Saint Vincent and Poland

Abstract

Poland was the first country to receive Vincentian missionaries and Daughters of Charity. Vincent de Paul oversaw the mission’s planning. He was greatly concerned with its success and provided spiritual and material help to Poland during the Swedish invasion, which began in 1655. The Congregation’s and the Daughters’ excellent relationship with Queen Louise-Marie of Poland is described at length. Those who served are profiled. The Vincentians preached parish missions to the peasants, founded a house, and established a seminary because Vincent and the queen saw the reform of Polish clergy as an urgent need. The Vincentians and the Daughters nursed the sick during plague epidemics. The Daughters also tended wounded Polish soldiers during the invasion.