<p>St. Vincent Ferrer was a Valencian Dominican Friar, who gained acclaim as a missionary.&nbsp; He was the fourth child of the Anglo-Scottish nobleman William Stewart Ferrer, and his Spanish wife, Constantia Miguel. &nbsp; Legends surround the birth of Vincent; one being that his father was told in a dream by a Dominican Friar that his son would be famous throughout the world.&nbsp; His mother is said never to have experienced pain when she gave birth to him.&nbsp; Vincent would fast every Wednesday and Friday, and he loved the Passion of Christ very much.&nbsp; He would help the poor and distribute alms to them.&nbsp; At the age of 14 he started his studies of Theology and philosophy. &nbsp;</p> <p>At the age of eighteen he entered the Dominican Order.&nbsp; He felt temptations to leave almost immediately upon his arrival, and even his parents pleaded with him to leave to become a secular Priest. He however through prayer was able to overcome his temptations to leave.&nbsp; He solely read Sacred Scripture and eventually committed it to memory.&nbsp; He was ordained a Priest in 1379, and was sent to Barcelona and eventually to the University of Lleida, where he earned his doctorate in Theology. &nbsp;</p> <p>Vincent traveled England, Scotland, Ireland, Aragon, Castile, France, Switzerland, and Italy preaching the Gospel and converting many, for 21 years.&nbsp; He was endowed with the gift of tongues and could speak the native language of where he was preaching.&nbsp; He preached to St. Colette of Corbie and to her Nuns, and it was she who told him that he would die in France.&nbsp; Too ill to return to Spain, he did indeed die in Brittany.&nbsp; Breton Fishermen still invoke his aid in storms.&nbsp; In Spain, he is also the patron of orphanages.&nbsp; He is said to have been responsible for the conversion of many Jews to Catholicism.&nbsp; One convert went on to become the Bishop of Cartagena and later the Archbishop of Burgos. &nbsp;</p> <p>St. Vincent died on April 5^th 1419 at Vannes in Brittany, at the age of sixty-nine.&nbsp; He was buried in Vannes Cathedral.&nbsp; Pope Calixtus III canonized him on June 3, 1455.&nbsp; His feast day is celebrated on April 5^th.&nbsp; The Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, a pontifical religious institute is named after him. &nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></p> <p>St. Vincent Ferrer was a Valencian Dominican Friar, who gained acclaim as a missionary.&nbsp; Vincent traveled England, Scotland, Ireland, Aragon, Castile, France, Switzerland, and Italy preaching the Gospel and converting many, for 21 years.&nbsp; He was endowed with the gift of tongues and could speak the native language of where he was preaching.&nbsp; He was responsible for converting a lot of Jews to Catholicism.&nbsp; The time in which he lived, was in desperate need of preachers to travel and spread the Gospel.&nbsp; St. Vincent was successful in doing just that, and is venerated for his efforts in building up the kingdom of God.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>