Have you ever wanted to find out what Vincent said about a topic such as war, hunger, etc.? Or do you remember the substance of a quote but not where it came from?

Father Ed Udovic introduces yet another issue by highlighting little known quotes. “There is nothing good that does not meet with opposition, and it should not be valued any less because it encounters objections.”
This insightful statement by St. Vincent de Paul remains relevant today, yet, like so many of his words, is little known outside of scholarly circles.

Until now.

The Vincentian Studies Institute of DePaul University is pleased to announce the debut of the  “What did Vincent say?” Vincent de Paul Quotes Site, an online database that makes his writings and teachings easy to explore. You can retrieve a half-remembered quotation by searching by phrase: search by keywords such as Leadership, Values, and Charity; or browse the quotations by the volume of his collected works. The site makes it simple to find a variety of quotes to

illustrate your brochure or presentation, prepare for activities such as a Vincentian Heritage Tour, or lay the groundwork for your own research and exploration of St. Vincent.
All the quotations come from 14 volume critical English edition of Correspondence, Conferences, Documents-originally compiled by Pierre Coste, C.M.
More than 15 DePaul University faculty and staff members volunteered their time and energy over the past year to comb through these volumes, identifying powerful and relevant quotations. Craig Miller, Josh Rogers, and Eralee Rivera from the College of Computing and Digital Media worked with staff from the Office of Mission and Values to organize the quotations and create the online site. The project was overseen by Scott Kelley from Mission and Values, Denise Mattson from the President’s
Office, and Kris Gallagher from Enrollment Management and Marketing, who first suggested the idea.
The web address for the site is: https://vincentianpersons.azurewebsites.net/Quotes

Of course, “It’s not enough to do good. It must be done well.”  Later this year we’ll be adding additional functionality to the site, including the ability to rate quotations, add comments to quotes, suggest additional quotes or resources, and other features. As you explore the site, we look forward to hearing your ideas about how to make it even more useful. Please send your suggestions to Scott at skelley6@depaul.edu.

The site says…

Welcome to our database of quotes from St Vincent de Paul. The site includes a number of ways to find quotes and references using the navigation buttons on the left.

All quotes come from Saint Vincent de Paul, Correspondence, Conferences, Documents (volume one edited by Sr. Jacqueline Kilar, D.C., subsequent volumes edited by Sr. Marie Poole, translated by Sr. Helen Marie Law, D.C., Sr. John Marie Poole, D.C., Rev. James R. King, C.M., Rev. Francis Germovnik, C.M. from the 1920 edition of Pierre Coste, C.M. New York: New City Press, 1985). All of the English volumes, except 11 and 12, are available online.

Quotes were selected by approximately fifteen volunteers who read through an assigned volume and identified quotes and phrases that stood out to them as particularly insightful or representative of St Vincent’s wisdom. A special thank you the DePaul faculty and staff who made this site possible: Craig Miller, Josh Rogers, and Eralee Rivera from the College of Computing and Digital Media, Kris Gallagher from Enrollment Management and Marketing, Denise Mattson from the President’s Office, Rev. Edward Udovic from the Office of Mission and Values, and all the volunteers who selected quotes from the Coste volumes.

We hope you find the site useful. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please contact Scott Kelley at skelley6@depaul.edu.