St. Vincent Ferrer: Prayer, Feast Day and Patronage

St. Vincent Ferrer (1350–1419) was a Spanish Dominican priest from Valencia who spent the last twenty years of his life walking across Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy, preaching penance to huge crowds, working many miracles, and helping to end the Great Western Schism, when rival claimants divided the papacy. Because he preached about the coming judgment, he was called the “Angel of the Apocalypse.” He is the patron of Valencia, of builders and of preachers. His feast day is April 5. Below are his story, the prayer of his feast and a prayer to St. Vincent Ferrer.

A short prayer to St. Vincent Ferrer, written for this page:

St. Vincent Ferrer, you called sinners to repentance and brought peace to a divided Church.
Pray for me in my need: (name your intention).
Help me to turn from sin, to live ready for the coming of Christ, and to work for unity. Amen.

Who was St. Vincent Ferrer?

Vincent was born in Valencia in 1350 and entered the Dominican Order at seventeen. A gifted student and teacher of philosophy and theology, he was drawn into the great crisis of his time: from 1378 the Church was split between rival popes in Rome and in Avignon. Vincent at first supported the Avignon claimant and served Pedro de Luna, Benedict XIII, as his confessor.

In 1398, during a grave illness, he had a vision of Christ with St. Dominic and St. Francis, who sent him to preach. From 1399 until his death he traveled on foot, or on a donkey when he was too weak, preaching once or twice a day in the open air. Thousands followed him from town to town; according to his early biographers, people of different languages understood his preaching though he spoke only his native Valencian. He reconciled enemies, converted many, and gathered penitents who followed him in prayer.

He also worked for the unity of the Church. In 1412 he helped settle the succession to the crown of Aragon at Caspe, and in 1416, convinced that Benedict XIII would not resign, he publicly withdrew his support, a decisive step toward the election of a single pope, Martin V, by the Council of Constance in 1417. He died at Vannes, in Brittany, on April 5, 1419, and was canonized in 1455.

The prayer of his feast from the 1916 daily missal:

O God, who wast pleased to shed lustre on thy Church by the merit and preaching of thy blessed Confessor Vincent, grant us thy servants to be guided by his example and, by his patronage, to be delivered from all adversity. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God world without end. Amen.

The Angel of the Apocalypse

Vincent often preached on the Last Judgment and identified himself with the angel of the Apocalypse who calls the world to repentance (Apocalypse 14:6–7, Douay-Rheims):

And I saw another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel, to preach unto them that sit upon the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people:
Saying with a loud voice: Fear the Lord, and give him honour, because the hour of his judgment is come; and adore ye him, that made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters.

What is St. Vincent Ferrer the patron saint of?

Valencia, his native city, and the Valencian Community
Builders and construction workers
Preachers

Frequently asked questions

When is the feast of St. Vincent Ferrer?

April 5, the day of his death in 1419.

Why is he called the Angel of the Apocalypse?

Because he preached tirelessly about the Last Judgment and the need for repentance, applying to his mission the angel of Apocalypse 14.

What did St. Vincent Ferrer do to end the Schism?

He withdrew his support from the Avignon pope Benedict XIII in 1416, which helped the Council of Constance elect Martin V as the one pope in 1417.

More saints

Texts and sources

The Mass Every Day of the Year (1916), St. Vincent Ferrer (April 5), Collect, public domain (archive.org).
Apocalypse 14:6–7 (Douay-Rheims).