VincentWiki:Ephemerides/25 April

1656 and 1659: Two councils are held under the chairmanship of Vincent de Paul and in both he emphasizes humility: "if the Daughters of Charity want God to continue His blessing on them and their Company."

1830: The solemn translation of the relics of St. Vincent de Paul took place in Paris. The day before, in the afternoon, the reliquary containing the precious remains, a silver urn, was transported from the Archbishop's residence to Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral nearby. The cathedral's portal, the nave and the choir on request of the King, have been richly decorated by draperies. Since then, the metropolitan basilica did not empty from a hungry crowd approaching the relics of "Father of the Poor. "This morning, the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Lambruschini, celebrated the Pontifical Mass in the presence of the archbishop and a dozen of bishops. At three o’clock in the afternoon today, the procession left Notre-Dame. Associations of men, numerous brother of Christian Schools, seminaries of Saint-Sulpice, Issy, Saint-Nicolas, the Holy Spirit and Irish priests of the diocese, eight hundreds of the Daughters of Charity with fifty orphans, preceded the casket carried by ten men and surrounded by the Priests of the Mission. Behind them, other two hundred Daughters of Charity advanced with fifty orphans, followed by the canons, the king's chaplains, seventeen bishops and the archbishop. While a platoon of gendarmes closed the cortege, four companies of grenadiers and four companies of voltigeurs marched along with the ranks of the clergy. Upon leaving the cathedral, the procession, singing hymns with the sound of military music, took the Petit-Pont and, and moved through the Rue Taranne, Rue du Dragon and through the intersection of the Croix-Rouge, reached Rue de Sèvres. Along the way, houses were decorated. In the chapel of the Motherhouse, where the Daughters of Charity, the priests, the chapter of Notre-Dame and the Bishops could not enter, due to ceremony requirements, the shrine was placed on a platform at the middle of the choir. Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen, in a touching address, said the Superior General, Fr. Dominique Salhorgne, that he was joyfully handing over the valuable deposit. The successor of Saint Vincent answered. As it was late, six o'clock in the evening Bishop Pierre Maria Cottret, bishop of Caryste, and canon of Saint-Denis, the planned eulogy couldn’t be said. The papal blessing ended this beautiful day”. In politically less troubled times, and if the press had not maintained animosity against Charles X, and therefore more or less antagonizing against a religious event authorized by the government, the multitude of curious people who, massed on the sidewalks, had watched past the impressive procession, would undoubtedly have shown their enthusiasm: they certainly showed respect but also coldness. From heights of Heaven, the humility of St. Vincent, basically, rejoice in the incomplete nature of this triumph that only a part of the people of Paris awarded to his body, to this body that his soul had so often led to this Paris which he made a Capital of Charity. (Based the book by Vandamme, Le Corps de Saint Vincent de Paul , pp. 111-123.)

1945: In Hungary, Sister Visitatrice is called in the room of "supervisor" installed at the Provincial House. A delegate of the workers' council handed her a declaration to be signed which read: "I want to enter the service of the Soviet Republic and I will commend to all its orders". If any Hungarian citizen did not sign, it would be expatriated and foreign religious people who did not wanted to sign must immediately go to the convent where they would be met in order to be repatriated. Sister Visitatrice took advice of Father Director and Prince Primate who both advised signing te declaration but resisting the first order that would have violated the rights of conscience. Prohibition was then made to the Sisters of cooking for the Vincentians and launder their clothes.

2004: Sr. Némésia Valle from the Congregation of Sisters of Charity of Saint Jeanne-Antide Thouret in Besançon is being beatified by pope John Paul II.