St. Vincent de Paul (1580 1660) Feast Day: September 27 Patron Saint of Charity Prayer: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Today we thank you for people who help us: firemen, police, teachers, teacher aides, doctors, moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas, and all of the others who do good things for us. Thank you Lord for all of the people who help other people. Every day there are people all over the world that are working for the poor, the lonely, the hungry, and the uneducated. Help us to be like them. Amen. St. Vincent de Paul Tells His Story: I grew up in a family that had no money and I had no chance to go to school. When I was young I was a peasant boy herding sheep. The only way to get an education was to enter the seminary. This is a place where men learn how to become priests. So by I went to the seminary where I could get an education. When I became a priest, I was returning from a city called Marseilles with money someone had given me and I was captured by pirates. The pirates made me work in the fields in Africa, where there were lions, and tigers. There were also many poor people in Africa. While in Africa I learned a lot about the poor. Luckily, I found someone who helped me escape back to my country, France. 1
I knew that there were poor people all over the world and wanted to help them. While helping the poor, I met a lady called Louise de Marillac. She started the nuns called The Daughters of Charity. Together she and I worked to develop schools for the poor, help the homeless, and feed the hungry. Questions: 1. Are any of you named after someone else? 2. Why are you named after them? 3. St. Vincent helped other people. Do you ever help other people? Examples Activity 1: scissors, glue or tape needed 1. Distribute the sheet with SAINT VINCENT, empty boxes, and capital letters at the bottom of the sheet. 2. Write SAINT VINCENT (in all caps) on the board. 3. Explain to members that they should cut out all letters and place them in the boxes to spell the name SAINT VINCENT. Activity 2: Crayons needed 1. Distribute the St. Vincent coloring sheet to all members. 2. Have them color. 3. Display their coloring sheets in the hallway or bulletin board. 2
Cut out the letters below and tape / paste them in the boxes above to spell: SAINT VINCENT S A I N T V I N C E N T 3
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Activity: St. Vincent helped other people. Think of some ways in which you could help a member of your family. You might help a parent, grandparent or friend with a chore. You might help your brother or sister or a classmate. Below is a footprint. Take this home and to do a good deed tonight. Draw a picture or write what you did for someone else. Write your name in the foot and color the foot when finished. When you complete your footstep you (and your friends) will be walking in the footsteps of St. Vincent who always helped others. 5
Give each member a HOLY CARD of St. Vincent to place in their home so that they remember to be like St. Vincent a helper for others. 6
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Follow- up: Create a bulletin board with all of the member footprints circling to the center where St. Vincent is located. (Picture of Vincent on the last page.) Alternative Activity: Needed: white roll paper, children s washable paint Have paper rolled out along a path. Have each member PAINT one foot and step onto the path. After each member has created a footprint along the path, place a picture of St. Vincent and the words, We follow in the footsteps of St. Vincent de Paul. Hang this in the VMY bulletin board, if there is one. 8