,"* who was obliged to quit Rome, owing to
dissensions
then prevailing, espe- cially the quarrels of the Guelfs and Giiibellines disturbing Italy ; Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected to the dignity, and taking the name of Pope Clement V.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
"
'* See the "
Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 363, 364.
^Thereweread:"ApudHiberniamSanc- tus Confessor Becan hoc die ad Christum migravit. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 9.
Parliamentary
Gazetteer of
publish it,
from a Utrecht
Manuscript.
It
's See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xix. , pp. 520, 521.
has Four Prologues, and it is contained in
Four Books, comprising Fourteen Chapters.
°
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Ap- rilisv. DeS. VincentioFerrerioOrdinis Prx- dicatorum Veneti in Armoricis, pp. 477 to 529-
94. 95-
' Archdall makes the present saint the son
of Murchade, of the blood royal of Munster.
See "Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 717.
'* See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v. "At p. 96.
. ,
3 He has prefixed a commentary, in four different sections, comprising seventeen para-
— became Bishop of Lucera.
Article ii.
'
Afterwards, the author The Bollandists
graphs.
* In"Historiarmn,"pars. iii. ,titulus xxiii. ,
cap. 8.
5 See tomus ii. , pp. 187, 188.
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 37
St. Vincent Ferrer. * The Annals of the Cistercian Monks contain notices of this celebrated saint. 7 Also, Surius,* Touron,' Du Pin,'° Adrien Baillet," Godescard,"the Rev. Alban Butler,'3 L'Abb^ Rohrbacher,'^ Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'5 and Bishop Forbes,'* relate the particulars of St. Vincent Ferrer's life. In " Les Petits BoUandistes,"'? there is a long biographical notice of this renowned Saint ; and, the chief events of his life are there narrated. From several of these various sources, the following incidents are chiefly gleaned and succinctly arranged. The pious parents of this illustrious saint were William Ferrier and Constance Mignell. He was bom at Valentia, in Spain, on the 23rd of January, a. d. 1357. '^ From his earliest years, St. Vin- cent was remarkable for his precocity of intellect and for his deep spirit of piety. His personal appearance was most attractive, his features were beau- tiful, and his body was distinguished for form and grace. He received a very excellent education, and he improved it, by habits of close and of constant study. Yet, he took care, that devotion should direct it, and his chief maxim was, that it ought conduce more to sanctification than to mental adornments. '9 He had a very retentive memory, and especially was he able to bear in mind the good sermons he had heard preached in the churches. Such instructions he was accustomed to repeat, afterwards, to those little companions with whom he associated. "^ When he had grown to be a young man, the Saint's
father proposed to him, that he might accept of three diflferent conditions.
Itwassuggested,thatheshouldmarry,andsettleinhisnativetown; oragain,
it was permitted him, to cultivate his talents, especially in elocution, by re-
moving to the Universities, at Paris or at Rome ; or, in fine, that he might chose the religious state, and become a friar of the Dominican Order. The
latter state of life was most congenial to his wishes, and, accordingly, he ap- plied for admission, to the monastery of St. Dominic. This he entered, in the year 1374. " Among this fraternity of preachers, very soon he became one of the most distinguished pulpit orators. On a certain occasion, taking great pains to frame his discourse, on the approved rules of Rhetoric, having to preach before a great noble, his sermon proved to be a failure, and it made
little impression, on those who were present. Next day, being also required to preach, he took care to kneel before the crucifix, and to fix his mind in meditation, on the wounds of our Divine Redeemer. Afterwards, he preached with great fervour andjpathos, so that his hearers felt, as it were, spell-bound, by his eloquence. The prince happened to be present, and when speaking to the preacher, afterwards, he asked how there happened to be such a rc-
' See the BolUndists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
other principal . Saints," vol, iv. April v.
V. De S. Vincentio Fer- rerio, Commentarius Praevius, sec. i. , pp.
477 to 479-
' See vol. iv. , at 5th of April, pp. 428 to
433.
" See "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," &c. ,
"• See "Vies des Saints tous les pour
tomus i. ,
Aprilis
jours de I'annce," tome ii. , S Avril, pp. 309 to
tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , pp. 64 to 82, Edition p. 458.
Colonise Agippinae, A. D. cb lac xviii. fol. 'In"HommeslUustre*deI'ordredeSt.
Dominique," tome iii.
' See tome iv. , Avril 5, pp. 215 to 243.
'•See"LesPetitsBollandistes, tomeiv,
5 Avril, p. 215.
' See M. L'Abb^ Rohrbacher's "Viesdes
Saints pour tous les jours de I'annee," tome
ii. , Avril 5, pp. 309, 310.
"See his Life in Surius, "De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , lib. i. , cap. iv. , p. 66.
"See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Vies des Saints," Avril S, p. 310.
" See "Nouvelle BibliothequedesAuteurs "
Ecclesiastiques, 86, 87.
&c. , tomexii. , cap. iv. ,pp.
" See "Les Vies des Saints," tome i. , pp. 68 to 78, or tome iv. , Avril v. , pp. 134 to 153. Paris edition of 1701, 8vo.
"In " Vies des Saints de Bretagne," at
the 5th of April.
" See " Lives ofthe Fathers, Martyrs, and
3>5-
'' See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April
5, pp. 87, 88.
" . See " Kalendars of the Scottish Saints,"
38 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. [April 5. markable difference, between both his sermons. The saint immediately
" It was
replied,
preached yesterday,
•"See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of theSaints,"vol. iv. Aprilv. ,p. 87.
°3 See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chronology of
202.
History," p.
"* He died at
444.
=5 See anaccount of him, in Alfonsus Cia-
conius' "Vitoe et Gesta Summorum Pontiti- cum a Christo Domino usque ad Clementem vill. necnon S. R. E. Cardinaliura cum eorundem Insignibus," lib. ii. , pp. 664 to 679. Romse, 1601, fol.
"* He reigned, from August 7th, 1316, to
702.
=' His term lasted, from December 20th,
1334, to April 25th, 1342. According to Ciaconius,heis noticedas"Benedictusxi.
*> He sat, from 1362 to 19th of December, 1370. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 203.
Perugia, July See Matthew of Westminster,
"
Flores Historiarum," at Anno Gratije MCCCllli. , p.
December 4th, 1334.
34 gee Dean Milman's " of Latin
to Cia- conius, he is called "Joannes xxi. dictus XXII. P. cxcvill. " See iiui. , pp. 6S0 to
dictus XII. P. cic. " See ibiJ. , pp. 703 to 709.
" He ruled, from May 7th, 1342, to De- cember 6th, 1352. See L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome xx. , liv. xcvi. , sec. xiii. , pp. 125, 126.
"9 He from to presided, 1352 1362.
Vincent Ferrier that
but it to-day
only
wasJesusChrist,speakingthroughhim. """ Atthistime,thePopesliadleft Rome, and they resided at Avignon, in France ; as dreadful schisms had greatly distracted the peace of the Church. After the death of Pope Boniface
VIII. , October nth, a. d. i303,"3 and of his successor. Pope Benedict XI.
,"* who was obliged to quit Rome, owing to dissensions then prevailing, espe- cially the quarrels of the Guelfs and Giiibellines disturbing Italy ; Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected to the dignity, and taking the name of Pope Clement V. , established himself at Avignon, in France. 's French influence now prevailed, and a Cardinal-Bishop of Porto was elected tothePapacy,insuccession,hetakingfortitleJohnXXII. "* PopesBene- dict XII. ,"? Clement VI. ,"^ Innocent VI. ,"9 Urban V. ,3» and Gregory XI. ,3' allresidedatAvignon. 3" OnthedeathofthislatterPontiff,theelectionof Urban VI. ,33 as Pope, ensued at Rome,3« while the French Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert, Count of Geneva, who took the tide of Clement VII. ,35and hechosetoremainatAvignoas* HispapalLegate,thenreceivedinSpain, wasPeterdeLuna. TorewardVincent'slearningandtalents,thedegreeof
Doctor \vas conferred, by the Pope's representative in 1384, while he was at
Lerida,themostcelebratedUniversityintheprovinceofCatalonia. Atthis
time, our saint was in his twenty-eighth year. 37 Afterwards, he was recalled to
Valencia, and there, with extraordinary zeal, Vincent preached God's word
to the people. \Vhile here, he was obliged to sustain and overcome danger-
ous temptations of the devil ; and even his virtue was exposed to various
external assaults, which were ineffectual, however, but which taught him still
more the necessity for prayer, penance and vigilance, to avoid all occasions
of sin. He lived for six years, at Valencia ; and, in 1390, the Cardinal Legate
induced him to visit France, as he had a mission to the Court of its King,
Charles VI. While the Legate was chiefly engaged on political affairs, St. Vincent occupied himself with the work of God, at Paris. In 1394, refusing
7th, a. d. 1304.
According
History Christianity, vol. v. , book xiii. , chap. i. ii. ,
-s' He from ruled,
3" For
foregoii^ Sovereign Pontiffs, who were French, the reader is referred to L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Histoire Universelle de I'Eglise Catholi-
que," tome xx. , liv. Ixiix. , Ixxx. , pp. 65 to 493.
33 His reign dates, from 1378 to 13S9. See Rev. Joseph Reeve's "Short View of the
History of the Christian Church," vol. ii. , cent, xiv. , sec. vi. , pp. 402 to 409. Exeter, 1S02, 1S03, i2mo.
pp. 396 to 423.
^3 He ruled, from 137S to 1394. See
L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tomexx. , liv. xcvii. , sec. xlvii. toIxiii. ,and liv. xcviii. , sec. i. to Ixvi. , and liv. xcix. , sec. i. , ii. , pp. 271 to 40S.
36 See Albertus Cmntzius, "Saxonia," lib. x. , cap. iiii. , pp. 711, 712.
37 See the X-iev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v.
1370 very complete
1378.
"
to
Acts of Uie
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 39
to accompany the Cardinal to the court of Clement VII. , at Avignon, our saint returned to Valencia. Meanwhile, Pope Urban had died at Rome, on
the 15th of October, 1389 ; and, immediately, the Roman Cardinak elected Boniface IX. ,5* as his successor. Each of the rival pontiffs anathematized the other,tothegreatscandalofChristendom; but,whiletheDoctorsofthe University of Paris laboured to close the schism, Clement VII. died, Septem- ber 1 6th, i394. » Again, owing to a promise made to restore peace to the Church, but which was afterwards as craftily evaded, the Conclave, at . \vignon, elected the friend of our saint, Peter de Luna. <° There, he bore the title of
Benedict XIII. ; and, having been elevated, chiefly through the influence of the French and Spaniards, he resided at Avignon, during that great schism, whichsogreatlydisturbedtheChurch,inthefaurteenthcentury. *' Asare- sult of diis election, St. Vincent was appointed chamberlain by that Pope, and he resided for some time in the Court, at Avignon. Vincent chose to con- tinue his evangelical labours, in the pulpit, while he had charge of household affairs, and he was confessor to Benedict XIII. *" He laboured most zealously toreconcileordissipatethefactionsandbroilsoftheunhappyperiod; but, wearied with ineffectiial exertions to promote peace and concord, he deter-
minedtoleavethePapalCourt,atAvignon. Oursaintwasgrieved,atthe sUteofecclesiasticalandcivilanarchywhichreigned; and,headvisedBene- dict to resign his position, in order that peace might prevail in the Church. This monition had been assented to, as he thought, but soon was Vmcentun-
. deceived, by the action of the Pontiff^ Then, he expressed his intention, to withdrawfromthecourt. ThePoperemonstrated,asbeingmiwilhngtolose his society and services ; but, Vincent retired to a convent of his order, at Avignon, where he was seized with a fever, from which he recovered, how- ever,inatrulymiraculousmanner. « StVincentchoseamissionarycareer among the poor, and afterwards devoted himself with extraordinary labour,
to announce the Gospel, in different parts of Europe. At the age of forty- two, he set out from Avignon towards Valentia, and he preached everywhere, through the towns, to large crowds, who were attracted by his fervent dis- courses, while these produced very wonderful fruits. Numbers of public sinners were converted, even many among the Jews and Mahommedans, Heretics and Schismatics abandorwd their errors. He preached in Catalonia, and visited every province of Spain, except Galicia, in prosecuting the work of his mission. From Spain, he went into France, and there he uavelled throughLanguedoc,Provence,andDauphiny. FromFrance,hejourneyed toItaly,preachingalongtiiccoastofGenoa. HevisitedSavoy,Piedmont, andLombardy. Anothercourseofinstructionsandofmissionarylabourshe undertook, about the Upper Rhine, in parts of Germany, and in Flanders. The usual subjects of his discourse were on the exciting and senous topics of
God's judgments, on sin and on sinners, on death, on hell, and on eternity. Extraordinary manifesutions of feeling took place, among the congregations
* He was the generaDy recognised Vofc, and he ruled from 1389 to 1404.
"See Rer. limes Ciaigie Robertson's " HistofT <* the Christian Chtirch," »oL iv, book TO. , chap, t. , p. 173.
-SnriossUtes, "anno iw* 4 Kal. Octob. " See " De Prob«U Sanctotmn Vitis," &c. , Life of St. Vmeent Fenw, Ub. u. , cap. ii. ,
Epoch, p«t second, chap. i. to ir. , pp. l to l8a Dnblin edition, Trafldation. ^
1
«> See " L'H. ,toire de t-gliic, par Jie-
ranlt-Bercastel, noavelle edition corngee et angmentee de $a continnation depm$ 1720 ja«iu' aLeon Xll, par M. Pcher deLacroix, Chanoine de Chartres et Aumonier de -S. A. K. Le Prince de Conde, tome vu. , Uv. ilvii. P- 4«3- Edit«». A Pans, A. D. 1829 et
p. ;o.
«« Foranaccoontoftheselamentabledis- seq.
„ . t. n j- . >> . . Petits BoIUndistes, tome
" Unirersal Church History," vol. iii. Second
"
iv. , 5 Ami, pp. 220, 221.
ofdeo, see Rev. John Aliog-s
Manual of
4'
See
Les
•
40 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
he addressed, and great conversions were a usual result. He appealed, how- ever, as well to the understanding, as to the feelings, of vast crowds, who were convinced and moved, by his eloquent exhortations. While St. Vincent was
engaged preaching the Gospel, in France, Henry IV. ,<'» King of England, sent him a pressing invitation by messengers, to visit his realm, and the holy
mancompliedwithhisrequest. Then,hepredictedmanythings,thatshould happen in the future, and his prophecies were exactly fulfilled. He spread the word of God with great fruit. Afterwards, leaving England, he directed his course, by sea, to Scotland. s From the latter country, he passed over to Ireland ; and, most probably, he landed somewhere, in the province of Ulster. However, he did not remain for any considerable time, in Ireland, when he deemed it necessary to revisit Gaul. *^ His own manner of life was known to
be most austere, self-sacrificing, and abstemious. He fasted every day, except on Sundays,andhenevereatflesh-meat; onWednesdayandonFridays,helived
on bread and water, for a great number of years. After returning from the
British Islands, he gave missions, in Gascony and Picardy. This remarkable man preached, also, in the Island of Majorca. St. Vincent had a wonderful
aptitude, for the acquisition of languages, and after a little study, he was en- abled to preach, in the various foreign countries. He possessed, in a remark-
able degree, gifts of prophecy, and the performance of miracles, very many of which are recorded by his biographers. Notwithstanding his unremitting occupations, in the work of the ministry, our saint found time to compose the following valuable works : A Treatise on a Spiritual I>ife, or on the Interior
Man ; a Treatise on the Lord's Prayer ; a Consolation under Temptations
against Faith ; besides seven Epistles. Having spent some time, in the pro- vince of Burgundy, he went from Dijon to Bourges. There, his labours in
the ministry were exercised, with great unction. While here, pressing letters were received from John V. , Duke of Brittany, who asked him to come, for
the purpose of preaching in his own province. St. Vincent readily complied withhisrequest,andtravelledbywayofTours,Angers,andNantz. Along the route, miracles were wrought by him, and many sinners were converted. The chief city of the duke was Vannes, and preparations were made there, to receive the saint, with the highest honours. The sovereign, clergy, nobles, and people, vied with each other, in the welcome accorded to him. From the fourth Sunday of Lent, until Easter Tuesday, of the year 141 7, he preached in the city of Vannes, with remarkable effect ; for, he produced a thorough change, in the morals of the people. While he remained in this place, Vincent received a message, from Pope Martin V. He had been elected Pope, by the Council assembled at Constance, in the November of that year. This indult confirmed all his missionary faculties and authority. King Henry V. , who ruled over England and Normandy, at the time, happened to be at Caen, andheentreatedSt. Vincent,tovisithisFrenchdominions. Theholyman complied, and thenceforward, for the remainder of his life, his labours were confined to the provinces of Brittany and Normandy. At length, worn out, with incessant labours and advancing years, he sought the city of Vannes, for the purpose of finding there his grave. A fever had already seized upon him. In this extremity, he received the sacraments of the Church, with most edify-
« His reign lasted, from A. D. 139910 A. D.
1413.
<5 As connected with this country, in
Ad. im King's Kalendar, he is thus noticed,
p. 148.
<' See Vita, auctore Petro Ranzano Ordi-
nis Praedicatorum, dienEpisc. Luceiino. Ex Codice MS. Ultrajectino, lib.
'* See the "
Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 363, 364.
^Thereweread:"ApudHiberniamSanc- tus Confessor Becan hoc die ad Christum migravit. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 9.
Parliamentary
Gazetteer of
publish it,
from a Utrecht
Manuscript.
It
's See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xix. , pp. 520, 521.
has Four Prologues, and it is contained in
Four Books, comprising Fourteen Chapters.
°
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Ap- rilisv. DeS. VincentioFerrerioOrdinis Prx- dicatorum Veneti in Armoricis, pp. 477 to 529-
94. 95-
' Archdall makes the present saint the son
of Murchade, of the blood royal of Munster.
See "Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 717.
'* See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v. "At p. 96.
. ,
3 He has prefixed a commentary, in four different sections, comprising seventeen para-
— became Bishop of Lucera.
Article ii.
'
Afterwards, the author The Bollandists
graphs.
* In"Historiarmn,"pars. iii. ,titulus xxiii. ,
cap. 8.
5 See tomus ii. , pp. 187, 188.
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 37
St. Vincent Ferrer. * The Annals of the Cistercian Monks contain notices of this celebrated saint. 7 Also, Surius,* Touron,' Du Pin,'° Adrien Baillet," Godescard,"the Rev. Alban Butler,'3 L'Abb^ Rohrbacher,'^ Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'5 and Bishop Forbes,'* relate the particulars of St. Vincent Ferrer's life. In " Les Petits BoUandistes,"'? there is a long biographical notice of this renowned Saint ; and, the chief events of his life are there narrated. From several of these various sources, the following incidents are chiefly gleaned and succinctly arranged. The pious parents of this illustrious saint were William Ferrier and Constance Mignell. He was bom at Valentia, in Spain, on the 23rd of January, a. d. 1357. '^ From his earliest years, St. Vin- cent was remarkable for his precocity of intellect and for his deep spirit of piety. His personal appearance was most attractive, his features were beau- tiful, and his body was distinguished for form and grace. He received a very excellent education, and he improved it, by habits of close and of constant study. Yet, he took care, that devotion should direct it, and his chief maxim was, that it ought conduce more to sanctification than to mental adornments. '9 He had a very retentive memory, and especially was he able to bear in mind the good sermons he had heard preached in the churches. Such instructions he was accustomed to repeat, afterwards, to those little companions with whom he associated. "^ When he had grown to be a young man, the Saint's
father proposed to him, that he might accept of three diflferent conditions.
Itwassuggested,thatheshouldmarry,andsettleinhisnativetown; oragain,
it was permitted him, to cultivate his talents, especially in elocution, by re-
moving to the Universities, at Paris or at Rome ; or, in fine, that he might chose the religious state, and become a friar of the Dominican Order. The
latter state of life was most congenial to his wishes, and, accordingly, he ap- plied for admission, to the monastery of St. Dominic. This he entered, in the year 1374. " Among this fraternity of preachers, very soon he became one of the most distinguished pulpit orators. On a certain occasion, taking great pains to frame his discourse, on the approved rules of Rhetoric, having to preach before a great noble, his sermon proved to be a failure, and it made
little impression, on those who were present. Next day, being also required to preach, he took care to kneel before the crucifix, and to fix his mind in meditation, on the wounds of our Divine Redeemer. Afterwards, he preached with great fervour andjpathos, so that his hearers felt, as it were, spell-bound, by his eloquence. The prince happened to be present, and when speaking to the preacher, afterwards, he asked how there happened to be such a rc-
' See the BolUndists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
other principal . Saints," vol, iv. April v.
V. De S. Vincentio Fer- rerio, Commentarius Praevius, sec. i. , pp.
477 to 479-
' See vol. iv. , at 5th of April, pp. 428 to
433.
" See "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," &c. ,
"• See "Vies des Saints tous les pour
tomus i. ,
Aprilis
jours de I'annce," tome ii. , S Avril, pp. 309 to
tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , pp. 64 to 82, Edition p. 458.
Colonise Agippinae, A. D. cb lac xviii. fol. 'In"HommeslUustre*deI'ordredeSt.
Dominique," tome iii.
' See tome iv. , Avril 5, pp. 215 to 243.
'•See"LesPetitsBollandistes, tomeiv,
5 Avril, p. 215.
' See M. L'Abb^ Rohrbacher's "Viesdes
Saints pour tous les jours de I'annee," tome
ii. , Avril 5, pp. 309, 310.
"See his Life in Surius, "De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , lib. i. , cap. iv. , p. 66.
"See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Vies des Saints," Avril S, p. 310.
" See "Nouvelle BibliothequedesAuteurs "
Ecclesiastiques, 86, 87.
&c. , tomexii. , cap. iv. ,pp.
" See "Les Vies des Saints," tome i. , pp. 68 to 78, or tome iv. , Avril v. , pp. 134 to 153. Paris edition of 1701, 8vo.
"In " Vies des Saints de Bretagne," at
the 5th of April.
" See " Lives ofthe Fathers, Martyrs, and
3>5-
'' See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April
5, pp. 87, 88.
" . See " Kalendars of the Scottish Saints,"
38 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. [April 5. markable difference, between both his sermons. The saint immediately
" It was
replied,
preached yesterday,
•"See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of theSaints,"vol. iv. Aprilv. ,p. 87.
°3 See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chronology of
202.
History," p.
"* He died at
444.
=5 See anaccount of him, in Alfonsus Cia-
conius' "Vitoe et Gesta Summorum Pontiti- cum a Christo Domino usque ad Clementem vill. necnon S. R. E. Cardinaliura cum eorundem Insignibus," lib. ii. , pp. 664 to 679. Romse, 1601, fol.
"* He reigned, from August 7th, 1316, to
702.
=' His term lasted, from December 20th,
1334, to April 25th, 1342. According to Ciaconius,heis noticedas"Benedictusxi.
*> He sat, from 1362 to 19th of December, 1370. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 203.
Perugia, July See Matthew of Westminster,
"
Flores Historiarum," at Anno Gratije MCCCllli. , p.
December 4th, 1334.
34 gee Dean Milman's " of Latin
to Cia- conius, he is called "Joannes xxi. dictus XXII. P. cxcvill. " See iiui. , pp. 6S0 to
dictus XII. P. cic. " See ibiJ. , pp. 703 to 709.
" He ruled, from May 7th, 1342, to De- cember 6th, 1352. See L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome xx. , liv. xcvi. , sec. xiii. , pp. 125, 126.
"9 He from to presided, 1352 1362.
Vincent Ferrier that
but it to-day
only
wasJesusChrist,speakingthroughhim. """ Atthistime,thePopesliadleft Rome, and they resided at Avignon, in France ; as dreadful schisms had greatly distracted the peace of the Church. After the death of Pope Boniface
VIII. , October nth, a. d. i303,"3 and of his successor. Pope Benedict XI.
,"* who was obliged to quit Rome, owing to dissensions then prevailing, espe- cially the quarrels of the Guelfs and Giiibellines disturbing Italy ; Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected to the dignity, and taking the name of Pope Clement V. , established himself at Avignon, in France. 's French influence now prevailed, and a Cardinal-Bishop of Porto was elected tothePapacy,insuccession,hetakingfortitleJohnXXII. "* PopesBene- dict XII. ,"? Clement VI. ,"^ Innocent VI. ,"9 Urban V. ,3» and Gregory XI. ,3' allresidedatAvignon. 3" OnthedeathofthislatterPontiff,theelectionof Urban VI. ,33 as Pope, ensued at Rome,3« while the French Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert, Count of Geneva, who took the tide of Clement VII. ,35and hechosetoremainatAvignoas* HispapalLegate,thenreceivedinSpain, wasPeterdeLuna. TorewardVincent'slearningandtalents,thedegreeof
Doctor \vas conferred, by the Pope's representative in 1384, while he was at
Lerida,themostcelebratedUniversityintheprovinceofCatalonia. Atthis
time, our saint was in his twenty-eighth year. 37 Afterwards, he was recalled to
Valencia, and there, with extraordinary zeal, Vincent preached God's word
to the people. \Vhile here, he was obliged to sustain and overcome danger-
ous temptations of the devil ; and even his virtue was exposed to various
external assaults, which were ineffectual, however, but which taught him still
more the necessity for prayer, penance and vigilance, to avoid all occasions
of sin. He lived for six years, at Valencia ; and, in 1390, the Cardinal Legate
induced him to visit France, as he had a mission to the Court of its King,
Charles VI. While the Legate was chiefly engaged on political affairs, St. Vincent occupied himself with the work of God, at Paris. In 1394, refusing
7th, a. d. 1304.
According
History Christianity, vol. v. , book xiii. , chap. i. ii. ,
-s' He from ruled,
3" For
foregoii^ Sovereign Pontiffs, who were French, the reader is referred to L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Histoire Universelle de I'Eglise Catholi-
que," tome xx. , liv. Ixiix. , Ixxx. , pp. 65 to 493.
33 His reign dates, from 1378 to 13S9. See Rev. Joseph Reeve's "Short View of the
History of the Christian Church," vol. ii. , cent, xiv. , sec. vi. , pp. 402 to 409. Exeter, 1S02, 1S03, i2mo.
pp. 396 to 423.
^3 He ruled, from 137S to 1394. See
L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tomexx. , liv. xcvii. , sec. xlvii. toIxiii. ,and liv. xcviii. , sec. i. to Ixvi. , and liv. xcix. , sec. i. , ii. , pp. 271 to 40S.
36 See Albertus Cmntzius, "Saxonia," lib. x. , cap. iiii. , pp. 711, 712.
37 See the X-iev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v.
1370 very complete
1378.
"
to
Acts of Uie
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 39
to accompany the Cardinal to the court of Clement VII. , at Avignon, our saint returned to Valencia. Meanwhile, Pope Urban had died at Rome, on
the 15th of October, 1389 ; and, immediately, the Roman Cardinak elected Boniface IX. ,5* as his successor. Each of the rival pontiffs anathematized the other,tothegreatscandalofChristendom; but,whiletheDoctorsofthe University of Paris laboured to close the schism, Clement VII. died, Septem- ber 1 6th, i394. » Again, owing to a promise made to restore peace to the Church, but which was afterwards as craftily evaded, the Conclave, at . \vignon, elected the friend of our saint, Peter de Luna. <° There, he bore the title of
Benedict XIII. ; and, having been elevated, chiefly through the influence of the French and Spaniards, he resided at Avignon, during that great schism, whichsogreatlydisturbedtheChurch,inthefaurteenthcentury. *' Asare- sult of diis election, St. Vincent was appointed chamberlain by that Pope, and he resided for some time in the Court, at Avignon. Vincent chose to con- tinue his evangelical labours, in the pulpit, while he had charge of household affairs, and he was confessor to Benedict XIII. *" He laboured most zealously toreconcileordissipatethefactionsandbroilsoftheunhappyperiod; but, wearied with ineffectiial exertions to promote peace and concord, he deter-
minedtoleavethePapalCourt,atAvignon. Oursaintwasgrieved,atthe sUteofecclesiasticalandcivilanarchywhichreigned; and,headvisedBene- dict to resign his position, in order that peace might prevail in the Church. This monition had been assented to, as he thought, but soon was Vmcentun-
. deceived, by the action of the Pontiff^ Then, he expressed his intention, to withdrawfromthecourt. ThePoperemonstrated,asbeingmiwilhngtolose his society and services ; but, Vincent retired to a convent of his order, at Avignon, where he was seized with a fever, from which he recovered, how- ever,inatrulymiraculousmanner. « StVincentchoseamissionarycareer among the poor, and afterwards devoted himself with extraordinary labour,
to announce the Gospel, in different parts of Europe. At the age of forty- two, he set out from Avignon towards Valentia, and he preached everywhere, through the towns, to large crowds, who were attracted by his fervent dis- courses, while these produced very wonderful fruits. Numbers of public sinners were converted, even many among the Jews and Mahommedans, Heretics and Schismatics abandorwd their errors. He preached in Catalonia, and visited every province of Spain, except Galicia, in prosecuting the work of his mission. From Spain, he went into France, and there he uavelled throughLanguedoc,Provence,andDauphiny. FromFrance,hejourneyed toItaly,preachingalongtiiccoastofGenoa. HevisitedSavoy,Piedmont, andLombardy. Anothercourseofinstructionsandofmissionarylabourshe undertook, about the Upper Rhine, in parts of Germany, and in Flanders. The usual subjects of his discourse were on the exciting and senous topics of
God's judgments, on sin and on sinners, on death, on hell, and on eternity. Extraordinary manifesutions of feeling took place, among the congregations
* He was the generaDy recognised Vofc, and he ruled from 1389 to 1404.
"See Rer. limes Ciaigie Robertson's " HistofT <* the Christian Chtirch," »oL iv, book TO. , chap, t. , p. 173.
-SnriossUtes, "anno iw* 4 Kal. Octob. " See " De Prob«U Sanctotmn Vitis," &c. , Life of St. Vmeent Fenw, Ub. u. , cap. ii. ,
Epoch, p«t second, chap. i. to ir. , pp. l to l8a Dnblin edition, Trafldation. ^
1
«> See " L'H. ,toire de t-gliic, par Jie-
ranlt-Bercastel, noavelle edition corngee et angmentee de $a continnation depm$ 1720 ja«iu' aLeon Xll, par M. Pcher deLacroix, Chanoine de Chartres et Aumonier de -S. A. K. Le Prince de Conde, tome vu. , Uv. ilvii. P- 4«3- Edit«». A Pans, A. D. 1829 et
p. ;o.
«« Foranaccoontoftheselamentabledis- seq.
„ . t. n j- . >> . . Petits BoIUndistes, tome
" Unirersal Church History," vol. iii. Second
"
iv. , 5 Ami, pp. 220, 221.
ofdeo, see Rev. John Aliog-s
Manual of
4'
See
Les
•
40 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
he addressed, and great conversions were a usual result. He appealed, how- ever, as well to the understanding, as to the feelings, of vast crowds, who were convinced and moved, by his eloquent exhortations. While St. Vincent was
engaged preaching the Gospel, in France, Henry IV. ,<'» King of England, sent him a pressing invitation by messengers, to visit his realm, and the holy
mancompliedwithhisrequest. Then,hepredictedmanythings,thatshould happen in the future, and his prophecies were exactly fulfilled. He spread the word of God with great fruit. Afterwards, leaving England, he directed his course, by sea, to Scotland. s From the latter country, he passed over to Ireland ; and, most probably, he landed somewhere, in the province of Ulster. However, he did not remain for any considerable time, in Ireland, when he deemed it necessary to revisit Gaul. *^ His own manner of life was known to
be most austere, self-sacrificing, and abstemious. He fasted every day, except on Sundays,andhenevereatflesh-meat; onWednesdayandonFridays,helived
on bread and water, for a great number of years. After returning from the
British Islands, he gave missions, in Gascony and Picardy. This remarkable man preached, also, in the Island of Majorca. St. Vincent had a wonderful
aptitude, for the acquisition of languages, and after a little study, he was en- abled to preach, in the various foreign countries. He possessed, in a remark-
able degree, gifts of prophecy, and the performance of miracles, very many of which are recorded by his biographers. Notwithstanding his unremitting occupations, in the work of the ministry, our saint found time to compose the following valuable works : A Treatise on a Spiritual I>ife, or on the Interior
Man ; a Treatise on the Lord's Prayer ; a Consolation under Temptations
against Faith ; besides seven Epistles. Having spent some time, in the pro- vince of Burgundy, he went from Dijon to Bourges. There, his labours in
the ministry were exercised, with great unction. While here, pressing letters were received from John V. , Duke of Brittany, who asked him to come, for
the purpose of preaching in his own province. St. Vincent readily complied withhisrequest,andtravelledbywayofTours,Angers,andNantz. Along the route, miracles were wrought by him, and many sinners were converted. The chief city of the duke was Vannes, and preparations were made there, to receive the saint, with the highest honours. The sovereign, clergy, nobles, and people, vied with each other, in the welcome accorded to him. From the fourth Sunday of Lent, until Easter Tuesday, of the year 141 7, he preached in the city of Vannes, with remarkable effect ; for, he produced a thorough change, in the morals of the people. While he remained in this place, Vincent received a message, from Pope Martin V. He had been elected Pope, by the Council assembled at Constance, in the November of that year. This indult confirmed all his missionary faculties and authority. King Henry V. , who ruled over England and Normandy, at the time, happened to be at Caen, andheentreatedSt. Vincent,tovisithisFrenchdominions. Theholyman complied, and thenceforward, for the remainder of his life, his labours were confined to the provinces of Brittany and Normandy. At length, worn out, with incessant labours and advancing years, he sought the city of Vannes, for the purpose of finding there his grave. A fever had already seized upon him. In this extremity, he received the sacraments of the Church, with most edify-
« His reign lasted, from A. D. 139910 A. D.
1413.
<5 As connected with this country, in
Ad. im King's Kalendar, he is thus noticed,
p. 148.
<' See Vita, auctore Petro Ranzano Ordi-
nis Praedicatorum, dienEpisc. Luceiino. Ex Codice MS. Ultrajectino, lib.
