ment, he was assisting at the election which he Desires to resign his office of Superior 231 believed to be going on, by his fervent prayers that God would overrule the choice according to His will. The deputation informed him of the resolution of the assembly, but their entreaties were unavailing ; he remained prostrate, and unmoved in his deter- mination, saying, " I am no longer Superior, let them name another.'' When this was reported to the assembled priests, they went in a body to the chapel, and there followed a loving contest between the humility of the father, and the tender, affectionate veneration of the sons. At last, seeing no end to it, the Mission Fathers said, " You absolutely insist then that we should proceed to the election of a Superior 1" " It is your duty, and I conjure you to do so." " Very well, then, it is you whom we re-elect, and shall re-elect as long as God spares you to us on earth." Vincent found himself caught in his own trapj he tried to escape, but finding all his efforts vain, he bowed his head, and meekly took up again the burden which he so longed to lay down. " At least, my brethren," he said, with tears, "pray for ce misirable; no greater act of obedience could have been required of me than that which I am now performing." CHAPTER XII. INSURRECTION OF THE FRONDE — VINCENT GOES TO S. GERMAINS TO TRY TO EFFECT A RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE QUEEN AND PARLIAMENT — MAKES A VISITATION TOUR — HIS ILLNESS AT RICHELIEU — RETURN TO PARIS — INFIRMITIES INCREASE — RELIEF SENT TO CHAMPAGNE AND PICARDY — FOUNDATION OF THE HOSPITAL OF THE NAME OF JESUS. A LLUSION has been made in the last chapter to the political troubles of the year 1648-49, known in history as the Insurrection of the Fronde. The large sums of money, raised in what we should now call unconstitutional ways, to support the ex- penses of continual wars, and of all the pomp and display of a brilliant Court, had provoked repeated remonstrances on the part of the Parliament ; and when, instead of paying any attention to them, the Queen took the rash step of imprisoning one of the members who was most forward in the opposition, the people were infuriated, and Paris was thrown into a state of revolt. The Queen, in alarm, carried the young King Insurrection of the Fronde 233 away to S. Germains, accompanied by her Prime Minister, Cardinal Mazarin and the rest of the Court, and the army, under command of the Prince de Cond6, blockaded Paris. The siege, though not a very effective one, could not but cause great misery, among the poor especially, and Vincent, whose heart was always keenly touched by their calamities, and who knew that, though the most innocent, they were sure to be the chief suf- ferers from such a state of things, resolved to do what in him lay to bring about a reconciliation. His connexion with the Government, and the influence which he was conscious of possessing with the Queen Eegent gave him hopes that his mediation might be of use. At all events he determined to try. So first he set his community to seek by prayer of the King of Kings and Prince of Peace, that He would so dispose the hearts of those in power, that the scourge of civil war might be averted, and peace restored. Next, he wrote to the President of the Parliament to say that God had put it into his heart to try what he could do to effect an accommodation between the. Queen and the Parliament, and that if he had not had the honour of waiting upon him before he went, it was in order that he might be able to assure the Queen that in what he said, he spoke from his own 234 •$"■ Vincent de Paul heart alone, and had not concerted anything with others. This letter he left with his Assistant- Superior, who was to be in charge of S. Lazarus during his absence, to be given to the President, M. de Mole, as soon as he was gone. Then without any communication with partisans of either side, he left his convent early one morning in January 1649, taking one of the brethren with him as his companion, and made his way, not with- out difficulty and peril, to S. Germains. He arrived there between nine and ten in the forenoon, and had a long interview, first with the Queen, and then with the Cardinal. Both received and heard him favour- ably, for they well knew the perfect sincerity of his heart and the rectitude of his intentions ; but beyond the satisfaction to his own mind, of having done what he could, to turn away the evils he so dreaded from his poor, his visit does not seem to have pro- duced much effect. Finding that he could do no good by staying at S. Germains, Vincent only remained there for two days, but instead of attempting to return to Paris, which he could hardly have done with safety, he went first to Villepreux, and thence to a little hamlet named Freneville, where there was a small farm which had been given to the Convent of S. Lazarus, In a Cottage at Freneville 235 as an endowment for certain Missions. Here he spent a month, living in a poor cottage, destitute of all the comforts and almost of the necessaries of life, It was mid-winter, and the cold was intense, but the inhabitants had hardly any fuel, and the only food they could set before their venerable guest was bread made of a mixture of rye and bean flour. Moreover sad news continually reached him. He had, as we have seen, left Paris privately; except the confi- dential letter which he had left for the President, he had told no one the purpose of his visit to S. G-er- mains, and the popular party, who knew that he was connected with the Government, and highly esteemed at Court, concluded that he was entirely on the side of their oppressors, and, while at no small risk to himself, and at the cost of much labour, fatigue, and suffering, he was using all his influence on their behalf, they were venting their malice and ill-will on his convent, and madly and recklessly destroying, in their rage and fury, the property which might truly be said to be only held in trust for their benefit, and which was always so freely and liberally used in the service of all who were in need. Hardly a day passed that, like Job, he did not hear of some fresh calamity. One day it was that six hundred soldiers had been quartered in S. Laza- 236 5. Vincent de Paul rus, and that under pretence of ascertaining what amount of supplies were stored in the house, they had rummaged the whole place, and wasted and spoiled such stores as there were, which were in- tended for the relief of the poor, as well as for the support of the community. Another day news was brought, that they had maliciously set fire to the stacks of firewood in the court of the convent, and that their whole provision of fuel for the winter was reduced to a heap of smoking ashes. Again, a messenger came to tell him that some farms in the neighbourhood of Paris, which belonged to the convent, and from which they drew their chief means of support, had been pillaged by the army ; that the houses had been broken open and plundered ; flocks and herds driven away ; barns broken into ; corn wasted and scattered. To all these his one answer was — " Blessed be God." No word of complaint or impatience was heard to pass his lips ; he accepted all these misfortunes in a spirit of penitence, taking joyfully the spoiling of his goods, and feeling that, as a priest, his place was to suffer, if only the wrath of God might be turned away from the suffering people. " These sheep, what have they done 1 " Makes a Visitation Tour 237 Meantime he occupied himself, in the true spirit of a Mission Priest, in preaching to the poor villagers around him ; instructing them, preparing them for the Sacraments, and assisting their parish priest to hear their confessions. After spending a month in this way, he left Fr6ne- ville, to make a little tour by Mans, Angers, Rennes, and some other places, where there were houses of his order established, or Sisters of Charity whom he wished to visit. This journey he made on horseback, accompanied by one of his brotherhood ; it was not without ad- ventures. On one occasion, as he was fording a small river, his horse lay down with him in the water. He mounted again, wet through, and with difficulty found a little fire to dry his clothes in a cottage by the wayside. It was Lent (probably the latter end of February), and he took no food all day, till he stopped for the evening at a small inn. Here, as his custom was, be began at once to catechize and instruct the servants of the house, and the landlady seeing this, in her zeal went out, and, instead of serving him with the food which he so sorely needed, fetched all the children she could find in the neigh- bourhood, and, without asking his leave, sent them up into Vincent's room. He, after the pattern of 238 .S. Vincent de Paul His Master, whose meat it was to do the will of Him that sent him, thanked her heartily, and when he had divided them into two classes, he gave one to his companion to teach, and took the other himself. Let us hope that the instruction was a short one, and that the worthy landlady took care to have a good supper ready for her venerable guest by the time it was over. But anyhow, such a day must have been a terrible strain on the constitution of an old man of seventy-three, and it is not surprising to hear that he was taken seriously ill on his way back to Paris. He was recalled there sooner than he had intended, by a message from the Queen desiring his return. During his absence order had been restored, and the Court had left S. Germains and gone back to Paris. In obedience to the Queen's command, Vincent set out at once, and got as far as Richelieu, where he was taken very ill, and obliged to stop. A brother Infirmarian was sent from S. Lazarus to nurse him. Vincent received him with his usual affectionate manner, but said he was sorry he should have taken the trouble to come so far " for the sake of his poor carcass." After- wards he reproached himself for these words, and, as his custom was whenever he thought he had done His Infirmities increase 239 amiss, he asked pardon for them on his knees, both of the brother in private, and afterwards at S. Lazarus, where, before the assembled brotherhood, he accused himself of a want of considerateness and cordiality towards the brother Infirmarian, in that he had expressed vexation at his coming to attend upon him. He reached home in the month of July, after an absence of six months and a half. From this time the infirmities of Vincent rapidly increased, and he was obliged, very reluctantly, to con- sent to use a little carriage to move about, instead of going everywhere on foot, or on horseback, as he had done hitherto. It was sorely against his will that he submitted to this, and not till the Archbishop of Paris had put him on his obedience to do it. He used to call the carriage his shame and disgrace, and always desired that the horses which he used should be employed at other times in farm labour, to avoid all appearance of pretension, and to show that his use of them was, as indeed must have been evident to all, an absolute necessity. Another trial, caused by the peculiar nature of his disease, was the inability to kneel. This must have been keenly felt by him. In all acts of worship a deep sense of the high majesty of Almighty God penetrated his heart, and found expression in the 240 S. Vincent de Paul lowliest attitudes of humble adoration. This was especially the case in all that concerned the blessed Sacrament. When celebrating, or 1 kneeling in prayer before the altar, his manner was marked by an intensity of awe and devotion, as though our blessed Lord were visibly present to him. The same deep reverence pervaded his every movement whenever he entered a church or passed an altar where that Presence was. He could not bear a hasty half-and-half genuflection, and if he saw any of his brethren careless in this respect it grieved him greatly, and he did not fail to reprove them privately, or, if needful, publicly. He knew how much the scrupulous observance of such outward acts tends to inward reverence and devotion, and how easily laxity and carelessness creep in, espe- cially if Superiors do not set a good example, and so he was most exact in his own observance, to the utmost of his power, and even beyond it, for fre- quently he was not able to raise himself without help ; and when at last his infirmity had got to such a pass that it was really impossible for him to kneel, he used to ask pardon before his whole com- munity, saying that his sins had deprived him of the use of his knees. But at the same time he added that if he saw any of his brethren becoming His Devotion 241 careless about it, he would force himself to kneel at any cost, even if he should be unable to rise again, lest through his bad example habits of irreverence should creep in amongst them. It was Vincent's invariable practice to say Mass daily. The only exception was, that when in Ketreat he conformed to the rtfle imposed on others, and abstained from Mass and Communion, during the three first days, while preparing for his confession. With this single exception, he never failed, all the year round, in sickness or in health, as long as he was able to stand at the altar, to celebrate daily ; and, not content with his own Mass, he loved, as long as his infirmities allowed, to serve at others. Even to the age of seventy-five years, when he could no longer walk without a stick, and could with diffi- culty kneel, or raise himself when kneeling, it was his delight to take the place of server, and to discharge the duties of that office, with a reverence and devo- tion which edified all beholders. It has been said that his sternest rebukes were called forth by any slovenliness or carelessness in the worship of Almighty God, and his own practice was conformable to his teaching. Every smallest detail was performed with scrupulous care. Person- ally he seems to have preferred simplicity in all Q 242 5. Vincent de Paul things, and probably he was never so happy as when saying a low Mass, at an humble altar, in some poor Mission chapel, surrounded by the poor and lowly ; but if he was called upon to officiate at a high celebra- tion, or to take part in any elaborate ceremonial, he took the greatest pains to inform himself beforehand of every detail of ritual, that all might be correctly and accurately performed. Any failure in this re- spect, or any breach in the due observance of the rubrics, grieved him deeply. He always exhorted his brethren to the greatest carefulness in such points, and required that any fault or mistake should be made matter of self-accusation. The sacramental Presence of our Lord was his refreshment in weari- ness, his comfort in trouble, his guide in doubt and perplexity. His time was so much at the command of others, that it was not often he had an hour to himself ; but, if he had, he spent it before the altar ; and, when he received a letter on any matter of importance, or about which he was troubled or anxious, he was often seen to carry it unopened behind the high altar of S. Lazarus, and there, bare- headed, and on his knees, to open it, and read it, and spread it before the Lord, as if only in the near Presence of Him on whom he wholly leaned for strength and guidance, he felt able to bear the His Devotion 243 burden it might bring upon him ; or, it may be, that he would thus express his submission to the will of God, in whatever, whether of good or bad news, the letter might bring, and offer up to Him the joy or the sorrow, as the case might be. When he was at S. Lazarus, he never left the convent without first going to the chapel, and pro- strating himself before the altar to ask a blessing on his going out ; and when he came in, he went there again, to give an account, as it were, of what he had been doing, to his Master, to thank Him for His assisting grace, and ask His forgiveness for failures and imperfections. He, used to recommend this practice to his brethren, saying, it was a duty which they owed to the Master of the house. After his return to Paris, Vincent's time and energies were once more absorbed in the work of providing relief and assistance, both bodily and spiritual, for the starving and plague-stricken people who had survived the ravages of the late wars. It was over the north-eastern provinces of France that the devastating tide had last swept, and the horrors now reported of Champagne and Picardy equalled, and, if possible, surpassed, those already described in Lorraine. The same may be said of the unremitting and 244 ■S'- Vincent de Paul self-devoted labours with which the Mission Priests of S. Lazarus, assisted by the Sisters of Charity, sought, under the guidance and direction of their saintly founder, to assuage the miseries of the poor people. Again, large sums of money were collected through the exertions, in great measure, of the asso- ciated ladies of Paris, and intrusted to him to be employed for their relief. About sixteen thousand francs were at first spent every month in supplies of food, clothing, medicines, tools for labourers, and seed-corn for the land. Twelve of the brothers were sent by Vincent into the most necessitous and suffering part of the country, under a Superior, who was to overlook all, arrange where the depots of food should be, and constantly communicate with Vincent as to their needs, and the progress of the work. All the corporal works of mercy were performed by these good men ; they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, visited the sick, released captives, entertained the homeless, and buried the dead. This last was a most trying part of their work. Not only were numbers of those killed in battle left to lie unburied where they fell, but the poor wasted, plague-stricken creatures crept, like wounded animals, into holes and corners, under banks and hedges, and laid themselves down to die, Relief sent to Picardy, etc. 245 with none to care for or bury them. Their dead bodies -were found sometimes half devoured by- wolves, and the air was poisoned by them. The spiritual famine and destitution was as great as the temporal, and much more deplorable. The churches had been plundered u, i desecrated ; the most sacred things profaned ; the holy vessels car- ried off ; the clergy killed, tortured, or driven away. Within a small circuit, twenty-five churches were unroofed, or otherwise made unfit for use. The unhappy people were perishing without sacraments or any means of grace. To all this misery, the Mission Priests did their utmost to bring such remedy as they could. They were indefatigable in teaching, preaching, confessing, and administering the sacraments. They helped to repair churches, and to restore them and the altars to a state in which at least it might be possible to celebrate the Holy Mysteries, and part of the alms at their disposal was employed in maintaining the priests, who had no other resource, and must either have starved or forsaken their posts. The unceasing toil and exhausting labours which the brothers of S. Lazarus went through, and the constant contact with disease, too often in impure and infected air, was full of peril, and not a few, 246 .S. Vincent de Paul both of them and of the Sisters, thus laid down their lives for their brethren. They had learned of their holy founder to see in those afflicted ones the very image of their Lord, and to be ready joyfully to part with everything, even life itself, in His ser- vice. Vincent de Paul is said to have been the author of the saying, that those who are good to the poor have no fear of death ; that is, that when death draws near, God mercifully takes away all dread of it from those who have loved and served His poor, although the fear of it may have troubled them all their lives. After three or four years the condition of things in these provinces had much improved, and Vincent was able to recall most of his brothers ; but a few remained to assist the parish clergy, who were still few and far between, in their ministrations, and to carry on the work of restoring the churches to a condition more fit for divine service. Another work remained for Vincent to do, before he lay down to take the rest, which his long life of toil, and his sad state of infirmity and suffering, must have made him look on to longingly. In the year 1653 a wealthy bourgeois of Paris came to him one day, and told him that he wished to place in his hands a large sum of monej r , which he desired Hospital of the Name of Jesus 247 to dedicate to the service of God. It was to be absolutely at his disposal, to be employed in what- ever good work he chose, on condition that the name of the giver should never be mentioned, as he desired to do this purely for the love of God alone, and that it should be known to none but God only. Vincent thought it a duty not to refuse the service thus asked of him, and he consented to receive the money in trust. After much consideration and prayer, he proposed to the giver, that it should be employed in founding a sort of almshouse, or hostel for aged persons of the artisan class, who were past work, and had no provision for their old age ; where all things needful should be provided for them, that being thus relieved of all care and anxiety for the sustenance of their bodies, they might be free to give all their thoughts and endeavours, during the latter days of their life, to preparation for death. ' This plan was much approved by the founder ; he only made one stipulation, viz., that the adminis- tration of the institution, both in spiritual and tem- poral affairs, should be vested always in the Superior of the Congregation of the Mission. Having obtained his full approval of the design, Vincent next laid out a part of the money in the purchase and preparation of suitable premises, and the rest was invested as an 248 S. Vincent de Paul endowment to yield an annual income. The house was fitted up "and furnished for the reception of forty- old people, — twenty men and twenty women. A little chapel was provided, and furnished with all that was reverent and seemly for Divine Service. A Mission Priest was appointed chaplain, and the care of the old people, and attendance upon them, was committed to the Sisters of Charity. The men and women were separately lodged, and had no inter- course with each other-; but the arrangements of the house were so contrived that they could all be pre- sent at the same service in the chapel, and hear the same reading at meals, which they took in common, though parted and screened from each other's view. Tools and materials were provided for those who were able to do a little work at their trades ; not so much for the sake of what they could earn, as to give them occupation, and guard them against the dangers of idleness. The house was called The Hospital of the Name of Jesus. It received the approbation of the Archbishop of Paris, and was formally constituted by letters-patent from the King, in which the government and administration was vested in Vincent de Paul as Superior of the Congre- gation of the Mission, and in his successors for ever. The peace and comfort which were found to reign La Salpetriire 249 in this happy little home gave rise to a project for providing something of the same kind, on a vast scale, for all the destitute poor of Paris. The asso- ciated ladies took it up very warmly, and some of them offered munificent contributions towards it. Vincent, of course, was taken into counsel ; he gave, as was his wont, very valuable help, and in particular he obtained for the purpose a grant from the Crown of a large building which had been employed for the manufacture of saltpetre, and was hence called " la Salpetriere ; " but there were points in the scheme of which he never thoroughly approved, and his principal part seems to have been to repress the eagerness of his lady friends, and check their too great precipitation. Delays and difficulties arose, which tried their patience; but by degrees the scheme was taken up by the Government and the municipal authorities, and the guidance of it passed out of his hands. The authorities were very anxious that the Mission Priests should undertake the spiri- tual charge of this great institution, and they were actually nominated to that office in the 'legal instru- ments and deeds of foundation; but the Superior did not wish it, and after deliberation and consulta- tion with his Community, it was resolved that they should decline the office. CHAPTER XIII. VINCENT GIVES WRITTEN RULES TO HIS CONGREGATION — HIS LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH. || ~TP to this time the Community at S. Lazarus had ^^^ lived under the guidance and direction of their venerable founder, by an unwritten code of customs and traditions ; but he was now in his eighty-third year, and sorely weighed down by many bodily infirmities ; he knew that the time of his de- parture could not be far off, and he desired, while yet with them, to give to his beloved Congregation written rules and constitutions. So on Friday evening, May 17, 1658, when all the brotherhood were assembled as usual, he made them a long and earnest address. After first review- ing the origin and growth of their Society, and reminding them in loving, burning words of its true end and object, and of the blessedness of being wholly devoted to the service of Christ's poor, he went on thus : " You have waited long for these Gives written Rules, etc. 251 rules, Messieurs, and my brethren, and we have long put off giving them to you, partly in imitation of the conduct of our Lord, who began to do before He taught; capit Jesus facere et docere. He practised virtue during the first thirty years of His life, and only spent the last three, in teaching and preaching. And our Society has sought to imitate Him, not only in what He came to do, but also in His manner of doing it ; for it may be said that our Society first did and then taught, cospit facere et docere. It is now well-nigh three and thirty years, or thereabouts, since G-od first granted it a beginning; and ever since that time, by the grace of God, the rules which we are now going to give you, have been practised. You will find in them nothing new, nothing that you have not already observed for many years, with great edification. If rules should be given which had not been already practised, some difficulty might arise about their observance, but when we give you those which you have already kept and observed, for so many years, with comfort and benefit, there can be nothing in them which you will not find equally profitable and easy for the future. We have been as the Eechabites, of whom mention is made in Holy Scripture, who kept by tradition the rules which had been left to them by their fathers, though 252 6". Vincent de Paul they were not written ; and now that we have ours written and printed, our Society will only have to go on, and keep steadfastly to the use of that which has been practised for many years, and to do always that which has been so faithfully done in times past. " If we had given rules from the beginning, before the Society had put them into practice, it would have seemed as if there was more in them of what was human than divine ; as, if it had all been planned and designed by man, and not a work of Divine Providence ; but, my brethren, all these rules and everything else that you see in our Congregation, has been done, I know not how, for I had never thought of it ; and things have come in little by little, in such a manner that one cannot say who has been the author of them. Now it is a rule of S. Augustine's that when the cause of anything that is good does not appear, we should attribute it to God, and acknowledge Him as the Origin and Author of it. According to this maxim, is not God the Author of all our rules, which have been introduced, I know not how, and in such sort that one cannot say why or wherefore ? Saviour, what rules ! and whence come they 1 Had I ever designed them 1 Not in the least. I can assure you, my brethren, that I never had a thought of these rules, or of our Society, Gives written Rules, etc. 253 or even of the idea of Missions ; it is all the work of God, men have had no share in it. " For myself, when I consider the means which it has pleased God to use in order to raise up this Con- gregation in His Church, I confess that I know not where I am, and it seems to me that all I see is a dream. No, all this is not of us ; it is not of man, but of God. Can you say that anything is of man, which the understanding of man has never foreseen, and which the will of man has never desired, nor sought in any way whatsoever 1 Our first Mission Priests had not thought of it any more than I had ; so that all has been done contrary to our expecta- tions or hopes. Yes, when I consider all the works in which our Congregation of Mission Priests has been employed, it seems to me a dream. . . "And if you ask me how the customs of our Society have been introduced, how the thought of all these exercises and employments came to us, I must answer that I do not know, and never can know. " There is M. Portail, who with me saw the first beginning of our little company; he will tell you that nothing was further from our thoughts than all this. All has come, as it were, of itself, little by little, one thing after another. The number of those who 254 >$"• Vincent de Paul joined themselves to us went on increasing, and each one was striving for perfection ; and as the number grew, good customs were introduced, in order that we might the better live together, and work together harmoniously ; these customs have been always ob- served, and by the grace of God, they are still observed to this day. " And now, at last, it has been thought well to reduce them to writing, and into the form of rules. I hope that the Community will receive them as emanating from the Spirit of God, from whom all good things proceed, and without whom we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of our- selves. Non sumus sufficientes cogitare aliquid h nobis, quasi ex nobis. "0 Messieurs, and my brethren, I am in such amazement at the thought that it is I who am giv- ing these rules, that I cannot conceive how I have brought myself to this. I seem to myself to be only at the very beginning, and the more I think of it, the more it seems to me to have nothing to do with the thoughts of man, and the more plainly I perceive that it is God alone who has inspired these rules for our Society ; and if, in any small degree, I have con- tributed anything to them, I fear that it may be that very thing which perhaps may cause that they should Gives written Rules, etc. 255 not be so well observed for the future, or produce all the fruit, and all the good, that they ought. " And, having said this, what remains for me now to do, but to imitate Moses, who, when he had given the law of God to the people, promised to those who should observe it, all manner of blessing, in their bodies, in their souls, in their goods, and in all things ? And we too, my brethren, must hope from the goodness of God, all sorts of grace and blessing, upon all those who shall faithfully keep the rules that He has given — a blessing on their persons, a blessing on their thoughts, a blessing on their designs, a blessing on their works and on all their ways, a blessing on their going out and their coming in, a blessing, finally, on all that concerns them. I hope that the fidelity with which you have always observed these rules, and the patience with which you have waited for them so long, will obtain for you, from the goodness of God, grace to observe them still more faithfully and perfectly for the future. Lord, give thy blessing to this little book, and let the unction of thy Holy Spirit go with it, that it may work in the souls of those who study it, hatred of sin, detach- ment from the world, the practice of holiness, and union with Thee." When he had finished speaking, Vincent called 256 6*. Vincent de Paul the priests to him one by one, and to each he gave a little book, containing a printed copy of their rules, which they received kneeling. The rest of the brothers were to have theirs on the following day, as it was late, and probably his strength was nearly exhausted. After the distribution was over, the whole Com- munity knelt down again, and in their name, the Assistant-Superior asked their venerable father's bless- ing. The aged saint with difficulty rose, and, him- self kneeling, offered the following prayer : — " Lord, Who art Thyself law, eternal and unchangeable ; Who by Thine infinite wisdom dost govern the Uni- verse ; Thou from Whom, as from a living fountain, flow all laws, all that guides Thy creatures, and all rules of holy living, Lord, bless, if it please Thee, those to whom Thou hast given these rules, and who have received them as from Thee. Give them, Lord, the grace to keep them always, and faithfully unto death. It is in this trust, and in Thy name, that, miserable sinner that I am, I shall pronounce the words of the blessing which I am about to give to the Congregation." The words of Vincent on this remarkable occasion have been faithfully preserved, but the tone of his voice as he uttered them, it would be impossible to His own Example 257 convey ; and the expression of his whole manner, sc tender, humble, gentle, and overflowing with love and devotion, cannot be described, nor can words convey the effect on the hearts of those who heard him. He said that he knew not whence had come the rules and customs which they observed; but they knew that from the first he had himself been the living rule and the animating principle of the whole Community. They had followed him, as he had fol- lowed Christ ; and in nothing had he followed Him more exactly, than in the very point of which he had been speaking — axpit facere et docere. It was far more by doing, than by teaching, that he led his brethren on to that perfection in the religious life which he so earnestly desired for them, and which he knew could only be attained by an exact observ- ance of their rule. It was not by using his authority as Superior to check irregularities, and enforce obe- dience, that he strove to bring about this exact observance, but by being himself an example of scrupulous faithfulness in the minutest particulars. The pattern of his fervent zeal told upon the whole Community as no reproofs or exhortations could ever have done. They knew that he was up and at work answering 258 6". Vincent de Paul letters and getting through other business, long after all the rest of the Community were in bed, and yet they saw him first in the chapel, at half-past four every morning, and, in spite of his painful infirmity, devoutly kneeling on the bare floor, all the time allotted for mental prayer. They knew that ague and low fever, frequently recurring, often deprived him of all relish for food, — at times almost of the power to take it ; but they saw him content with the common fare, not only not asking for any delicacies, but refusing all indulgences of diet when they were pressed upon him, and de- clining to avail himself of any exemptions from fasts and abstinences. Punctuality in getting up in the morning, a ready and prompt obedience to the calling bell, was a point on which he laid great stress. He used to say that slackness in this particular was one of the surest symptoms of a failing vocation. In making choice of Superiors for branch houses, he always made a point of selecting those who could most be depended on in this respect. "Whatever administrative capacity or gift for guiding others a man might have, if he could not trust him to set a good example in this one point, of getting up punctually in the morning, he did not consider him fit to be a Superior. His His own Example 259 own obedience to the call of the bell was so prompt that his biographer says the second stroke never found him in the same posture as the first. But the time was now come when it was the will of God that the active and laborious life of His faith- ful servant should be changed to one of patient suf- fering. He had wrought while it was day, a long day of more than fourscore years, and now the night was coming on, when no man can work. He had walked in His Master's steps, who went about doing good ; like Him, he had been sent to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. Like Him, he had gathered the lambs with his arms, and carried them in his bosom ; like Him, the people had pressed upon him to hear the Word of G-od, and often there were so many coming and going, that he had no leisure, so much as to eat ; like Him, his whole life had been given to the service of men, to toilsome and unceasing care for the souls and bodies of the poor ; and now it pleased God that by the cross of suffering meekly borne, he should be conformed yet more perfectly to His Lord's image, before he entered into His joy. The infirmity in his limbs, from which he had suffered more or less for forty-five years, had gradu- 26o 5". Vincent de Paul ally increased. From the year 1632, when he first went to S. Lazarus, he had been obliged to use a horse to get about Paris, but he was able to move about the house, and short distances, on foot without difficulty. As the swellings of his legs increased, he became unable to walk without the help of a stick ; before long the stick was exchanged for crutches, by means of which he contrived to get from his own room to the chapel to hear Mass, when he could no longer stand at the altar to celebrate. For the two last years of his life, he could not even make use of crutches, but was entirely confined to his chair. The brethren begged to be allowed to carry him in his chair into the chapel, that he might still have the consolation, so specially dear to him, of being in the near Presence of his Lord, and with reluctance he consented to this, but would never allow them to carry him anywhere else, or for any other object. For several years he had suffered from frequent attacks of ague, and these, with the remedies used to relieve them, had weakened him very much. His knees were frightfully swelled, and painful ulcers had broken out in his ankles, injured by the fetters of his two Activities, from which there was a pro- fuse and very distressing discharge ; but though in constant suffering, night and day, and visibly de- His last Illness 261 clining in strength, he continued to perform the duties of his office with all his accustomed zeal and diligence. He entered into all the affairs of the Community, and watched over the distant houses as usual. He received and answered innumerable letters, took counsel with those in any office or authority, heard their reports, advised and directed them, received all who desired to see him, either privately or together, selected those of the brotherhood who should be sent out on Missions, and conferred with them about the work to which they were going, and all this with a countenance as bright, and a voice and manner as sweet, gentle, and cheerful as if he had been in perfect health. If those who came to him made any inquiries about himself, he spoke of his illness as a matter of no great consequence ; of his sufferings as nothing compared to what he had de- served ; and then he would adroitly turn the conver- sation from himself to his visitor, inquiring tenderly about him, and sympathizing in any pain or trouble, as if it were of far more importance than his own. One of the brothers happened one day to come into his room when the ulcers on his legs were being dressed, and, seeing how acute the pain was, he ex- claimed, " Monsieur, how grievous your sufferings are ! " " What ! do you call that grievous," Vincent 262 6 1 . Vincent de Paul answered, " which is the work of God, and what He ordains for a miserable sinner such as I am ? God forgive you, Monsieur, for what you have just said ; it is not thus we speak, in the language of Jesus Christ." On another occasion the same priest re- marked to him that his sufferings seemed to increase from day to day. " It is true," he answered, " that from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet, I feel them increase ; but, alas ! what an account I shall have to render at the judgment-seat of God, before whom I must soon appear, if I do not make a good use of them." Thus, by the grace of God, he was now enabled to carry out in his own practice, the counsels he had often given to others, of entire abandonment to the will of God. This he had all his life long set before himself, and before those whom he guided, as the highest perfection of the Christian life. " The per- fection of love," he said, " does not consist in ecsta- sies of feeling, but in doing the will of God; and he who is most conformed to the will of God, will be most perfect among men, for our perfection consists in so uniting our will to that of God, that His and ours shall be one, both in willing and not willing ; and he who excels most in this point will be the most perfect." Conformity to the Will of God 263 When one of the most valuable members of his Society was dangerously ill, and Madame le Gras wrote to him in great sorrow and distress about it, he answered, — " It does seem as if our Lord would take His share out of our little company. All be- long to Him, as I hope, and He has a right to do what He will with His own. For myself, my greatest desire is to desire nothing but the accomplishment of His holy will. I cannot express to you how far advanced our invalid is in this practice, and perhaps it is on this very account that our Lord wills to remove him to a place where he may continue it more happily throughout all eternity. Let us be- seech Him that you and I may always be one in willing and not willing with Him and in Him, for it is a foretaste of Paradise here below." And to another who wrote to him in sickness to ask whether he could tell her of any spiritual evil which might be the cause of her bodily suffering, he answered, " I cannot point out to you any other reason for your sickness than the good pleasure of G-od. Therefore adore this His good pleasure, without troubling your- self to inquire whence it comes that God is pleased to see you in a state of suffering. He is most chiefly glorified by our abandonment to His guidance, with- out discussing the reason of His will, except it be 264 .S. Vincent de Paul that His will is Eeason itself, and His reason is His will. Let us wrap ourselves up in this, as Isaac did in the will of Abraham, and Jesus Christ in that of His Father." In addition to his bodily sufferings, it pleased God, during the last year of his life, to visit His faithful servant with the sorrow of bereavement, in the loss of three of those most dear to him. The first of these was M. Portail, the good priest who had been his earliest companion, the first of all to join with him in his work for the galley-slaves, and who, with one other, had taken possession of the Coll6ge des Bons Enfants with him, and so formed the first nucleus of the Congregation of the Mission. They had been intimate friends for nearly fifty years, and for five-and-thirty they had shared all the cares and interests of the Society. Together they had watched over its wonderfully rapid growth, begun in 1 625 in the College des Bons Enfants, transplanted in 1 632 to the Convent of S. Lazarus, and now, in 1 660, spread far and wide, and working and bringing forth fruit almost all over the world. M. Portail had all along been Vincent's right hand ; he was his Secretary and Assistant-Superior, and had taken the entire spiritual charge of the Sisters of Charity, so that his loss must have made Bereavement 26 5 a sad blank. It must have been the more keenly felt, because it was so soon followed by that of Madame le Gras, who had also been so helpful to Vincent, both in the first starting, and in the after management of the Sisters. She had, in fact, been their general Superior, and had been in constant correspondence with him about their affairs. He rarely saw her, and never without some real necessity. She had for long been very infirm, and so great an invalid, that Vincent used to say that for twenty years her life seemed to have been sustained as by a miracle. Ever since, at the request of the Bishop of Belley, he had first consented to take charge of her soul, he had been her director ; she clung to him with the deepest affection and reverence, and dreaded above all things being deprived of his ministrations at the hour of her death. It was not the will of God to grant her heart's desire in this matter, for when that hour came, her beloved father and guide was himself too near his end, and too weak and infirm to move, or even to stand. She sent to beg from him at least some words of consolation written by his own hand. This he refused to grant ; it may be, fearing lest perchance there might be too much of earthly affection in the wish, and desiring as his last service to her soul, to detach it entirely from all 266 5". Vincent de Paul earthly helps, however holy, and teach her to lean only on Him Who alone could be with her as she walked through the Valley of the shadow of death. He sent one of the priests of his Congregation to her, with a message from him, to the effect that she was only going on before, and he hoped soon to fol- low, and see her in Paradise. Besides the sorrow of parting with those so dear to him, and who had been so much mixed up in the works that he had most at heart, her death and Monsieur Portail's coming so close together, must have thrown a heavy load of care upon Vincent in his very feeble state ; as he would have to make arrangements for filling their places, and providing for the government and guidance of the now numer- ous company of Sisters of Charity. The other loss which saddened the last months of his life was that of the Abt>6 de Chandenier, a nephew of the Cardinal de la Rochefoucault, who, with his brother, had lived for six or seven years as pensionnaires in the Convent of S. Lazarus. It was against the rules of the Society to receive persons into the house in this way, who were not regular members of the Congregation, but, for reasons which Vincent considered sufficient, an exception had been made in their favour. And indeed if M. de Chan- Bereavement 267 denier could have had his wish, he would long ago have been received into the congregation, but Vincent had been unwilling to admit one whom he considered too great and too good to belong to the miserable company of poor Mission Priests. Writing to a friend to inform him of his death, he says, " He was as full of the Spirit of God as any man I ever knew; he lived a saint, and died a Mission Priest. He had made a journey to Eome with his brother and two priests of our congregation. On his way back he was taken ill and died at Chambery. Before he died, he earnestly requested one of our priests who was with him, to admit him into our Society, which he did. He had made the same request of me, many times, but his birth and his virtue were both too high above us, and I would not listen to him. We were unworthy of such an honour, and, in fact, it is only our house in heaven which has merited the favour of having him belong to it, those on earth have only inherited the example of his holy life, to admire and to imitate. I know not what he can have seen in our pitiful company which could have inspired him with this desire to appear before God clothed in our rags, under the name and habit of a Mission Priest. It is in this character that I com- mend him to your remembrance in the Holy Sacrifice." 268 5. Vincent de Paul By another it is said of him (M. de Chandenier), that " Prayer was his continual nourishment, humility his adornment, mortification his delight, labour his repose, charity his exercise, and poverty his chosen companion.'' The dearest and holiest links of earthly affection being thus loosened, and his body well-nigh worn out with suffering and disease, Vincent awaited his own summons with that holy indifference to which he had trained his soul. All around him were sad- dened by the evident tokens of his near departure, but he inwardly rejoiced; his countenance shone with peace and gladness, and he accepted all his sufferings in a spirit of penitence and humility, unit- ing his will to the will of God, and committing his soul and body into His hands to be dealt with according to His good pleasure, for time and for Eternity. His whole life had been a preparation for death, and moreover it had been his practice for years, every morning when he made his act of thanksgiving after Mass, to repeat the prayers for those in extremis, and the commendation of departing souls ; thus, while charitably interceding for the dy- ing, preparing for his own death, so that there was no need of a more solemn or extraordinary prepara- tion, now that it was close at hand. A little before Approaching Death 269 his death, one of the brethren of S. Lazarus, writing to a friend, mentioned in his letter that Vincent had not long to live, and that, judging by appearances, his death must be very near ; and then without further thought, he brought the letter to the Superior to read, as was customary in the Society. Vincent told him to leave the letter, and he would look over it presently. When he read in it this plain-spoken mention of his own approaching end, it occurred to him that probably the priest who had written it, had some special inten- tion in thus bringing it before him ; and with his usual humility and self-mistrust he set himself to ex- amine whether he had in any way given his brethren cause to suppose that he was unaware of his own state, and needed such a warning. Not being able to find anything to accuse himself of in this respect, he sent for the writer, and thanking him for his charitable warning, he begged him, if he had seen anything else amiss in him, or in which he seemed to be lacking, to have the charity to mention it, saying, at the same time, "As to this warning which I suppose you intended to give me, I must tell you in all simplicity, that God has given me the grace not to need it (I tell you this in order that you may not be scandalized at seeing me making no extra- ordinary preparation for my death) ; for eighteen 270 5. Vincent de Paul years I have never lain down in bed without having first made my soul ready to die that night.'' The poor brother assured him that he had no such inten- tion in giving him the letter to read, but had done it in pure forgetfulness ; and indeed it would have been strange if those who lived in constant inter- course with the saintly man had failed to perceive, that his light was ever burning, and his loins girded, and he himself like to one who was waiting for his Lord, that when He came and knocked, he might open to Him immediately. He had long looked for that knock, and wondered why it was so long delayed. Sometimes he would complain of the delay, not to man, but to God, saying, " For so many years I have abused Thy grace ; alas ! Lord, I live too long, since there is no amendment in my life, and my sins are multi- plied according to the number of my years." And when he had to announce to the brotherhood the death of some one of their good Mission Priests, he would add, " Thou leavest me, my God, and callest to Thee Thy servants. I am one of those tares which spoil the good grain which Thou gatherest, and here I am still uselessly cumbering the ground. ' Why cumbereth it the ground % ' Well, well, my God, Thy will be done, not mine." Approach of Death 27 1 But now his patient waiting was all but over, and the time for his " mmc dimittis " was come at last, and it was indeed "in peace." On the 25th of September, about noon, he fell into a deep sleep in his chair. For some time he had been subject to fits of great drowsiness, caused by his weakness, and the inability to get any rest at night, but this seems to have been a more profound sleep than usual j and when some one asked him what he thought of it, he said, smiling, " It is the brother who has come beforehand, while we are waiting for the sister." On Sunday the 26th, he was carried in his chair to the chapel, where he heard Mass, and communi- cated, as was his daily custom ; when he got back to his room he was seized with a great stupor and drowsiness, from which he was with difficulty roused from time to time, but only to fall back immediately into the same state. The attendants, becoming alarmed at its long continuance, sent for a physician ; but when he came, he told them that no remedies could be of any use, and advised that he should receive the last Sacraments. Before he left him, the dying Saint roused himself a little, smiled, and tried to answer his questions with his usual affable manner, but he was too weak to say more than a few words ; 272 S. Vincent de Paul and if he attempted to speak, he was unable to finish a sentence. When he was asked to give his blessing to his whole Congregation, as well the absent members as the present, he made an effort to raise his head, and pronounce the benediction. The first words were spoken distinctly and aloud, but the latter half of the blessing was scarcely audible. That evening, as he was evidently sinking, the Sacrament of Extreme Unction was administered. It was thought safer, on account of his great weak- ness, not to attempt to undress him, and he passed the night in his chair, in sweet, tranquil, and appa- rently almost unceasing communion with God. If the drowsy stupor came on, and nothing else could rouse him, he wakened up immediately at the holy name of God. Among the words of prayer and ejaculations suggested to him the " Deus in adjutorium meum intende " seemed most to satisfy his soul, and to the last, as often as it was repeated, he never failed to answer, " Domine ad adjuvandum me festina." It happened that, at this time, one of the clergy, who was accustomed to take part in the weekly Tuesday conferences at S. Lazarus, was making a Retreat in the house. There had been great mutual affection between him and Vincent, and being in- Death 273 formed of his state, he obtained permission to see him, and take leave of him. He asked his blessing for all the Associates of those conferences, and besought his intercession, to obtain for them grace, that the spirit of fervour and zeal which had been kindled and fostered by him among them, might not decay and die out when he was gone. To this Vincent only answered, " Qui ccepit opus bonum, ipse perficiet ; " thus to the last, as he had ever done, turning the thought away from himself, the instrument, to the Author of all good. About a quarter of an hour after he had spoken these humble words, so full of gracious promise and comfortable assurance, his own perseverance received its final crown, and he entered into the joy of his Lord. It was Monday morning, at half-past four o'clock, the very hour at which, for forty years, he had been accustomed, every day of his life, to invoke the Pre- sence of God in prayer, that he was called to enter that longed-for Presence. Sitting in his chair, in his usual dress, in perfect peace, without a sigh or a struggle, without any movement or change of coun- tenance, he closed his eyes, and breathed out his soul, so calmly, that bystanders hardly knew whether it was indeed death, or only taking of rest in sleep. S 274 -S- Vincent de Paul His body was exposed to the mournful loving gaze and veneration of the faithful all that day and the forenoon of the next ; and in the afternoon of Tuesday, the 28th of September, amid a vast con- course of reverent mourners of all sorts and degrees, it was laid to rest in the middle of the chancel of the Church of S. Lazarus. The spot was marked by a stone, on which his children engraved the fol- lowing simple inscription : — " HlC JACET VENEEABTLIS VlR VlNCENTUTS A PaTJLO, PrES- byter,' fundatok, set) institutor et primus superior Generalts Congregations Missionis, necnon Puellarum Charitatis. Obiit die 27 Septembrts 1660, .statis ver6 s,vm 85." CHAPTER XIV. INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY VINCENT TO ONE WHO WAS TO BE SUPERIOR OF ONE OF THE HOUSES OF HIS CONGREGATION. OJUCH (in so far as it has been given us to sketch ^-^ his likeness) was Vincent de Paul outwardly, in his life and in his death. Of the inner mind and spirit in which his vast labours of love were begun, continued, and ended, it hardly becomes us to speak ; but one cannot dwell upon his life and character, and watch his daily ways, as we have tried to do, without seeing that the foundation graces of all were humility, love, and an entire dependence on our Lord. Humility, the depth and intensity of which is simply incomprehensible to souls who have not yet attained to that sight of the awful majesty and holiness of Almighty God, from which all such self-abhorrence springs ; love, which drew its burn- ing strength and fervour from seeing our Lord everywhere and in all ; and dependence, which made 276 5. Vincent de Paid him look up for guidance and help, not only in his greater works and undertakings, but in every even trifling question which he answered, or step which he took. How he sought to form in his spiritual children these dispositions we may partly see, from the follow- ing instructions, given by him to a priest whom he was sending to be Superior of one of the branch houses of his congregation, and written down at the time by the person to whom they were delivered : — " Oh, Monsieur, what, and how great, think you, is that office of the government of souls to which God calls youl What sort of a profession do you think is that of a Mission Priest, obliged to deal with and guide souls, whose motions are known to God only 1 Ars artium regimen animarum. It was the work of the Son of God upon earth ; for this He de- scended from heaven; for this He was born of a Virgin ; to this He gave every moment of His life ; for this He suffered a most painful death. And therefore you ought to entertain a very high esteem of that which you are going to do. " But what are the means rightly to fulfil this office of guiding souls to God, of resisting the flood of sin in a people, or the faults of a seminary, of inspiring sentiments of Christian and ecclesiastical Instructions to the Superior of a House 277 virtue in those whom Providence shall intrust to your care, that you may help on their salvation or their perfection % " Certainly there is nothing human in this ; it is not the work of man, it is the work of God ; grande opus : it is the carrying on of the work of Jesus Christ ; and for this reason it is that human industry can do nothing but harm, unless God interferes. No, Monsieur, neither philosophy, nor theology, nor preaching takes effect upon souls ; nothing will do except Jesus Christ takes part with us, or we with Him ; except we work in Him, and He in us ; except we speak as He spake, and in His spirit, even as He was in His Father, and preached those things which He had heard and learnt of the Father. This is the language of Holy Scripture. " You must then, Monsieur, empty yourself of yourself, in order to clothe yourself with Jesus Christ. We know that in Nature all things reproduce them- selves — a sheep produces a sheep, a man a man. And thus, if he who guides souls, who speaks to them, who forms them, is only animated by the human spirit, those who see him, who listen to him, and who study to imitate him, will become alto- gether human. Whatever he may say or do, he will only inspire them with a semblance of virtue, 278 5". Vincent de Paid and not with the reality ; he will communicate to them the spirit which animates himself, as we see that masters impress their maxims and their modes of acting on the minds of their disciples. "If, on the contrary, a Superior is filled with God, if he is full of the principles of our Lord, all his words will be effectual, there will flow from them a virtue which will edify, and all his actions will be so many salutary instructions which will work the good of those who shall know them. " To arrive at this, Monsieur, it is needful that our Lord should Himself stamp upon your soul His mark and character ; for just as we see a wild tree on which a good tree has been grafted bear good fruit according to the nature of the graft, so we too, miserable creatures, though we are but flesh, but worthless straw and thorns, yet when our Lord imprints upon us His likeness, and gives us, so to say, the sap of His spirit and His grace, and unites us to Himself, as the branches to the vine, then we do what He did upon earth. I mean that we per- form divine actions, and like S. Paul, who was full of this spirit, we beget children to our Lord. " One important thing to which you must apply yourself with all care is, to have continual inter- course with our Lord in prayer. There, is the Instructions to the Superior of a House 279 storehouse where you will find the instructions needful for you in the discharge of the office which you are going to have. When you are in any doubt have recourse to God, and say to Him, ' Lord, who art the Father of Lights, teach me what I ought to do on this occasion.' " I give you this advice, not only in circumstances of any peculiar difficulty, but also that you may learn of God Himself what He would have you teach, after the manner of Moses, who only spoke to the people of Israel that which he had received from God. ' Thus saith the Lord.' "Moreover, you must have recourse to God in prayer in order to keep your own soul in His fear and love. For alas ! Monsieur, I am compelled to say, and you ought to be aware, that one may easily lose himself, while working for the salvation of others. A man may do well in a private life, and yet forget himself when called to a public work. Saul was found worthy to be king because he behaved himself well in his father's house ; and yet when he was raised to the throne he fell miserably from the grace of God. S. Paul chastened his body, lest that by any means, having preached to others and shown them the way of salvation, he himself should be a castaway. 28o 6". Vincent de Paul " Now, in order not to fall into the misery of Saul or of Judas, you must unite yourself inseparably to our Lord ; you must lift up your heart and soul to Him and say continually, ' Lord, do not suffer that in saving others I should miserably lose myself; be Thou Thyself my Pastor, and do not deny to me the graces which Thou bestowest upon others, through me, and by the functions of my ministry.' " And yet once more, you must have recourse to prayer, in order to lay before our Lord the needs of those whose guidance will be committed to you. Be quite sure that you will obtain more fruit by this means than by any other. Jesus Christ, who should be your example in all your guidance of souls, was not content with employing His preaching, His labours, His fasts, His blood, and even His death, but to all these He added His prayers. He needed to ask nothing for Himself, it was therefore for us that He prayed so often, and to teach us to do the like, as well for that which concerns ourselves as for those whom, with Him, it is our part to save. " The next thing which I would recommend to you, is the humility of our Lord. Say often, ' Lord, what have I done to be employed in such a work 1 What works of mine correspond to the charge which has been laid upon my shoulders % Ah, my God, I Instructions to the Superior of a House 281 shall ruin all, if Thou dost not Thyself order all my words and my deeds.' " Let us always contemplate in ourselves all there is of imperfection in our human nature, and we shall find more than enough to humble us, not only before God, but also before men, and in the presence of those who are our inferiors. " Above all things, never suffer in your heart the desire to appear as Superior or master. I am not of the opinion of a person who said to me the other day, that in order to rule well and to maintain one's authority, it was needful to let it be seen that one is the Superior. my God, our Lord Jesus Christ did not speak thus ; He taught us the very reverse, both by word and example, saying that He was come, not to be ministered to but to minister, and that he who would be chief must be servant of all. " Seek then to enter into this holy principle and behave yourself among those with whom you are going to dwell, as one of themselves — quasi units ex Mis ; telling them from the first, that you are not come to lord it over them, but to serve them. Do this both in- wardly and outwardly, and you will find the good of it. " Besides, we must always attribute to God all the good that is done by our means, and on the contrary lay to our own charge all the evil which happens in 282 .S. Vincent de Paid the Community. Yes, remember that all disorders are generally owing to the Superior, who by his negligence, or by his bad example, introduces irregu- larity, just as all the members of a body languish if the head is out of health. " Humility should lead you also to avoid all the self-complacency which so easily glides into those occupations which have something of outward dignity and show. Oh, Monsieur, how this vain complacency poisons good works ! It is a plague which corrupts the most holy actions, and which soon leads to for- getfulness of God. Beware, in the name of God, of this fault, which is of all that I know the most fatal to perfection and to advancement in the spiritual life. " To this end give yourself to God, that you may speak in the humility of Jesus Christ, confessing that your doctrine is not yours, nor of you, but of the Gospel. Imitate above all things the simplicity of the words and of the similitudes which our Lord makes use of in Holy Scripture, when speaking to the people. Think what wonders He might have taught ! what mysteries might He not have revealed, of the Divinity, and of His admirable perfections. He who was the eternal Wisdom of His Father ! Yet you see how simply He speaks, and how He makes use of familiar comparisons, — of a labourer, of Instructions to the Superior of a House 283 a vine-dresser, of a field, of a vine, of a grain of mustard-seed. It is thus you ought to speak, if you would be intelligible to the people to whom you preach the Word of God. " Another thing to which you must pay very particular attention, is to depend entirely on the guidance of the Son of God. I mean to say that when you have to act, you should think thus : Is this according to the rules of the Son of God % If you find that it is, say — ' Well and good, we will go on.' If not, say — ' I will not do it.' " Moreover, when you are about to do some good work, say to the Son of God, ' Lord, if Thou wert in my place, how wouldst Thou act in this matter] How wouldst Thou instruct these people 1 How wouldst Thou console this sick man, whether sick in body or in spirit V " This dependence on our Lord should also lead you to pay great deference to those who are His representatives, and who are in the place of Superiors. Believe me, their experience, and the grace which Jesus Christ in His goodness bestows upon them by reason of their office, has taught them many things concerning the rule' and guidance of souls. I tell you this in order to lead you to do nothing of importance, to undertake nothing out of the common, without 284 vS". Vincent de Paul giving us notice, or in case anything was so pressing that you had no time to wait for our answer, then apply to the Superior who is nearest to you, and ask him how he would act on such an occasion. We have found that God has blessed the conduct of those who have acted thus ; while on the contrary, those who have done otherwise have involved themselves in affairs which have not only been a trouble to them- selves, but which have greatly embarrassed us. " I beg you also to be careful never to want to make yourself remarkable. I wish you not to affect any- thing extraordinary, but to follow always the royal road, viam regiam, that high road in which you can walk safely and without blame. I mean to say by this, that you should conform in all things to the rules and holy customs of the Congregation : do not introduce anything new, but follow the counsels which have been drawn up for those who have the manage- ment of houses of the orders, and do not alter any- thing of what is done throughout the Society. "Be not only faithful in the observance of the rules, but also exact in enforcing their observance ; for without this, all will go wrong. And as you will be in the place of our Lord, you must be after His pattern, a light which enlightens, and which warms. Jesus Christ, says S. Paul, is the brightness of the Instructions to the Superior of a House 285 Father's glory; and S. John' says that He is the Light which lightens every man that cometh into the world. " We see that in all things the higher orders in- fluence the lower ; for instance, the angels of a more exalted hierarchy enlighten and perfect the intelli- gences of a lower rank ; in the same manner the superior, the pastor, and the director should purify, illuminate, and bring into union with God, the souls which are committed to him by God Himself. "And as the heavens pour their gracious influ- ences upon the earth, so should those who are above others shed forth upon them the spirit which ought to animate them : in order to this you should be quite full of grace, of light, and of good works, as we see that the sun communicates of the fulness of his radiance to the other heavenly bodies. "Finally, you must be like salt, 'vos estis sal terras,' preserving the flock over which you are pastors from corruption." At this point of his address Vincent was inter- rupted by one of the brothers, who came to speak to him of some temporal matters which concerned the house of S. Lazarus. When he was gone, Vincent turned to the priest to whom he was giving these instructions, and said :- - 286 5. Vincent de Paul '' You see, Monsieur, how from the things of God of which we have just been speaking, I have been obliged to turn to temporal affairs ; from this you may see that it belongs to a Superior not only to provide for spiritual things, but also to extend his care to temporal matters ; for as those whom he has to lead are composed of souls and bodies, he must care for the needs both of the one and the other, and this after the example of God Himself, Who having from all eternity begotten His Son, and the Father and the Son having produced the Holy Spirit, I say that, besides these divine operations ad intra He created the world ad extra, and is continually occupied in preserving it, with all its dependencies, producing every year new fruits upon the trees, etc. And this same care of His adorable Providence reaches so far that a leaf does not fall from a tree without His command ; He counts the hairs of our heads, and nourishes the tiniest worm. " This consideration, it seems to me, ought to make you understand that we should give our atten- tion, not only to that which is high and lifted up, as are those functions which concern spiritual things, but that a Superior, who represents in some sort the all-embracing character of the power of God, should apply himself to the care of the smallest temporal Instructions to the Superior of a House 287 things, never thinking such cares unworthy of him. Give yourself therefore to God, to procure the tem- poral advantage of the house to which you are going. " The Son of God, when first He sent forth His apostles, commanded them to take no money; but afterwards, when the number of His disciples in- creasedj it was His will that there should be one of the company who had the bag, and who should not only care for the poor, but also provide for the needs of His family. Still more, He suffered that women should follow Him to minister to Him of their sub- stance. And if He commands us in the Gospel to take no thought for the morrow, that is to be under- stood as a warning not to be too eager and careful about earthly goods, and not that we should make no provision for food or clothing, else it would be wrong to sow the ground. "And with this I conclude. This is sufficient for to-day. I repeat again that what you are going to do is a very great work, grande opus. I beseech our Lord that He will give His blessing to your rule, and do you, on your part, ask for me, that He will pardon me all the faults which I have myself com- mitted in the office which I hold." CHAPTER XV. S. LAZARUS AFTER THE DEATH OF VINCENT. "TTTNCENT DE PAUL was canonized after, the * usual preliminaries, by Pope Clement XII., on 16th June 1737. The decree which pronounced him a Saint was received with the greatest enthu- siasm throughout France. Religious services were everywhere held in his honour, and churches dedi- cated in his name. For a time at least, we cannot doubt that his memory was held in loving and devout veneration ; and if the people of Paris had been told, that only fifty years later, they themselves would destroy the home, and drive away the chil- dren of the man, whose whole life had been spent- in their service, they would have been the last to believe it. But so it was. The story is so sad, that we would fain draw a veil over it, and end our book with the last chapter. But for those who may wish to know something of the after history of S. Lazarus, and how the family 5". Lazarus after the Death of Vincent 289 of S. Vincent went on after their master and father had been taken from their head, these few pages are added. Tor nearly a century and a half after the death of S. Vincent, the community of S. Lazarus held on its way in peace, faithfully carrying on the labours of love to which its great founder had trained it. Meantime the spirit of infidelity and irreligion was doing its deadly work among the people of France, and undermining all love and reverence for the good and holy. The name of S. Vincent was well-nigh forgotten. Voltaire, in his scorn and contempt of all religion, had spoken of him as " a Gascon priest of some celebrity in his day ; " and on hearing of a mission to China, undertaken by the Lazarists, he had written to d'Alembert that " it would be a good joke to stop those scoundrels from doing mischief in China." x But the active warfare carried on by those good men against the vice and wickedness of the age provoked not scorn only, but bitter hatred in the breasts of the infidel and atheistical philosophers of that period. For a time the fire smouldered, but only to break out at last with destructive fury. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, the 1 " II serait assez plaisant d'empScher ces marauds la de faire mal a la Chine." T 290 6". Vincent de Paul community of S. Lazarus numbered in all about four hundred persons ; the ancient buildings of the con- vent had been put into good repair, some new ones erected, and the whole concern was in good working order. The rules and customs were the same as in the days of S. Vincent ; the same simplicity and poverty prevailed in all the arrangements of the house ; only two rooms boasted of a carpet, one destined to the use of the Archbishop of Paris, the other occupied by an old gentleman, Knight of the Order of S. Louis. The Superior had no distinc- tion or exemption from the rules which were bind- ing on the rest of the brotherhood. His room was as plain as the rest ; his food the same ; no serving brother waited upon him; his only privilege was to be escorted to dinner every day by two poor old men, generally chosen from among the inmates of the Hostel of the Name of Jesus. In the general government of the Society he was assisted by a council of four. There were under him two Assist- ant Superiors for the interior management of the house, two Directors of the Novices, one Director of Retreats, four for the Sisters of Charity, one for the Hostel of the Name of Jesus, and one for Foreign Missions. When to these we add the Deacons, whose special office it was to teach the Assault on the Convent 291 Catechism three times a week to two hundred poor persons, who were fed daily at the convent, it will hardly be denied that the spirit of S. Vincent still pervaded the institution. Such was the state of S. Lazarus when, on the night of the 12th of July 1789, a band of ruffians, numbering, it is said, about two hundred, the blind tools of spirits more wicked than themselves, haters of all that was good and holy — simply because it was good and holy — attacked the convent. For hours they carried on their assault, unchecked appa- rently by any of the military or police authorities, and, at two o'clock in the morning of the 1 3th, they succeeded in breaking open the doors ; they then rushed into the refectory, where they first maddened themselves with wine, and then began an indiscrimi- nate plunder and destruction. The valuable library, of more than fifty thousand volumes ; the dispensary, with its complete supply of medicines, and of medical and surgical appliances ; the collection of portraits, more than a hundred in number, of persons whose memory was dear to the Society, which hung on the walls of the refectory ; everything, in short, of value in the house, was destroyed. Even S. Vincent's room did not escape, but was rifled like the rest, not for the value of its contents, for they were only the 292 S. Vincent de Paul straw paillasse on which he died, an old candlestick with the remains of the candle which was in the room at his death, a straw chair, his hat, his poor garments, and the bandages which covered his wounds. There was nothing in such an inventory- to move the cupidity of robbers or housebreakers, and it must have been out of fiendish hatred to that which savoured of sanctity that all was broken, torn, and trodden under foot. And yet this frantic mob had as yet some reverence left, for the church was not plundered — the rich and costly shrine in which, after his canonization, the body of the saint had been placed, was not touched, nor a single crucifix broken in any one of the six hundred rooms of the convent. From the interior of the building the depredators went to the garden, the farm, and its dependencies ; all was ravaged, the cattle killed, the crops destroyed, the barns set on fire. No violence appears to have been done to the persons of any of the community, who all made their escape, except one aged brother disabled by para- lysis, whom the ruffians themselves carried across from S. Lazarus to the house of the Sisters of Charity which was opposite to it. Great was the terror of the poor Sisters while the work of destruc- Assault on the Convent 293 tion was going on at S. Lazarus, but the insurgents told them not to fear, for they were not hired against them. At four o'clock in the morning of the following day a band of young Lazarists, accompanied by some of the elder Fathers, crept back to the convent, and gathered together as well as they could, whatever had escaped destruction, and in particular, anything that remained of the contents of Vincent's room. The real instigators of this horrible outrage were unknown ; the mob who perpetrated it seemed to have been urged on by a report that large stores of corn were kept concealed in the precincts of the convent. Nothing of the sort was found, beyond the needful supply required for so large a community for about three months, and what there was, was burned. It is impossible to believe that such a lengthened work of destruction could have been perpetrated with impunity, if the authorities had wished to pre- vent it. However, after it was over, the King, the Archbishop of Paris, the Cathedral Chapter, and other religious houses as well as several private indi- viduals, sent contributions to the community, as an expression of sympathy, and to assist in repairing the immense amount of damage which had been 294 •S'- Vincent de Paul done — in a few days 100,000 francs were offered for this purpose. It was but a moment's lull in the storm; in August 1792 an act of official pillage completed the devas- tation which the outrage of 1789 had begun. Emissaries of the police were sent to carry away all the deeds, registers, and archives of the com- munity which had escaped before, and all the treasures of the church, including the shrine of S. Vincent. Its precious contents were happily saved from profanation ; the police reports of the 30th August 1792 state that " in a silver-gilt shrine was found a skeleton, which ' Messieurs les ci-devant Lazaristes ' begged to be allowed to remove, and place in a wooden case, which permission was granted." They were only just in time ; a few days later the reign of terror had begun, and the streets of Paris were running with blood from the massacres of September. The Society of S. Lazarus was destined to the slaughter, but, warned in time, the brothers escaped, carrying with them the bones of their sainted Father. The coffin was kept concealed, first in the house of a private individual, and after- wards under the charge of the Sisters of Charity, till the year 1830, when the sacred remains were solemnly transferred to the church of the convent in Present Condition 295 the Eue de Sevres, where after many years of house- lessness the Congregation of the Mission had at last succeeded in establishing itself, and where in a more costly and beautiful shrine than the first, the body of S. Vincent now rests. Since the Eevolution of 1792 the convent of S. Lazarus has been used as a prison ; the whole place has been altered, and the old church destroyed. It is now a place of confinement for criminal women, and is strictly closed to strangers. There is only one pleasant thought on which the mind can rest in this sad history, and that is, that the poor fallen creatures are under the care of Sisters, and that S. Vincent's own room, which happily escaped demolition, has been fitted up by them as their chapel. APPENDIX. APPENDIX. CONTAINING LETTERS OF S. VINCENT DE PAUL. I. — To a Bishop wlw had written to ask him whether, in time of Plague, it would be well that he should him- self minister to the Sick in his diocese. I KNOW not how to express to you, my Lord, the grief with which I have heard of the sickness which threatens your city, nor how unworthy I feel of the confidence with which you have honoured me. I pray God with all my heart that He will turn away this scourge from the people of your diocese, and that He will enable me to make answer according to His mind, to that which you require of me. My poor thought, my Lord, then is, that a bishop who finds himself in such circumstances should hold himself ready to provide for the spiritual and tem- poral needs of his whole diocese during this public affliction, and should not shut himself up in one place, nor employ himself in any manner which would prevent his care for other places, forasmuch as he is not the bishop of one place only, but of his whole diocese ; and he ought so to distribute his cares throughout it, as not to limit them to one par- ticular spot, unless in a case where he cannot other- 300 Appendix wise provide for the souls of that place, through the parish clergy, or other ecclesiastics ; for in that case, I think he ought to risk his life for their salvation, and leave it to the adorable Providence of God to care for others. This, my Lord, is the practice of one of the greatest prelates of this kingdom (my Lord N.), who has instructed his clergy to venture their lives for the good of their parishioners ; and when the plague appears in any place, he goes there at once, to see that the priest of the parish remains faithfully there, to encourage him in his resolution, and finally to give him counsel and such helps as he may need for the assistance of his parishioners. He does not in this visit expose himself to in- fection by going to the sick persons themselves. He then returns home, but is always ready to expose himself in any case where he cannot provide through others for the needs of a parish. If S. Charles Borromeo acted otherwise, it would seem to have been under some special inspiration of God, or it may have been because the disease was in the town of Milan only. But sin»e it is difficult to do in a large diocese what may easily be done in a small one, it seems to me, my Lord, that it would be a good plan, if you thought well of it, at once to visit those districts where the sickness now is, to encourage your clergy, or if some hindrance, or the danger of being made prisoner in this time of war, prevents your going, te send your archdeacons, or, failing them, some other ecclesiastics, to those places for the same purpose ; Letters 301 and as soon as ever you hear that the infection has reached a place, that you should send some ecclesias- tic there, to strengthen the parish priest, and to give some bodily assistance to the plague-stricken. . . . The poor people in the country, when they are visited by the plague, are generally forsaken and in great want of food, and it would be a work worthy of your piety, my Lord, to provide against this by sending alms to all such places, and putting them into the hands of good clergy, who should see that bread, wine, and a little meat are provided for them, which these poor people may go and fetch, at such places and hours as shall be appointed for them. And if there should be any doubt as to the trust- worthiness of the clergyman of the place, then it must be committed to some neighbouring vicar or curate, or else to some good laymen of the parish who could do it. There is generally some one to be found in every place, who would be capable of managing such a charity, especially when it is not necessary to have any intercourse with the plague- stricken. I hope, my Lord, that if it pleases God to bless this good work, it will bring great glory to our Lord, to you consolation both in life and death, and to your flock much edification ; but in order to do this, it is absolutely necessary that you should not confine yourself to one place. Our missionaries in your diocese write me word that our Lord has given them the grace to be quite ready to attend upon the plague-stricken, one after another, whether in their own district, or in the rest 302 Appendix of the town, according as necessity or obedience may- require it ; and I am writing to them to take their orders from you, my Lord, and I humbly entreat of you to make any use of us that may seem good to your great benevolence. There are generally numbers of religious who offer themselves to assist the plague-stricken. I have no doubt some such will be found in your town, and perhaps a sufficient number for the good work, not only in the city, but in the country too, without em- ploying Messieurs the archdeacons, or the priests whom I spoke of above. You will see by the printed paper which I en- close, the arrangement which my Lord the Arch- bishop of Paris has made in this diocese, to remedy the indescribable miseries which prevail here. It may give you some suggestions as to the best way of helping the poor sufferers in your diocese. II. — To a Missionary of whom he lutd heard tlmt his manner of preaching was stern, and his dealings with people harsh and severe. I WRITE to ask for news about you, and to give you some report of ourselves. How are you after so many labours 1 How many Missions have you held 1 Do' you find the people inclined to make a good use of the means of grace which you provide for them ? and to derive from them such fruit and profit as could be wished? It will be a comfort to me to hear all these things in detail. I have good accounts Letters 303 from other houses of our Society ; in all they are working with satisfactory results, thanks be to God. All here, even including Monsieur N., are now in the country; he has been working at Missions almost without ceasing for the last nine months. It is wonderful to see the strength which God gives him, and the good that he does, which is something quite extraordinary, as I hear from all sides. . . . The happy success of his work is attributed to the pains he takes to win the poor people by gentleness and kindness ; and this has made me resolve to recommend more than ever to all our Brotherhood to give themselves more and more to the practice of these virtues. It has been observed that if God gave His bless- ing in some degree to our early Missions, it was through a loving, gentle, simple manner of dealing with all sorts of persons ; and if it pleased Him to make use of the most miserable of all for the conver- sion of certain heretics, they have themselves con- fessed that it was by the patience and charity which he used towards them. ... I beg of you, Monsieur, to help me to give thanks to God for this, and to pray that it may please Him to lead all our mission- aries to this way of dealing gently, humbly, and charitably with their neighbours, both in public and private, even with sinners and hardened ones, and never to use any invectives or reproaches or hard words with any one. I doubt not, Monsieur, that you, for your part, endeavour to avoid this evil fashion of serving souls, which, instead of attracting, sours them and repels 304 Appendix them. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal sweet- ness of men and angels, and it is by the exercise of this grace that we must seek (while leading others) ourselves to draw closer to Him. III. — To the Superior of the Congregation of the Mission at Annecy. You complain that I am too slow, that you have to wait sometimes six months for an answer, which might have been given in one, and that, meantime, opportunities are lost, and everything is at a stand- still. To which I answer, that it is true that I am too slow about answering and about doing things ; but nevertheless I have never yet seen any business injured by my delays ; everything has been done in its due time, and with the necessary foresight and precaution. Notwithstanding which I do intend in future to answer your letters as soon as possible after I have received them, and after I have well considered the subject-matter before God ; for He accepts it as done to His honour, when we take time to consider thoroughly those things which concern His service. You will therefore, if you please, correct your- self of your hastiness in deciding and doing things, and I will try to correct myself of my dilatoriness. . . . May I say one thing to you, Monsieur, without blushing 1 There is no help for it; I must. It is this : that when I look back over all the principal things that have been done in our Society, it seems to me, Letters 305 and it is really capable of proof, that if they had been done before they were done, they would not have been so well done. I say this of everything, without a single exception. And it is for this reason that I have a special devotion, to follow step by step the adorable Providence of God ; and the only con- solation that I have is, that it seems to me to be our Lord alone who has done, and still does, everything in this poor little company. IV. — To one in trouble of mini from fears about his Predestination. I hope that since you wrote to me God will have dispersed the clouds which were troubling you, and therefore I will only say one word about them en passant. It seems that you have been in doubt as to whether you are of the number of the predestinated; to which I reply, that although it is true that with- out a special revelation from God no one has infalli- ble tokens of his predestination, yet according to the witness of S. Paul, there are tokens whereby the true children of God may be recognised, with such a degree of probability, that it hardly leaves any room for doubt. And these marks, Monsieur, I see them all in you, by the grace of God ; the very letter in which you tell me that you cannot discover them reveals some of them, to me, and my long acquaint- ance with you makes me sure of the rest. Believe me, I do not know a soul in the world which belongs U 306 Appendix more entirely to God than yours does, nor a heart more turned from evil, more seeking after good, than yours. But it does not seem to me so, you will say, and I answer that God does not always permit His children to discern the purity of their inner being, amid all the stirring of a corrupt nature, to the end that they may humble themselves continually, and that their treasure may be all the safer for being thus hidden. The holy apostle had seen the wonders of heaven, but did not hold himself to be thereby justified, because he saw in himself too much dark- ness and strife ; but all the time, he had such a con- fidence in God, that he was persuaded nothing in this world could separate him from the love of Jesus Christ. This example ought to suffice, Monsieur, to lead you to abide in peace amid your darkness, and to have an entire and perfect trust in the in- finite goodness of our Lord, who, being desirous to finish the work of your sanctification, invites you to abandon yourself wholly to the arms of His Provi- dence. Suffer Him, then, to guide you according to His Fatherly love, for He does love you, and so far from casting away one with so much of good in him as you have, He never forsakes even a wicked man who hopes in His mercy. Letters 307 V. — To a Superior on Forbearance. I thank God that you went yourself to do the business which Monsieur N. refused to do. You were quite right to act thus, instead of pressing him, for there are good and virtuous persons who fear God, and would not offend Him, but who, notwith- standing, are subject to certain weaknesses ; and, when we meet with such, we must bear with them, and not stiffen ourselves against them. Since God has been pleased to bless the work of this His ser- vant in the Confessional, I think that you will do well to let him do after his own mind, and to give way in this matter to his little fancies, since, thanks be to God, he has no bad ones. As to the other priest of whom you speak, the word which escaped him was perhaps a little out- burst of nature, rather than any wrong disposition of mind. The best of men sometimes say things, under the influence of some passion, of which, not- withstanding, they repent immediately. There are others who betray sometimes their failings and their aversions, whether to persons or to employments, who, nevertheless, do not leave off doing what is right. So it is, ' Monsieur, that whoever we are with, there will always be something to put up with, but at the same time something to win. I hope that the person of whom I have been speaking may be won, provided you bear with him charitably, and warn him gently and wisely, and pray for him, as I do for your family. 308 Appendix VI. — On the same subject, to one who was working at a distance with a single companion. I trust in the goodness of our Lord that He will give His blessing to your works, if there is cordiality and forbearance between you. And I beseech you, Monsieur, in the name of God, let this be your chief care. And since you are the elder and the superior, bear with sweetness everything from him who is with you : I say everything, to the end that laying down yourself your superiorship, you may adapt yourself to him in a spirit of charity. This was the means by which our Lord won and perfected His apostles, and it is the only one by which you will succeed with this good priest. Accordingly, yield a little to his temper ; never find fault with him at the time when you think there is cause to do so, but speak to him some time afterwards kindly and humbly. And, above all things, behave yourself in such a manner that there never may appear to be any disagreement between him and you ; for you are, as it were, on a stage, exposed to the view of all sorts of persons, in whom one single act of sharp- ness seen in your conduct, might ruin your whole work. I hope that you will follow this advice which I give you, and that God will make use of the many acts of virtue which you will practise, as a basis and foundation for the good which it is His will to do through you. Letters 309 VII. — To a Mission Priest. I write to you to know the state of your health, and what inclinations God will give you concerning a proposal which I am going to make to you. We are called to N. to make a settlement there, and with the design of sending four or five missionaries, we have cast our eyes upon you to undertake the ad- ministration of it. And therefore, Monsieur, it only remains for you to lift up your heart to God, to listen for what He shall say to you on the matter. And I beg you to let me know as soon as possible how you are disposed, as well in body as in soul towards this holy undertaking, imploring of our Lord that He will grant us all grace to respond always and everywhere to His adorable will. VIII. — To one who shrank from the office of Superior. The reasons which you put forward why you should be exempted from the Superiorship, so far from making us turn our eyes to any one else, have rather confirmed us in the resolution of appointing you. The sight which you have of your faults and of your incapacity, may well humble, but ought not to discourage you. Our Lord has virtue and capa- bility enough for Him and for you ; suffer Him then to act, and do not doubt that if you abide in the lowly feelings which you have, and in humble con- fidence in Him, His guidance will sanctify yours. I hope indeed in His goodness and in the good use 310 Appendix which you will make of His grace, that it will he so, and in this hope, I send you the letter which creates you Superior of your Community ; you may read it to them, in order that they may (as I beg that they will) henceforth see you in our Lord, and our Lord in you. IX. — To a successful Missionary, warning him against Self -complacency. I have learned from various persons the blessing which God of His goodness has been pleased to shed upon your Mission. We have all been greatly com- forted by it ; and because we know that this abun- dant grace comes from God, and that He only continues it to the humble, who confess that all the good they do comes from Him, I pray Him with all my heart to give you more and more of the spirit of humility in all you do, for you must be fully- assured that God will take His grace away, as soon as ever you begin to give place in your spirit to any vain complacency, or to attribute to yourself that which belongs to God alone. Humble yourself therefore greatly, Monsieur, with the thought that Judas had received more excellent gifts than you, and that his gifts had had more effect than yours, and yet, all this notwith- standing, he was lost. And what will it profit the greatest preacher in the world, and a man gifted with the most excellent talents, that a whole Province should have resounded with the applause of his Letters 3 1 1 preaching, or even that he should have converted many thousand souls to God, if, notwithstanding all this, he should himself be lost % I do not say this to you because I have any particular reason to fear this vain complacency either in you, or your fellow-worker N. ; but in order that, if the devil should assault you in that quarter, as no doubt he will, you may be on your guard beforehand, and very faithful in rejecting his suggestions, and in copying the humility of our Lord. Some few days ago I had for the subject of my meditation the common life which our Lord was pleased to lead in this world, and it came before me that He had so loved this ordinary and lowly life like that of other men, that in order to conform Himself to it, He had humbled Himself as much as was possible, even so far (0 marvellous thing, surpassing all the capacity of the human under- standing !) that although He was the uncreated Wisdom of the Eternal Father, yet He chose to preach His doctrine in a much lower and meaner style than was that of His apostles. Look, I beg of you, at His discourses, and compare them with the sermons and the epistles of S. Peter, S. Paul, and the other apostles. The style which He chose to employ is like that of a man of little know- ledge, while that of His apostles seems to belong to persons who were much more learned than He. And what is more astonishing still, it was His will that His preaching should have much less effect than that of His apostles ; for we see in the Gospel that He gained His apostles and disciples almost one by one, 312 Appendix and that with much labour and toil; and lo, S. Peter converted five thousand with his first sermon ! 1 Certainly this reflection has brought home to my mind more clearly and strongly, as it seems to me, than any other meditation that I ever made on the subject, the great and marvellous humility of the Son of God. X. — General advice to the Head of a Seminary. I bless God for the number of ecclesiastics which my Lord the Bishop of N. is sending you ; you will never want for students if you take pains to educate them in the true spirit of their condition, which consists especially in the interior life, and in the practice of prayer and of all holy graces; for it is not enough to instruct them in plain-song and ritual, with a little of morals : the chief thing is to train them to solid piety and devotion. And to do this, Monsieur, we must first be ourselves filled with these things, for it would be almost useless to give them instruction without setting them a good example. We ought to be like well-filled reservoirs, from which waters may flow without exhausting ourselves ; and we must be possessed of that spirit by which we desire that they should be animated ; for no one can give what he has not got. Let us then ask it earnestly of our Lord, and let us give ourselves to Him, that it may be our study to con- form our conduct and our actions to His ; then your 1 There seems to be some confusion here between Acts ii. 41 and iv. 4. — Ed. Letters 313 Seminary will diffuse its sweetness both within and beyond the diocese, which will cause it to increase in numbers and in the blessing which rests upon it ; whereas, on the other hand, it would be a great hindrance to this good, to want to lord it over those committed to our charge, and either to neglect them or to disedify them ; which would be sure to happen if we should want to be too polished and refined, to indulge ourselves, to make ourselves be considered and honoured, to amuse ourselves, to spare ourselves, and to have too much intercourse with the world outside. It is right to be firm, but not harsh in our administration, and to avoid an insipid gentle- ness which answers no purpose. We shall learn from our Lord how our (gentleness) should always be ac- companied by humility and grace, so as to draw hearts to Him, and never to disgust any. XI. — To the Head of a Seminary who had been accused of too great severity. I SHOULD believe what you tell me rather than what I see with my own eyes ; and I have had too many proofs of your desire to promote the good of the Seminary to entertain any doubt of it. This being so, I suspend my judgment concerning the complaints which have been made to me of the too great harshness of your government, until you shall have written to me yourself about it. I beg, how- ever, that you will reflect upon your way of acting, and that you will give yourself to God to correct by 314 Appendix His grace whatever you may discover in it that is wanting in gentleness. For, not to speak of the offence which it gives to His Divine Majesty, other mischiefs arise out of it, in spite of your good inten- tions. The first is, that the men who leave the Seminary because they are not happy there, may perhaps he turned from what is good, fall into vice, and be lost, from having too soon left the school of holiness, because they were not treated with gentle- ness. The second is, that they may give a bad name to the Seminary, and prevent others from entering it, who would otherwise have come there, and have received the instruction and the grace needful for their vocation. And in the third place, the bad report of any one house falls back upon our little Company, which loses some of its good repute, and thereby considerable damage is done to its work, and it sees the good, which God has been pleased to do through it, diminished. If you say that you have not observed these faults in yourself, it is a sign that you have very little humility; for if you had as much as our Lord expects of a Mission Priest, you would hold yourself to be the most imperfect of all ; you would believe yourself guilty of these things, and you would attribute to some secret blindness the fact that you do not see what others see, especially since it has been men- tioned to you. And h propos of this, I hear that you cannot bear to be told such things. If this is so, Monsieur, how much cause there is to be alarmed about your state — how far is it removed from that of the saints, who humbled themselves Letters 315 before the whole world, and rejoiced when the little stains which were upon them were shown to them. It is a bad imitation of the Saint of Saints, Jesus Christ, who endured to be publicly reproached for evil which He had not done, and never spoke one word to shelter Himself from this disgrace. Let us learn of Him, Monsieur, to be meek and lowly of heart. These are the virtues which both you and I must ask of Him unceasingly, and to which we must pay special attention, lest we should be carried away to the contrary tempers — whose effect is to pull down with one hand the spiritual building which we are raising with the other. May it please the same Lord to enlighten us with His Spirit, that we may see the darkness of our own, and submit ourselves to those whom He has set over us for our guidance ; and that we may be filled with His infinite sweetness, so that it may be diffused over our words and our actions, and make them winning and profitable to our neighbours. XII. — To a Superior, on the exact observance of Rule. You will undertake, Monsieur, the direction of those who are of your company, and I beseech our Lord that He will grant you to partake of His spirit and His guidance. Enter then upon this holy work in this mind ; copy the prudence, the forethought, the gentleness, and the exactness of our Lord. You will do much if you can accomplish that your Eule shall be duly observed, for this it is which draws 3 1 6 Appendix down the blessing of God upon all the rest. Begin then with exactness in the hours of rising, of going to bed, of prayer, of the Divine Office, and other exercises. Monsieur, what a rich treasure is the formed habit of these things ! and how many- mischiefs are caused by the contrary ! Why should you not be at pains to fulfil exactly these duties towards God, 'since we see that people of the world for the most part observe very strictly the rules which they have laid down for themselves in their affairs 1 One seldom sees lawyers fail to rise, go into Court, and come away from it again, at their accustomed hours. The same may be said of mer- chants opening and closing their shops : it is only we clergy who are such lovers of our own ease that we are only guided by the movements of our inclinations. XIII— To a I SHARE in the distress which the person, about whom you have written to me, has justly caused you. I will try to believe that he meant well ; but I am of opinion that when he shall have reflected on all the circumstances of that occurrence, he will see plainly that it must not be repeated often ; and T think that you also, Monsieur, will acknowledge that it is a little discipline which our Lord has sent you in order to train you to the right way of guid- ing the persons who are committed to your charge. It will give you, as it were, a glimpse of the good- ness of our Lord, in bearing with His apostles and Letters 317" His disciples when He was on earth, and how much He had to suffer from the good as well as from the bad. And this will also make you see that Superior- ships, like other conditions, have their thorns ; and that Superiors who desire really to do then- duty, both by word and example, have much to suffer from their inferiors, not only from the untractable, but also from the best of them. Accordingly let us, Monsieur, give ourselves up to God, to serve Him in this character, without expecting any satisfaction on the side of men. Our Lord will give it to us abun- dantly if we labour as we ought, to become more exact in the observance of our rules, and to acquire those graces which belong specially to the character of true Mission Priests, above all those of humility and mortification. And it seems to me, Monsieur, that you would do well to tell this good priest, when he opens his heart to you, or on some other occasion, that you beg him to mention your failings to you ; since in the office in which you are, it cannot be but that you commit many faults, not only in your char- acter of Superior, but also as a missionary and a Christian, and you should tell him not to be. put back even though human nature should cause you to grow pale, or to blush, or if some impatient word Should escape you. Such things happen generally on the first impulse, to the greatest saints; the animal nature, always strong in man, getting in this way the start of reason, which nevertheless, with the help of grace, profits beyond words, by such mention of our faults to us. It seems to me, Monsieur, that you would do 318 Appendix well also to say from time to time to your household, that you are not only well pleased to be thus warned by that one of the house whose part it is to do you this charitable service, but that it would be a grief to you if he did not thus put you in remembrance, or if he refrained from writing to the Superior General, as is the custom in all well-regulated Societies ; and you will assure them, that you will neither see the letters which they write to me, nor those which I shall write to them. how great is human misery, and what patience is needful for Superiors ! I conclude by commending myself to your prayers, which I entreat you to offer to God for me, that He may pardon the faults beyond measure, which I commit every day in the office which I hold, I who am of all men the most unworthy of it, and worse than Judas in what concerns our Lord. XIV. — To a Superior, on giving Reproof. There are two or three cases in which it is right to mention the fault of an individual to the whole community : first, where the evil is so inveterate in the faulty person, that one feels sure a private re- proof would be useless ; on this account our Lord warned Judas in the presence of the other apostles, though in covered terms, saying that one of those who dipped with Him in the dish should betray Him. Secondly, when the case is that of a weak spirit, which cannot bear a reproof, however gentle, Letters 319 though in other respects it may be good ; for with the good dispositions which such have, a general warning is sufficient to correct them, without nam- ing them. And thirdly, when there is danger that others may fall into the same fault, unless it is checked. Except in these cases, I think a reproof ought to be administered to the person alone. As to the faults committed against the Superior, it is quite true that he must take notice of them to those who are under him, but he must attend to two or three points : — first, never to do it at the time, except in case of some special necessity. Secondly, to do it gently, and in season. Thirdly, to do it by way of argument, representing to him the mischief caused by his fault ; and that in such a manner as that he may know that the Superior does not give him this reproof out of temper, or because the matter touches himself, but for his own good, and that of the community. XV. — To a Superior who had complained of the diffi- culties of his position, and that he could please no one. I SYMPATHIZE in the distress you are suffering ; but you must not be surprised at difficulties, still less let yourself be cast down by them, for one meets them everywhere. It is enough for two men to live together to be a source of trial to one another ; and even if you lived alone, you would be a trouble to yourself, and you would find in yourself enough to try your patience — so true it is that our miserable life is full of crosses. 320 Appendix I bless God for the good use which I am per- suaded you make of yours. I know too well the wisdom and the gentleness of your spirit to fear lest it should fail you on these trying occasions. If you do not satisfy everybody, you must not let that dis- turb you ; for our Lord Himself did not do so. How many there were, and how many there are still, who find something to say against His words and against His actions ! XVI. — To a Sister of Charity, on the admission of a Postulant. The answer which you will make to this good girl, who, before entering your Society, wants to be assured that she will be in it for her life, is to tell her that this promise cannot be given ; that it never has been given to any one, and that it never will be given to any one, for fear lest some, growing slack in their practices of devotion, should become an occasion of scandal, and render themselves unworthy of the grace of their vocation ; for if this misfortune should happen to some faulty spirit, would it not be reason- able to cut off the diseased member, that it might not infect the rest ? Nevertheless you know, my Sister, that it is very seldom that any one is turned out, and that only for flagrant offences, and never for ordinary failings, nor even for those which are extraordinary, unless they are frequent and of importance ; again, it is not done till the last moment, and after bearing long with the faults of such a person, and trying all Letters 321 remedies for her correction. And this patience and charity is especially exercised towards those who are not new comers, and yet more towards those who have been long in the Society ; so that, if any do go out, it is their own doing, and through lightness of spirit, or because having become lax and lukewarm in the service of God, God Himself casts them out and rejects them, before their Superiors think of removing them. That those who are faithful to God, and bound by a holy obedience, should depart from the Society is a thing which, thanks be to God, never happens, neither to those who are in health nor to the sickly. Everything that can be done is done to keep them all, and all possible care is taken, both of the former and of the latter, until death. If therefore this good girl will make up her mind to join you, and to die amongst you, she will be treated as the rest, with great charity. But tell her, if you please, that it rests with her to make her vocation sure, by good works, according to the coun- sel of the Apostle S. Peter ; and to that end that she must lean on God alone, and hope for the grace of perseverance from Him. If she wants to be assured of it by man, it is a token that she is seek- ing something besides God, and you must let her alone, and take no more trouble about her. 322 Appendix XVII. — To one going on a Foreign Mission, who was unhappy at having to sail in the same ship with a company of Huguenots. I AM very sorry to learn that you will have heretics on board your ship, and consequently a good deal to undergo from them. But, after all, God is master, and He has permitted it to be so, for reasons which we do not know ; perhaps it is to oblige you to be more restrained in their presence, more humble and devout towards God, and more charitable towards your neighbour, that they, seeing the beauty and the holiness of our religion, may by this means be drawn to return to it. You must carefully avoid all kind of disputes and bitter words with them, and show yourselves forbearing and kind towards them, even though they should break out against you, or against our faith or our practices. Holiness is so beautiful, and so attractive, that they will be compelled to love it in you, if you really practise it. It is to be wished that in the services of God, which you perform on board the ship, you should make no distinction of persons ; let there be no perceptible difference be- tween Catholics and Huguenots, that these last may know that you love them in God. I hope that your good example may be useful to all. Take care of your health, I beg of you, and of that of our mis- sionaries. Letters 323 XVIII. — To another, on the manner of dealing with Heretics. When you were sent to Sedan, it was on con- dition that you should never dispute with the here- tics, neither in the pulpit nor privately, knowing that there is little use in it, and that often there is more bruit than fruit. A good life, and the sweet savour of the practice of Christian virtues, draws back to the right way those who have erred from it, and confirms Catholics. It is thus that your com- pany must do good to the town of Sedan, and by adding to your good examples the exercise of our proper offices, such as the instruction of the people in our ordinary fashion, preaching against vice and immorality, setting virtue forth persuasively, show- ing the necessity and the beauty of it, the advantage and the means of acquiring it. This is what you must chiefly work at. And if you should wish to touch upon any point of controversy, do not do so, unless the Gospel for the day gives you an opening for it. In that case, you may support and prove the truths which here- tics dispute, and even answer their objections, with- out, at the same time, naming them, or alluding to them. XIX. — To a Missionary going with one other to Madagascar. The first thing which you will have to do will be, to mould your behaviour on the pattern of the 324 Appendix voyage made by the great S. Francis-Xavier ; to serve and edify the ship's company which takes you there ; if possible, to establish public prayers on board ; to take great care of any who may be suffer- ing ; and to be always ready to suffer yourself, rather than put others to inconvenience ; to seek the pros- perity of the voyage, which lasts five or six months, as much by your prayers and holy living, as the sailors do by their labours and skill ; and always to behave with great respect towards the officers of the ship, and those who superintend the navigation. At the same time, to be faithful to God ; never to fail in devotion to His cause, nor to betray your con science for any consideration whatsoever, but to take very great care not to injure the cause of God by too great precipitation ; to take your time, and learn to wait for Him. When you have reached the island, you must at first manage as best you can. You will perhaps be obliged to separate, and serve in different dwellings. You must then meet as often as you can, to comfort and strengthen one another. You will discharge all pastoral offices, both towards the French and towards the converted heathen. You will follow, in all things, the rule of the Council of Trent, and you will use the Eoman Ritual. You will not permit any other customs to be introduced ; and if you should find any already in use, you will endeavour gently to bring things back to this rule. To this end it will be well that you should take with you at least two copies of the Roman Ritual. The chief of your study, after having sought to Letters 325 live amongst those with whom you will have to mix, in the odour of sweetness and of a good example, will be to give these poor people, born in darkness and ignorance of their Creator, some idea of the truths of our holy faith, not at first by reasonings of theology, but by arguments drawn from nature ; for you must begin there, trying to make them see, that you are only unfolding to them the tokens of Him- self which God has left with them, but which the corruption of their nature, so long accustomed to evil, has well-nigh obliterated. In order to do this, Monsieur, you must often apply to the Father of Lights, and say over and over again to Him, that which you do say everyday. " Da mihi intellectum, ul sciam testimonia tua : " " Give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies." In your meditation you will set in order in your mind such lights as He shall bestow upon you, both for proving the truth of one first and sovereign Being, and also such as fall in with the Mystery of the Trinity, and the neces- sity of the Mystery of the Incarnation, whereby, after the corruption of the first man, a new and perfect Man has been born to us, to re-create and fashion us upon Himself. I would endeavour to make them see the infir- mity of human nature, by the disorders which they themselves condemn, for they have laws and penal- ties ; it will be well that you should have some books treating of such subjects, such as the Catechism of Grenada, or others which we will try to send you. But I cannot help repeating to you, Monsieur, that the best of all means will be prayer. Accedite ad 326 Appendix eum, et illuminamini. Yield yourself wholly to the Spirit of God, who speaks in these encounters. Oh, if it shall please His Divine goodness to give you grace to cultivate the seed which is already there, so that those who are Christians should live in Christian charity with these good people, I can have no manner of doubt that our Lord will make use of you in these places, to prepare for our Society an abundant harvest. Go then, Monsieur, and having a mission from God, through those who are His representatives to you on earth, let down your nets boldly. I know how your heart loves purity ; you will have sore need of it, since this people, depraved in many things, are specially so in this point. The sure grace of your vocation will be your protection in all these dangers. We shall have news of you every year, and you shall hear of us. We will send you the complete furniture of a chapel ; two Roman Rituals, two small Bibles, two Decrees of the Council of Trent, two books on Casuistry, and pictures of all our Mysteries, which are wonderfully useful in making those go'od people understand what one wants to teach them, and which they take great pleasure in looking at. We have here a young man of about twenty from that country, whom M. the Nuncio is going to baptize this day. I make use of pictures in teaching him, and it seems to me that they take great hold of his imagination. It will be necessary for you to take irons for making bread for the celebration of the Holy Eucha- rist, and holy oil for Baptism and Extreme Unction. Letters 327 Each of you had better have a copy of Bus6e for your meditations, some copies of the Introduction a la Vie devote, and Lives of the Saints. You will have letters-patent from us, and full powers from the Nuncio, who has this work very much at heart. And now I am wholly yours, if not actually to follow you, of which I am not worthy, at least to offer you to God every day that He shall be pleased to leave me upon earth, and, if He shall grant me mercy at last, to meet you again in Eternity, and there to honour you as one who, for the dignity of his vocation, will have a place among Apostolic men. I conclude, prostrate in spirit at your feet, beg- ging that you also will offer me to our common Lord, that I may be faithful to Him, and that in His love I may finish the journey which leads to Eternity. — I am, and ever shall be, yours, etc. etc. XX. — To the only survivor of a Mission party in Mada- gascar, on hearing of the death of his four companions. It seems that G-od is treating you as He treated His own Son : He sent Him into the world to found His Church by His Passion, and it seems His will to bring the faith to Madagascar through your suffer- ings. I adore His Divine counsels, and I pray Him to accomplish in you all His purposes. He has, per- haps, very special ones for you personally, since among so many missionaries who have died, He has left you alive. It seems as if His will, willing the 328 Appetidix good which they desired to do, has not willed to pre- vent its accomplishment by taking them away from this world, but rather to perform it through you, by preserving you in the world. However this may be, Monsieur, we have greatly mourned the loss of these good servants of God, and we have great cause adoringly to wonder at the in- comprehensible dealings of His government in these last surprising events. He knows that from our hearts we have kissed the Hand which has stricken us, and have submitted humbly to these so painful strokes, although we cannot comprehend the reasons for so speedy a death, in men who were full of pro- mise, in the midst of a people who are crying out for instruction, and after so many tokens which had appeared in them of a vocation to go and Christianize them. Neither this loss, however, nor the accidents which have happened since, any more than the former ones, have been able to abate our resolution to succour you, nor to shake that of four Priests and a lay brother who are going to you. They are greatly drawn to your Mission, and have long been entreat- ing that they might be sent there. I know not which will be most consoled by their arrival — you, who have been so long awaiting them, or they, who have so great a desire to find themselves with you. They will behold our Lord in you, and you in our Lord, and in this view they will, by His grace, obey you as they would Himself. I beg you, therefore, to undertake their direction, and I hope that God will bless your guidance and their submission. Letters 329 You would not have been so long a time without help, if two embarkations which were made had not failed of success. One vessel was lost in the river near Nantes ; two of our priests and a brother were on board, and were saved by a special protection of God, while nearly a hundred persons perished. The other set out last year, but was taken by the Spaniards, and four other priests of our company, with a brother, who were in the ship, returned to us. So that it has not been the will of God that any help or consolation should come to you from our side ; but He would have it come to you immediately from Himself. He has willed to be your first and last in this apostolic and divine work to which He has called you, to show that the establishment of the faith is His affair alone, and not the work of man. It was thus He did at the beginning of the foundation of the Universal Church, choosing only twelve apostles, who went about singly throughout the whole world, to announce the coming and the doctrine of their Divine Master. But when this holy seed began to grow, His Providence caused the number of labourers to increase, and He will do the same for your new-born Church, so that, as it mul- tiplies little by little, it shall at last be provided with priests who shall suffice to cultivate and to en- large it. Oh, Monsieur, how happy you are, to have laid the first foundations of this great design, which shall be the means of sending to heaven so many souls who would never have entered there, if God had not poured into them the first spring of life eternal, 330 Appendix through the instructions and the sacraments which you administered to them. Oh that you may by the help of His grace long continue this holy ministry, and serve as a pattern and encouragement to other missionaries ! It is the prayer which our whole Community often make, for they have a special devo- tion to commend you and your work to God ; and I share it fully. But it will be in vain that we shall ask of God your preservation, if you will not your- self do your part. I beg you then, with all the ten- derness of my heart, to take a very strict care of your health, and of that of your companions. You can judge, by your own experience, of the mutual need you have of one another, and of the need the whole land has of you. The fear you have had that our dear departed ones hastened their deaths by the excess of their labours, ought to oblige you to moderate your zeal. It is better to have some strength to spare than not enough. Pray to God for our little company, for we have great need of men and of strength for the great and varied harvests which we see may be gathered on all sides, whether among the clergy or the people. And pray to our Lord for me also, if you please ; it will not be for long, on account of my age, past eighty, and my bad legs, which can no longer carry me. I should die happy if I could know that you were alive, and hear what number of children and of adults you have baptized ; but if I cannot hear of it in this world, I hope to behold it in the Presence of God, in Whom I am, etc. Letters 331 XXI. — To a Missionary in Barbary, whose zeal needed to be checked and restrained. I bless God for the good management by which you have procured that you should be acknowledged as Apostolic Missionary and Grand Vicar of Car- thage. If it has needed great prudence to accom- plish this, you will require incomparably more in the exercise of those offices. You must on no account set yourself too rigidly against abuses, when you see that your doing so would cause a still greater evil ; draw what good you can from the captive priests and religious, from merchants and from slaves, by gentle means, and do not have recourse to severe ones, except in extremity, for fear lest the evils which they already suffer through their cap- tivity, added to the rigour which by virtue of your office you would exercise towards them, should drive them to despair. You are not responsible for their salvation, as you seem to suppose ; you have been sent to Algiers simply to comfort afflicted souls, to encourage them to suffer, and to help them to persevere in our holy religion. This is your chief work, and not the office of Grand Vicar, which you have accepted only in so far as it may help you the better to fulfil the duties I have mentioned : for it is impossible strictly to exercise its functions without adding to the suffer- ings of these poor folk, and running the risk of the loss of their patience, or your own. Above all, you must be in no hurry to undertake 332 Appendix to abolish things which have become customary amongst them, though they be evil. Some one repeated to me the other day a beautiful passage of Saint Augustine's, where he says that one should be very cautious not hastily to attack a vice which is prevalent in any place, because not only one shall not succeed, but, on the contrary, one should only startle and shock the minds of those in whom such customs are inveterate, and so be no longer able to do them good in other ways, as one might have done if one had attacked them gently, and as it were by a side wind. I beg of you, therefore, to condescend as much as possible to human infirmity. You will gain more influence over the captive priests by sympathy, than by reproof and correction : it is not light that they want, but strength ; and this will come to them secretly and imperceptibly, through the outward unction of good words and good example. I do not say that you should authorize or sanction their irregularities, but I say that the remedies to be employed, in the condition in which they are, should be very mild and very gentle, and applied with very great caution, because of the place where they are, and the prejudice which they may raise if you offend them, and which will not only tell against you, but against the Consul also, and the work of God ; for they may give such an impression of you to the Turks, that they may refuse to suffer you there any more. Contact with the Turks and the renegades is another shoal which you must avoid. In the name of our Lord have no communications whatever with Letters 333 those people. Do not expose yourself to the dangers which may arise from doing so ; because, as I said, in risking yourself you risk all, and you do great wrong to the poor Christian slaves, whom you would no longer be able to assist ; and you would also close the door for the future to that liberty which we now have of rendering some service to God in Algiers and elsewhere. It is easier and more important to prevent the apostasy of many, than to convert one single rene- gade. A physician who prevents disease deserves more credit than one who cures it. You are in no way intrusted with the care of the souls of Turks and renegades ; your mission does not extend to them, but to the poor Christian captives. And if, for some sufficient reason, you are obliged to have to do with the people of the country, do nothing, if you please, except in concert with the Consul, to whose counsels I beg that you will defer as much as possible. We have great cause to thank God for the zeal which He has given you for the salvation of the poor slaves ; but zeal is not good without discretion. It seems that you begin by undertaking too much, as, for instance, to hold missions in the Bagne, to want to live there, to introduce new practices of devotion among those poor people. This is why I beg you to abide by the customs of our departed priests who have preceded you. Good works are often spoiled by too great haste, because people act according to their own inclinations, which carry away their reason and understanding, and make them think that all the 334 Appendix good which they see is to be done, can be done, and at that time, when it cannot, as is plain afterwards by their want of success. The good which is according to the will of God is done almost of itself, and without our thinking of it ; it is thus that our Congregation came into being ; that the exercises of Missions, and of the Ordinands were begun; that the Society of the Sisters of Charity was formed ; that that of the Ladies for the Assistance of the Poor in the H6tel Dieu at Paris, and of the sick in parishes, was established ; that the care of foundlings was undertaken ; and lastly, that all the works which we have now in hand took their beginning. Not one of them was undertaken with design on our part; but God, who willed to be served in such and such ways, Himself raised them up insensibly, and if He made use of us in them, we knew not where we were going ; and therefore we leave it to Him to do the work, and hurry ourselves in the progress of it no more than we did in the foundation of it. I would to God, Monsieur, that you would moderate your ardour, and weigh things deliberately in the balance of the Sanctuary before you decide upon them ; be passive rather than active, and thus God will do by you alone what all men put together could not do without Him. 'L- EDINBURGH : T. AND A. CONSTABLE, PRINTERS TO THE QUEKN, AND TO THE UNIVERSITY. -