January 22 -- Feast of Four Vincents

Saint Vincent of Saragossa was a deacon, serving under his friend Bishop Valerius. They had the fortune (good or bad, depending on how much you want to suffer for your faith) to live during the reign of Diocletian.  Vincent also had the fortune to die during the reign of Diocletian.

Without casting aspersions on the Bishop, it must be noted that he suffered only exile (often harsh, sometimes fatal under the Romans) while Vincent was starved, racked, and roasted on a gridiron. Valerius, however, returned to his cathedral after the Edict of Toleration. 

According to the legend, the discarded body of Vincent of Saragossa was protected from scavenging beasts by ravens until the faithful could gather it up for a respectful burial.  Augustin Theodule Ribot imagines one very determined raven holding down the fort here. 

Vincent Pallotti High School, Laurel MD -- Go Panthers!

Saint Vincent Pallotti was a nineteenth century priest whose concern for Christian unity exceeded his tact in relations with other Catholic clergy.  He saw that the urban, industrial centers of the nineteenth century would need ways of serving the faithful and propagating the faith.  He pioneered the concept of apostolic roles for lay people, Bishops wanted the word apostle in all its forms reserved for them; Pope Pius IX disagreed and elevated Vince's Pious Union for the Catholic Apostolate to canonical status, meaning it had all the rights and privileges of other Congregations and Orders.  In a smaller, cooler initiative, Vince pushed for the elevation of the Feast of the Epiphany in the liturgy to promote solidarity with Christian churches whose Christmas aligns with that feast. 

St. Vincent Pallotti,  reposing in Rome

Saint Vincent of Puigcerda (Spain) was a Gaul and a missionary in the Pyrenees who had the fortune to be preaching while Diocletian was ruling.  He, Saint Orontius, and Saint Victor all earned their crowns of martyrdom in AD 305.  


Saint Vincent of Digne was a North African evangelizing Gaul during the mid- and late-fourth century.  He settled in the area of Digne and served as the bishop.  As he had the fortune to be preaching after the Edict of Toleration, he died of natural causes. 

Bonus Feasture:  Can you find the saint in the picture below?  

Vincent Vega (left) and Jules Winnfield (right)

ANSWER:  Even though John Travolta (left) once played an angel and his character in Pulp Fiction is named Vincent, Jules (Samuel L. Jackson, right) was clearly the more saintly of the characters.   Not only does he quote a lost Biblical passage -- an extended version of Ezekiel 25:17 -- he recognized a sign from God and acted on it.  Vincent, on the other hand, well, see for yourself.