Holy Card

Update on the St. Vincent de Paul Image Archive

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http://stvincentimages.cdm.depaul.edu/

Thanks to DePaul University’s college of Computing and Digital Media (CDM), there is a readily accessible archive of Vincentian images. This has grown since its beginning in 2008 to have the largest collection of these images. We began with St. Vincent images, and then added St. Louise de Marillac, various Vincentian persons (mainly members of the Congregation of the Mission, including portraits of bishops and their coats of arms), and Vincentian places. Under the heading of Louise de Marillac are images pertaining to the Daughters of Charity.

These images can be downloaded freely. When it is not clear whether the images are copyrighted, I attempt to note that ambiguity in the description of the images.

I am always grateful for new images that I receive. Most recently, I was given a large collection of Vincentian images produced in Poland and most of these have been added to the image archive. The total is now more than 10,000, of which some 5400 are of St. Vincent. There have to be many more that are not recorded, and for this reason I am constantly searching for new ones. I have a dedicated e-mail address for these contributions: jerybolt@gmail.com.

A continuing source of new images is Fr. Edward Udovic, who is developing an extensive collection of Vincentian holy cards at DePaul University. They now number well more than 500 just of St. Vincent. Their range and variety are amazing.

Two recent additions to the image archive are worth noting. The first is an icon print of St. Vincent with the child Jesus holding on to the cross. This is the work of a Santa Fe, New Mexico, artist, Tomas Urrea, done in 2008. Fr. Robert Maloney kindly sent in a copy. The work is carefully done, but sentimental. In keeping with iconographic practices, the saint’s name appears in Greek: ho hagios Vintsensios ho Paulo; and the name of Jesus appears in its traditionally abbreviated form, IC XC (I[esu]s CH[risto]s). I don’t know where the original is.

The second is a photograph of a tomb sculpture of a Daughter of Charity ministering to a sick woman. It has been identified as coming from Costa Rica, but its exact location is unknown, as is the sculptor. It is beautifully carved out of white marble and has apparently not suffered from its outdoors location.


Any help in gathering new images will be appreciated. They don’t have to be beautiful. The interest here is to illustrate the vast amount of Vincentian iconography. Also welcome will be corrections or updates on images, along with suggestions for a better presentation.

St. Vincent’s Reading List

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Beginning in 2010 to mark the 350th anniversaries of the deaths of St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) and St. Louise de Marillac (1591-1660) the Special Collections department of the John T. Richardson Library of DePaul University will produce a monthly “Ex Libris” blog feature highlighting a select volume from its collection entitled “St. Vincent’s Reading list.”

“St. Vincent’s Reading List,” represents a variety of rare seventeenth century works that are known to have been read or recommended by St. Vincent (as evidenced by his own written testimony); can safely be presumed to have been read by him; or are political, legal, theological, or spiritual works published during his life that illustrate the major developments that were unfolding in France and thus impacted the saint personally, as well as impacting the development of his many works of evangelization and charity, and the groups he founded for these purposes.

Saint Vincent de Paul, (like many of the great saints of the Catholic Church,) retains his trans-historical significance through the centuries because succeeding generations can find in his life story great insights into how Christian discipleship can be lived today with authenticity and efficacy. This significance is only magnified when distorting mythic elements and remnants of pious hagiography give way to critical biography’s establishment of fact and context.

If Saint Vincent is to be more than the romantic subject of a pious holy card, or a statue with babe in arms, and if he is to take his place as a contemporary inspiration to service and advocacy, especially for those in our world who live at the margins, then understanding Monsieur Vincent on his own terms, and through his own “reading list” is of great importance.

To access these blogs please see the Vincentian research links on the main page of this site, or access here.