Saint Vincent De Paul Religious Medal

Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 27 September 1660) was a Catholic priest dedicated to serving the poor, who is venerated as a saint. De Paul was born in Landes, Gascony, France, to a peasant family. He had three brothers and two sisters. De Paul studied hard humanitieson Dax, France with the Cordeliers and he graduated in theology at Toulouse. He was ordained in 1600, remaining in Toulouse until he went to Marseille for an inheritance. In 1605, on his way back from Marseille, he was taken captive by Turkish pirates, who brought him to Tunis and sold him into slavery. After converting his owner to Christianity, Vincent de Paul was freed in 1607. After returning to France, De Paul went to Rome to continue studying until 1609, when he was sent back to France on a mission to Henry IV of France; he served as chaplain to Marguerite de Valois. For a while he was parish priest at Clichy, but in 1612 he began to serve the Gondi family. He was confessor and spiritual director to Mme de Gondi, and he began giving peasant missions on the estate with her aid. In 1622 De Paul was appointed chaplain to the galleys, and in this capacity he gave missions for the galley-slaves. De Paul founded the Lazarists, and with Louise de Marillac he founded the Daughters of Charity. He also fought against the Jansenist heresy. Towards the end of his life, De Paul suffered from serious ill-health, and he died on 27 September 1660.