Vincent Ferrer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.(December 2007)
Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can. (December 2007)
Saint Vincent Ferrer
Confessor
Born January 23, 1350, Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia
Died April 5, 1419, Vannes, Brittany, France
Canonized June 3, 1455, Rome by Pope Calixtus III
Major shrine Vannes Cathedral
Feast April 5
Attributes Confessor; Missionary; pulpit; cardinal's hat; trumpet; captives; Bible
Patronage builders, construction workers, plumbers
Saints Portal

Saint Vincent Ferrer, O.P. (in Valencian: Sant Vicent Ferrer) (January 23, 1350 – April 5, 1419) was a Valencian Dominican missionary and logician; born in Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia (modern day Autonomous Community of Valencia, Spain). He was the second son (fourth child) of the Scottish-English nobleman William Stewart Ferrer [1][2]and his Spanish born wife, Constantia Miguel.[3][4]

St. Vincent Ferrer was professed in the Order of Preachers at the age of 18, and after studying philosophy and theology, eventually became Master of Sacred Theology. He was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy. He was sent to Barcelona and earned his Doctorate in Theology at the University of Lleida, the main university of Catalonia at the time.

He was depressed because of the Great Schism and was very ill at the age of forty. He claimed that God healed him and instructed him to go out and convert many. For twenty-one years, he was said to have traveled to Aragon, Castile, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland, preaching the gospel and converting many. Many biographers believe that he was endowed with the gift of tongues, as he could speak only Limousin.[3] St. Vincecnt Ferrer is also said to be responsible for converting many Jews to Catholicism. One of his converts, a former Rabbi by the name of Solomon ha-Levi (Pablo de Santa Maria), went on to become Bishop of Cartagena and later Archbishop of Burgos.

He is also well known in Spain for his intervention during the political discussion known as the Caspe Compromise, a debate by which the succession of the King of Aragon was solved giving the throne to a Castilian prince: this would later help the union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon, approximately corresponding to the territory of modern Spain.

St. Vincent was very loyal to the then antipope Benedict XIII, referred to as "Papa Luna" in Castile and Aragon, who had resided at both Avignon and the Kingdom of Aragon. He would remain steadfast in his loyalty to him and believe in his heart that Benedict XIII was the true Pope.[5]

One of his more controversial achievements in Spain in 1391 is to have preached to the mobs whose riots led to the appropriation then transformation of a synagogue into a church, Santa María la Blanca.[6]

Saint Vincent died on April 5, 1419 at Vannes in Brittany, France and was buried in Vannes Cathedral. He was canonized by Pope Calixtus III on June 3, 1455. His feast day is celebrated on April 5.

The Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, a Pontifical religious institute, is named after him.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Algorfa, Costa Blanca, The Website For Everything Algorfa
  3. ^ a b St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-12-14
  4. ^ Dress, Clayton J. The Late Medieval Age of Crisis and Renewal, 1300-1500: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 0313305889. (p. 490)
  5. ^ *Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Vincent Ferrer
  6. ^ (French) Michel Despland. La religion en Occident: Grandes ou petites vérités?. Encyclopédie de l'Agora. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.