St. Vincent de Paul He was born on April 24, 1581 in a village called Pouy in Gascony in France. He was ordained a priest in the year 1600. When he was on a sea voyage from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell into the hands of sea-pirates in the year 1605 and was taken as a slave to Tunis. He was in captivity as a slave for two years and escaped from captivity in the year 1607 by converting his owner to Christianity. He then returned to France and became preceptor in the family of Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Goigny. In the year 1625 he laid the foundation of a congregation, which was later called as the Congregation of the Mission or Lazerists or Vincentians. In the year 1633 he founded the Daughters of Charity. He was renowned for his compassion, humility and generosity. He was also revered as the "great Apostle of Charity". He died on September 27, 1660 and his heart is still incorrupt. He was declared blessed by Pope Benedict-XIII on August 13, 1729 and canonized by Pope Clement-XII on June 16, 1737. He was given as a patron to the Sisters of Charity by Pope Leo-XIII. He is also the patron of the Brothers of Charity. The Society of Vincent de Paul was established by the students of French University in the year 1833, led by the Blessed Frederic Ozanam. #service #selfless #down-to-earth #poor #ForPoor #compassion #humality #generosity #Christ #Christ's #christian #Catholic #Humanbeing