From an article by Raymond Facelina, C.M.:

“The Christ of St. Vincent is the Christ of Luke. He is the Christ who evangelises the poor. When St. Vincent says ‘assist’ and uses the word ‘charity’ he is not speaking in 19th or 20th century language with its whiff of paternalism or materialism: in the 17th century “assistance” implied an active presence. For St. Vincent it meant a concern to see that the Good News should come to the poor not just through words but through deeds. ‘Evangelising means making the Gospel effective.’ Christ therefore is at the heart of the faith of St. Vincent because Christ is at the heart of his life. In continuity with the apostles St. Vincent gave himself to God in order to follow Jesus, Our Lord. All he seeks is to be a disciple who follows Jesus. [St. Vincent] does not separate the priesthood and the spirituality of the priest from the priesthood and the spirituality of [all] the baptised. Here is a more striking fact: he speaks less about priests than do other founders of institutes belonging to the French School. … So, missioners — both priests and brothers — Daughters of Charity, and [lay] members of confraternities of charity are for him, first of all, baptised Christians.”

Read more in the presentation below.