Vincentian places series

Frederic and Amelie Ozanam honeymooned in Italy, visiting Naples, Sicily, and Rome. “The highlight of their first marital adventure was the pilgrimage to Rome, where they had a special audience with the current pope, Gregory XVI.”

When Ozanam was 20 years old he visited Florence, which “profoundly influenced his life, teaching, and scholarship.” Years later he returned to speak to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s conference in Florence (January 1853).

Lyon was the city that Ozanam would always call home. He was raised there from the age of 3-1/2 years until he left to study Law in Paris.

On April 23, 1813, Antoine Frédéric Ozanam was born in Milan, where his family lived for three more years before moving away. Seventeen years later, during a visit to Milan, Ozanam, filled with enthusiasm, revisited his birthplace and the church where he was baptized, renewing his vows and expressing gratitude to God.

After the significant events in Folléville and Châtillon, the lived experience in Montmirail confirmed that the poor are abandoned and that the Church could only reveal God to the degree that she serves the poor.

Villepreux, France is where, on February 23, 1618, Vincent de Paul established the second Confraternity of Charity, and where he met Marguerite Naseau, who is recognized as the first of the Daughters of Charity.

An experience in Gannes inspired Vincent’s sermon in Folleville (January 25th) that marked the beginning of the Congregation of the Mission.

Joigny was a place that St. Vincent de Paul frequented. It was part of the de Gondi family’s lands. One of the first Confraternities of Charity was established there.

Vincent became a personal adviser to Queen Anne of Austria, and regularly visited her at her villa at the Val-de-Grâce.