Madame Françoise Marguerite de Gondi worked with St. Vincent de Paul to establish the Congregation of the Mission. She wanted to found a religious order to continue the missionary work on her estates that Vincent and his priests had begun. After several years of planning and negotiating, Vincent agreed to lead the new order. In 1625, the Archbishop of Paris approved the order and they took up residence in the College des Bons-Enfants. Madame de Gondi provided initial funding but soon passed away. The Congregation of the Mission was formally established and approved over the next few years, laying the foundation for Vincent and the Vincentians' missionary work.

1. FRANÇOISE
MARGUÉRITEDEGONDI,
ST.VINCENTDEPAUL
AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION

2. Madame Françoise Marguerite de Gondi was a
noble woman who loved having Fr. Vincent de
Paul as her spiritual advisor, tutor to her
children, and to give missions to the people who
lived and worked on her estates— the neglected
people of the French countryside.
She felt blessed to be associated with such a
holy priest.
She resolved to make a foundation to keep in
place whatever good priests or religious would
go from time to time to give missions on her
estates.
GODWILLEDTOPROVIDEA
BEGINNINGFORTHE
CONGREGATIONOFTHE
MISSION
by means of a holy woman, Madame de Gondi

3. Madame de Gondi had tried everything to
make her plans come true, but without
success. She discussed her idea with
several superiors of religious communities
but they had refused. So she decided that
Fr. Vincent de Paul and the many teachers
and other virtuous clergymen who
ordinarily worked with him on the missions
could easily form their own special
congregation. Their main purpose would
be to conduct missions.
SHEPERSISTED

4. Madame de Gondi spoke about her idea to
her husband, the count of Joigny, who not
only approved her decision but also wanted
to make himself its founder together with
her. The two of them discussed it with his
brother, Jean-François de Gondi, the first
archbishop of Paris.
The archbishop not only approved but he
wanted to give the priests a home, the
College des Bons-Enfants which was at his
disposal. He figured that his diocese would
be able to receive great benefits from it, also.
SHEESTABLISHEDA
HOUSEFORTHEMIN
PARIS
where they would be able to live in community

5. The three of them then spoke about it with
Fr. Vincent de Paul, who agreed to their
proposal: first, to accept the college along
with the being the director of the priests
and the missions; second, to accept the
foundation in the name of these priests;
and third, to choose personally some
additional priests who he thought would be
suitable to help with this new foundation.
PROPOSALTO
ST.VINCENT

6. The matter, thus happily resolved, was
executed on 17 April of the following year,
1625. The archbishop of Paris appointed Fr.
Vincent de Paul as principal of the college.
Monsieur and Madame de Gondi donated
37,000 livres in silver to Fr. Vincent to begin
the foundation, and gave him the right to
choose as many priests as the revenue of the
foundation would be able to support. But
Madame de Gondi wanted Fr. Vincent to
continue to remain in her home in order to
continue giving her and her family his spiritual
assistance.
ST.VINCENTSIGNSA
FORMALCONTRACT
WITHTHEGONDIS

7. After establishing this foundation, as if there
remained for Madame de Gondi nothing further
than to go to heaven to receive the crown which
was prepared for her for all the services which she
had striven to render to God and which, though
weakened by illnesses, pains, and fatigues, her zeal
and charity had enabled her to undertake, she
passed away on the vigil of the feast of John the
Baptist in the same year [1625]. Once her body had
been carried to the cemetery where she had
chosen to be buried, Monsieur de Paul departed
Paris to carry this sad news to her husband, who
was in Provence, and to ask his consent to move in
to the College des Bons-Enfants.
DEATHOFMADAME
DEGONDI

8. Having received this consent, Fr. Vincent returned to Paris.
The Congregation of the Mission was approved by the
archbishop of Paris on 24 April 1626.
Monsieur Portail, and two good priests of Picardy named
Coudray and de la Salle, along with Fr. Vincent, executed the
foundation by an act approved before notaries on 4
September 1626.
Four other priests followed them a little later. Once their
community eventually had considerably more priests, Pope
Urban VIII, by a bull of January 1632, erected the company
into a congregation under the title of the Mission and
permitted its founder to draw up rules.
To authorize the Congregation even more, King Louis XIII had
letters patent issued in the month of May 1642, and they were
ratified by the Parlement of Paris in the month of September
the same year.
FINISHINGTOUCHESON
THEESTABLISHMENTOF
THECONGREGATION

9. Later, the priests of the Congregation
moved to the Priory of Saint-Lazare at
Paris, where they remained until St Lazare
was sacked on the night of July 13-14, 1789,
at the time of the French Revolution. It was
later lost to the Congregation of the
Mission and eventually demolished.

10. "CONCERNING THE CONGREGATION OF THE MISSION, WITH THE LIFE OF
M. VINCENT DE PAUL THEIR FOUNDER,” BY MAXIMILIEN BULLOT, AND PIERRE HELYOT.
VINCENTIAN HERITAGE JOURNAL: VOL. 11 : ISS. 2 , ARTICLE 2.
SOURCE