Feast of Saint Vincent Ferrer

Feast of Saint Vincent Ferrer – Remembering the Great Builder of the Church

Vincent Ferrer, the Patron Saint of Builders, was known and was given this title for building and giving strength to the Catholic Church during the Great Schism. Everywhere he passed, churches, orphanages, convents, and hospitals were built. He was born in Valencia, Spain formerly Kingdom of Valencia on January 23, 1357. His father, William Stuart came from the English noble (de) Ferrer Family and the Stuart (Scottish) Family. His mother, Constantia Miguel, had Spanish origins.

He joined the Dominican order at the age of 18. He took his master’s degree at Sacred Theology where he taught philosophy. He was sent to the University City of Catalonia to take his doctorate at Lerida in Barcelona. After his doctorate, he went back to Valencia and labored for 6 years trying to perfect Christian life.

In 1390, he was acquainted with Cardinal Pedro de Luna who asked for his company to France. However, he did not stay there long. Four years after, de Luna became the Pope and assigned him to become Master of the Sacred Palace. During this time, he made a lot of unsuccessful efforts to prevent the Schism in the Church.

Bridging the Schism
At the age of 40, he almost died during the Great Schism of the Church. He was miraculously healed by the Lord and had had visions of the Lord instructing him to go out, preach to and convert the sinners. He traveled to Castile, Aragon, Switzerland, France, Italy and Scotland following the Lord’s instructions of converting many sinners back to Him. He did not only convert sinners, he also converted Jews to Christianity through his teachings. One Rabbi even became a Bishop of Cartagena. Even though the Church was divided, Saint Ferrer was accepted in every district and was received honorably. He even preached the Gospel in Mohammedan Granada.

He was known in Spain to have intervened during the debate on the Caspe Compromise in 1412. This debate involved the resolution of the parliamentary representatives of the Kingdoms of Aragon and Valencia because of the absence of an heir to the throne. Because of his intervention, the King of Aragon gave the throne to a Castilian prince. This act led to the union of the nobilities of Castile and Aragon.

St. Ferrer’s Influence
Prayer was foremost in his preaching. Once a nobleman was to be present in his preaching, he studied instead and forgot about prayers. When the nobleman learned of this, he was not surprised and he attended once again. He commented that during the first sermon it was St Ferrer speaking, but during the second sermon it was Jesus Christ preaching. It made a deep impression on the nobleman’s heart and soul.

When he fell ill, he was still given the crown of everlasting glory. On April 5, 1419, Saint Ferrer died at Vannes, Britanny in France. Thirty-six years later, Pope Calixtus III canonized him on June 3, 1455 and assigned April 5th as his Feast Day. In his lifetime, he saw the Great Schism end as Pope Martin V was elected.

Though many titles and glories were given to him, his humility was still his foremost virtue. He said that “whenever you think of yourself, think about God.”