St. Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660) was a priest of the Catholic Church who dedicated himself to serving the poor.

• Renowned for his compassion, humility and generosity
• Known as the "Great Apostle of Charity"
• Born in the village of Pouy in Gascony, France
• Ordained on 23 September 1600 at the age of nineteen
• 1605 captured by Barbary pirates, auctioned off as a slave to the highest bidder and spent two years in bondage in Tunis
• 1607 founded the "Ladies of Charity" from a group of women within his parish. From these, with the help of St. Louise de Marillac, came the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
• 1622 Vincent appointed chaplain to the galleys
• Worked for some time in Paris among imprisoned galley-slaves
• Returned to be the leader of what is now known as the Congregation of the Mission or the "Vincentians". Priests, with vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and stability, who devoted themselves entirely to the people in smaller towns and villages
• Died in Paris on 27 September 1660 aged 79
• Declared blessed by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729
• Canonized by Pope Clement XII on 16 June 1737
• Feast day celebrated on 27 September
• 1833 The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, a charitable organisation dedicated to the service of the poor established by French university students led by the Blessed Frederic Ozanam