Catholic Church. Rituale Parisiense: ad Romani formam expressum; authoritate illustrissimi & reverendissimi in Christo patris. d.d. Ioannis Francisci de Gondy, Parisiensis archiepiscopieditum. Paris: Ludovicum Boullenger, 1646.
Call Number: SpC. 264.025 C363r1646
Ordained in 1600 at age of 19 or 20, most of Vincent de Paul’s early years as a priest were notable for the exertions he undertook to receive the benefices which would enable him to enjoy “a comfortable retirement.” At the heart of Vincent’s conversion was his commitment to live out his pastoral vocation as a priest with great holiness, and zeal. So great was his post-conversion respect for the priesthood that he once said that as a youth if he had realized the true magnificence of a vocation to the priesthood he would never have dared to seek ordination.
Vincent’s many activities and accomplishments emerged from his identity as a priest: celebrating the Eucharist daily, being a man of prayer, hearing confessions (especially general confessions), administering the sacraments, and preaching God’s word all led him to his vocation as a Church reformer and as the apostle of charity.
Vincent lived in Paris from 1610 until his death in 1660, and it would be the archdiocese of Paris that would be the site of so many of his priestly labors. One of the great works of the Council of Trent had been the normative reform of the Roman liturgy, yet many French dioceses continued to celebrate many elements of their own diocesan rites; the archdiocese of Paris was one of these dioceses.
This present work is a sacramentary for the Roman Rite as celebrated according to the traditions of the Church of Paris. It was issued in 1646 by Jean-Francois de Gondi (b. 1584. d. 1654) who served as the first archbishop of Paris from 1622 to 1654. (Members of the Gondi family served as bishops and archbishops of the see from 1570 to 1662).
Vincent would have used a sacramentary like this on a daily basis to guide his ministry as a priest.
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St. Vincent’s Reading List is recurring blog series exploring texts known to have been read and recommended by St. Vincent de Paul, those which can be presumed to have been read by him, and important works published during his lifetime (1581-1660). All materials discussed are held by DePaul’s Special Collections and Archives. The entire series may be viewed here.