Saint Vincent de Paul Medal Necklace – Patron Saint of Charities & the Poor

Saint Vincent de Paul, Patron Saint of Charities and the Poor

Vincent was born in 1581 to a poor peasant family in southwestern France. Ordained a priest in 1600, he was kidnapped by pirates a few years later and sold into slavery in Tunis, where he spent two years before finally escaping and returning to Europe in 1607. Rather than let that experience harden him, it seems to have done the opposite. He devoted the rest of his life almost entirely to the poor, founding the Congregation of the Mission in 1625 to train priests for rural ministry, and in 1633, alongside Saint Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity, the first religious order of women permitted to work directly in the world, in hospitals and streets, rather than remain behind convent walls. He personally ransomed more than twelve hundred galley slaves from North Africa and served for years as chaplain to galley slaves in Paris, work that must have carried the weight of his own captivity every day. By his own admission, he was naturally short-tempered and difficult, and became patient and gentle only through years of deliberate effort and grace. He died in 1660 at nearly eighty, and Pope Leo XIII later named him patron of every charitable society that traces its roots back to his work.

A Gift For...

• Anyone who volunteers, donates, or works in charitable service
• A social worker, nonprofit worker, or humanitarian aid professional
• Someone recovering from captivity, trafficking, or a period of powerlessness
• A confirmation candidate drawn to hands-on, practical service over quiet devotion
• A Saint Vincent de Paul's Day gift on July 19, for anyone whose life is built around giving

A Confirmation Gift for Vincent

For a confirmation candidate who wants their faith to look like action, meals served, hands held, work done, Vincent offers about as direct a model as the calendar provides. Engrave a name and confirmation date, and let his life of service carry the meaning.

The Saint Vincent de Paul Medal

This medal depicts him gently holding a child, a reflection of his lifelong work founding hospitals and caring for the poor and orphaned, his halo radiating outward against an ornate patterned border. The natural gold or silver of the metal forms the illustration itself. Black ink is applied to the pendant surface and the metal shows through as the image. A shatterproof liquid glass coating seals the surface. The result has a depth and precision that printed medals don't achieve.

Personalization and Engraving

The optional engraving on the reverse is rendered in Tangerine cursive, two lines, up to 20 characters each. Many choose a name and a meaningful date, while others engrave "father of the poor" or simply "service."

Saint Vincent de Paul's feast day is July 19, and the charitable societies bearing his name, and the order he founded with Louise de Marillac, continue serving the poor in dozens of countries around the world today, nearly four centuries after a formerly enslaved priest decided that was the life he wanted to live.

Related Devotions for Healing and Charity

• For Hospitals and the Sick: Pair with the Saint John of God Medal, founder of the Hospitaller tradition and patron of hospitals and the sick.
• For Doctors and Pharmacists: Explore the Saints Cosmas and Damian Medal, the Church's Unmercenary Healers.