Vincent de Paul: Saint of Charity (Vision Books)

Beautifully written! A great deal of religious literature for children is poorly written, so I was happily surprised by the quality of this book. Parts of the story were a bit over my 6-year-old's head (even though I tried to explain the difficult concepts), but he still enjoyed it. The story was dramatic, exciting, funny, and above all, inspiring. I will be ordering other titles in this series for sure.One small caveat is that there are some passages which disparage contemplatives. As St. Vincent de Paul lived in a time and place where the clergy and religious were in crisis, I have no doubt there were many "contemplative" religious at the time who entered convents and monasteries with no other goal than having a carefree and even luxurious life, but some of the passages compared contemplatives in general unfavorably with St. Vincent de Paul's religious orders, evincing an incorrect understanding of the contemplative vocation.

I purchased this for our parish library, and while it is suggested for young readers; I also think that adults who want an easy to read story about St Vincent de Paul will enjoy this book. St. Vincent de Paul's entire life was spent serving God by serving others. He served the poor and homeless in many ways, and he founded the Vincentian Order and the Daughters of Charity. This story will certainly inspire young and old alike. If you don't know much about St. Vincent de Paul, this book is a good place to start.

This book gave great research information for a school project.

These are excellent books. My kids read them all and are very inspired by them.

An excellent introduction to the amazing story of the French Saint of Charity, this biography for young adults proves very readable, interesting and even inspirational. Although set in 17th century war-ravaged France this book is relevant even in modern times when poverty is still a serious issue. Common folk were devastated by a series of political conflicts, both internal (Louis 13 vs Richelieu, Queen Anne versus Mazarin) and external. Widespread famine, the Plague and deplorable social conditions touched Vincent's generous heart, leading him to found several relief organizations. Outraged by the laxity of many of the clergy he instituted ecclesiastic reforms and serious study in seminary. For over five decades Vincent's life was willingly dedicated to a career of selfless service to the disenfranchised of France: from a country shepherd and early sacred vows he went into slavery in north Africa, where he suffered physically and chafed at his inability to serve as a priest in a Muslem world. Later revered as founder of charitable orders for men and then for women, he was able to roam the dark and dangerous streets of Paris in relative safely, recognized by his limp and fearless demeanor. Humble to the end, he waged an ever greater battle as he struggled with moral issues re God's will and his own, perceived spiritual unworthiness. Vincent's confraternities, the religious orders which he founded were his sincere offerings to alleviate the misery which surrounded him both in the city and the countryside: he reached out to the poor, the homeless, the sick and the insane, to those in prison and even to abandoned babies. His private passion was the reform of the French clergy through the founding of seminaries to train righteous young priests. Pious Vincent was recognized as a saint in his own lifetime. These VISION BOOKS are a wonderful series for Young Adult readers--from which Christians of all ages can benefit.