Chapel of the Congregation of the Mission (Tomb of St. Vincent de Paul)

The Story

The Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul at 95 rue de Sevres in Paris, the motherhouse chapel of the Congregation of the Mission, enshrines the relics of one of the Church's greatest apostles of charity, honored above its high altar in a silver-and-glass reliquary. Vincent de Paul was born to a peasant family in Gascony in 1581. Ordained young, he underwent a profound conversion through his encounters with the poor of France, and dedicated his life to their service. In 1625 he founded the Congregation of the Mission, priests and brothers known as Vincentians or Lazarists, to evangelize the rural poor and form the clergy; with St. Louise de Marillac he founded the Daughters of Charity in 1633, opening a new era of practical, organized charity in the Church. He died in Paris on September 27, 1660. Vincent was canonized by Pope Clement XII in 1737, and in 1885 Pope Leo XIII declared him patron of all charitable works. In April 1830 his relics were carried in solemn procession through Paris to the newly built motherhouse chapel on the rue de Sevres, where they remain enshrined; his bones rest within a lifelike figure of the saint. Tradition also connects the chapel's story to that of the nearby Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on the rue du Bac, where St. Catherine Laboure, a Daughter of Charity, reported apparitions of Our Lady later in that same year, and where the saint's heart is venerated. Today the chapel remains a quiet place of prayer in the heart of Paris, visited by pilgrims devoted to the "Apostle of Charity" and by members of the worldwide Vincentian family, for whom it is a spiritual home.

Church Recognition

St. Vincent de Paul was canonized by Pope Clement XII in 1737 and named patron of all works of charity by Pope Leo XIII in 1885; his relics have been solemnly enshrined in the Vincentian motherhouse chapel since their translation in 1830.

Catholic Teaching

St. Vincent's shrine proclaims the Church's love of preference for the poor, in whom Christ himself is served (CCC 2443–2449), and the veneration of his relics expresses the communion of saints, who intercede for us and spur us to charity (CCC 946–962, 1674).

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Practical

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Pilgrims venerate the relics of St. Vincent de Paul above the high altar of the chapel on the rue de Sevres, often pairing the visit with the nearby Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on the rue du Bac; devotion peaks around his September 27 feast.

Go Deeper

Learn more through the worldwide Congregation of the Mission and the Vincentian family's resources on their founder; his collected conferences and letters remain in print, and the Catechism's treatment of love for the poor (CCC 2443–2449) illuminates his legacy.