St. Vincent de Paul, The Slave Evangelist

St. Vincent de Paul, The Slave Evangelist 
A Reflection for the St. Vincent de Paul meeting, Monday, May 11, 2015
by Dcn Bob Bonomi

When we think about the founding of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (the Vincentians), our thoughts naturally turn to Frederic Ozanam, the principal founder of the society in 1833. (No, St. Vincent didn’t found the St. Vincent de Paul society – but you probably already knew that. He wasn’t even declared a saint until 100 years after he died. He did found the Daughters of Charity, however.)

And if we’ve read anything about St. Vincent, it was probably a “saint of the day” synopsis and little about the man himself, other than that his life was obviously a holy one since he was named a saint by Pope Clement XII in 1737. Some may know a general outline of his life: that he was born into a peasant family and was ordained a priest at the age of about nineteen. One might know that he was at one point captured by pirates and sold into slavery; and escaped after two years. He eventually underwent a conversion of heart and felt a call to serve the poor; and he eventually founded the Dames de la Charité, or Ladies of Charity – which would eventually become known as the Daughters of Charity.

But it is during the brief two-year period of his slavery that I’d like for us to reflect on today. He had three masters; the first was a fisherman, but Vincent proved worthless as a fisherman because he suffered from sea-sickness. The second was a physician and inventor who became fairly well-known in Muslim countries for his skills. It was during a trip to Istanbul that this master became ill and died, resulting in Vincent be sold yet again – this time to a former priest and Franciscan who had converted to Islam to escape slavery himself. This master lived in the mountains with three wives; the second wife, a Muslim from birth, liked to listen to Vincent and asked him questions about his faith. She became convinced that Vincent’s faith was indeed true and in turn convinced her husband that he was wrong to renounce Christianity. It took ten months, but eventually the master, his family and the slave Vincent escaped to France, giving Vincent his freedom.

Why is this important? It shows us that the issues that we see in the face of Islam today haven’t changed much in the 400 years since Vincent’s time. But it is in how Vincent dealt with the problems that he faced which offer us hope today. Vincent did not rebel against his masters; he did not bemoan his slavery or struggle to escape. He didn’t abandon his faith nor did he proselytize it – he lived his faith in spite of the difficulties and trials that he faced, and in doing so he was able to bring others back to God and to the true faith.

Today, volunteers for the St. Vincent de Paul Society serve people from all walks of life, from all faiths or of no faith. They bring love and support to those who are in need, and as such they are the face of Jesus that people encounter, many for the first time. And like Vincent the slave, it won’t be through condemnation of those who disagree with our faith that will draw people to Christ. It will be our trust and belief in our faith, and the love of Christ that we show to others, more than financial support, which will free them from the slavery of the circumstances of their lives. That freedom, that love, wrapped in the aid that the Society provides, is the greatest gift that we can give to another. It is the evangelization of love.