Last month, the university celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Vincentian Studies Institute. Founded in 1979 and sponsored by DePaul as part of the Division of Mission and Ministry, the Vincentian Studies Institute promotes a living interest in the heritage of the Vincentian Family, established by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac.
Sometimes the smallest things can make a very big difference….
Many have shared the “Story of the White Tablecloth” around our DePaul community to emphasize the reverent dignity and care Vincent de Paul expected to be modeled by his followers in their service of others.
In the Foundation documents and the Rules established for the Confraternity in Châtillon in 1617, and later in Montmirail, Vincent de Paul explained how to minister to the sick poor and to treat those they would serve, greeting them “cheerfully and kindly,” “with gentleness, humility, and true charity,” and with a “consoling word.” He noted the importance of taking great care to offer a blessing, and asked that they carefully arrange a napkin, plate, and spoon before serving food. Vincent’s attention to such gestures clearly communicates the importance he placed on the dignity of those being served, as well as on the relational dimension to the service being performed. The fact that Vincent would include such details is remarkable, revealing how essential it was in his mind that we treat others with the greatest of respect and dignity.
What are the small details and gestures that you include in your daily activities at work, or in your home, that elevates the dignity of others?
Vincentian historian, Fr. John Rybolt, C.M., tells the full story in this video, describing the spirit with which Vincent wanted his followers to care for the poor: Story of the White Tablecloth
Reflection by:
Amanda Thompson, Director of Catholic Campus Ministry, Division of Mission and Ministry
The Vincentiana collection at De Paul University’s Office of Mission and Ministry has acquired a unique and poignant water color image of Vincent de Paul entitled: “Monsieur” Vincent, Aumônier des Galères priez pour nous.” (“Monsieur Vincent, Chaplain of the Galleys, pray for us.”)
The image portrays Vincent freeing a galley convict who kneels before him. The painting includes an image of a galley at sea. In the lower right hand corner the image is signed: “En captivité. Pont St. Vincent. 19 – VII – 40.”
The artist’s signature is then below. Research has led us to believe that the image was painted by a French POW who had been stationed at the fort overlooking the town of Pont-St. Vincent, located in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the northeast of France. The fort was part of the vast border fortifications built by France after its defeat by Germany in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian war. This particular fort guarded the area between Langres and Mirecourt and the valley of the Moselle. The fort was captured in June 1940 during the German Blitzkrieg of France. The painting is dated July 19, 1940. The artist’s signature is difficult to read. For more information on this fort, and the French border fortification system visit the following website: http://fortiffsere.fr/troueedecharmes/index_fichiers/Page4584.htm
The Vincentiana Art Collection of De Paul University’s Division of Mission and Ministry has recently acquired an early 20th century cast bronze bust of a Daughter of Charity. The piece is signed by the Austrian artist Adolf Josef Pohl (1872-1930).
The bust is very finely crafted, and captures the difficult details and proportions of the sister’s cornette. The piece is 9” in height and 7” in width. There is a foundry mark as well. The bust joins the other more than 200 pieces of Vincentian fine art in the Division’s collection including other bronzes, paintings, tapestries, embroidered pieces, and photographs. Many items in the collections are on public display throughout the university, and in the offices of the Division of Mission and Ministry at 55 E. Jackson Boulevard. Visitors are always welcome.
The Vincentiana Collection at the Archives and Special Collections Department of DePaul University has recently acquired an unusual Vincent de Paul portrait. The painting done in 1974 by the artist George Prout (1913-2016) depicts Vincent de Paul looking into a cradle. The infant reaches out to grab his finger. The expression on Vincent’s face is quite charming. While the depiction of Vincent de Paul with foundlings is all but universal in post-revolutionary iconography of the saint; this particular image has a warmth that puts it in a category of its own.
The Vincentiana Collection in Archives and Special Collections at DePaul University has recently acquired a rare black and white postcard c. 1900 which commemorates the massacre of ten French Daughters of Charity at Tien-Tsin in June 1870. The Chinese attack on the sisters and confreres was part of a backlash against Foreign and missionary presence in China. Rumors circulated in the local community that the orphan children were being murdered by the sisters and their body parts harvested for medicine. Two confreres were also massacred. The churches and missionary compounds were burned to the ground in the attacks. This postcard commemorates the site of the sisters’ deaths in the garden of the orphanage. The rebuilt church in the background is Notre Dame des Victoires. These anti-foreign tensions would continue in China leading thirty years later to the famous Boxer rebellion.
The Vincentian Studies Institute is happy to announce the recent acquisition, from a Spanish auction house, of a Vincent de Paul manuscript letter. The previously known letter is dated April 19, 1658 and is written to Firmin Get who was the superior of the house in Marseilles. The letter is in a secretary’s hand with Vincent de Paul’s autograph signature. The letter appears in Pierre Coste’s collected “Correspondence, Conferences, Documents” of Vincent de Paul, Volume 7, pages 148-149, letter #2574. This letter will join the growing Vincentiana manuscript collection at DePaul University’s Archives and Special Collections which is the repository for the Vincentiana Collections of the Vincentian Studies Institute of the United States.
The Vincentiana Art Collection of the Division of Mission and Ministry of DePaul University has recently acquired an early 20th century Spanish “fiddleback” chasuble. The beautiful white silk vestment has elaborate floral embroidery motifs, silver metallic and jeweled borders. The front of the vestment has a charming cartouche of Saint Vincent and two foundlings. The back side of the vestment has a cartouche of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.
The Vincentiana Art Collection of the Division of Mission and Ministry of DePaul University has recently acquired a charming 19th-century sepia watercolor of Saint Vincent de Paul with Foundlings by the 19th-century British author Hannah Mary Rathbone (b. 1798. d. 1878).
For more information about Rathbone’s life and literary career see her Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Saint: Vincent de Paul: His Perceived Christological Thought Pattern on Charity and Christ in the Poor.
By
Michael I. Edem, C.M.
From the publisher:
“The entire work is divided into three parts. Each part has its accompanying chapters with corresponding introductions and conclusions. It is the incarnation that necessitated the self-emptying and self-abasement of Christ. It is the same mystery that underlies his passion and crucifixion and eventual resurrection. The mystery of incarnation capped with experiential events forms the tap root of this global vision of Christ in the poor. It is central to his theology of the poor, Christ in the poor and the poor in Christ. The incarnation and experiential events furnish the inclination and orientation Vincent’s thought pattern possesses. Such penetration and globalization process concerning the word “incarnate” are in line with the Church’s “permanent need of theological reflection.” The special inclination acts as a veneer that links other aspects. It forms a continuum, permeating and illumining the mystical link of the Vincentian Christ in the poor and the poor in Christ.”
