Attachment and Filial Submission of Saint Vincent to the Sorvereign Pontiff

Our Divine Lord, before going back to Heaven, willed to establish His Vicar upon earth, who, in quality of Supreme Head, should govern the Church by keeping all the faithful united together through the bonds of the same faith and the same obedience. Jesus prayed to His Father for this Unity on the eve of His Passion, saying to Him: "And not for these only do I pray, hut for them also who through their word shall believe in Me. That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me." (John 17:21)

This end could not have been attained if God had not established one single Head and Judge, charged with the Infallible Definition of all controversies, and to Whom all must submit, according to the words of Saint Jerome: "One alone is chosen, so that the authority of this single Head may remove all pretext for disputes or schism".

Thus in the Holy Gospel Jesus compares the Church sometimes to a Kingdom, of which He confides the keys to Saint Peter - a symbol of the supreme power of governing and directing His subjects. Sometimes He likens it to a fold, of which Saint Peter is called the Shepherd of the sheep and the lambs - that is to say, the protector and guide of all, bishops and faithful alike. At other times to a house, of which Saint Peter is the foundation and the base, according to those words of His: "Thou art Peter, the Rock, and on this Rock I will build My Church." And He assures us that this rock will be so firm and immovable in supporting the Church that all the powers of hell shall not prevail against Her. So therefore, being built on this foundation, the supreme power vested in its visible Head is so necessary for the good government of the Church that it was not to die with Saint Peter, but that it would last for ever through his successors, according to the promise of Jesus Christ to be with them even to the consummation of the world. As to the solemn pronouncements of the Sovereign Pontiff on matters of Faith and Morals, the Saviour has declared that he will be for ever preserved from error. "I have prayed for thee, Peter," said Jesus Christ, "that thy faith fail not; and thou, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

This is why all the Holy Fathers and General Councils have always professed what the General Council of Florence (at which East and West were represented) has solemnly proclaimed, in these terms: "We define that the Holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff possess the primacy over the whole Church; that the successor of Blessed Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, is truly the Vicar of Jesus Christ and the Head of the whole Church; and that to him, in the person of Blessed Peter, has been confided the full power of tending, directing and governing the Universal Church." This doctrine was affirmed again by the Ecumenical Council of the Vatican in the solemn Definition of the Papal Infallibility.

Strong in these principles of our holy Faith, Saint Vincent always professed a singular veneration and a special attachment for the Roman Pontiff. He manifested these sentiments during the whole course of his long life, not only as a safeguard of his own personal faith, but also to preserve others from error and to bring wanderers back to the path of Truth.

He had made a journey to Rome in the first years of his priesthood. Thirty years later he still remembered with pleasure those happy days he had spent there, where is to be found the Centre of Catholicism, the Head of the Church Militant. There too he the bodies of the two Princes of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, who preached there the Faith of Jesus Christ until death. And he used to say that this consideration had touched him so deeply as to cause an abundant flow of tears from his eyes.

He was sometimes heard to say to his Community, and to his friends: "From my youth I have always been terrified at the thought of finding myself some day, without knowing it, enveloped in the errors of some new-fangled doctrine, and of seeing myself, like those who are in search of novelty, robbed of my faith and wrecked in infidelity. But," he added, "we have the Pope. He is the Oracle of Truth; if we remain faithful to His teachings we shall not lose our way. Let us beg God to give us simplicity and submission of judgment in accepting the decisions of the Sovereign Pontiffs; and let us ask Him to preserve us from the spirit of pride and the presumption of those who, having too high an idea of their own capabilities, refuse to submit themselves to the Sovereign Truth."

It seemed as if Providence wished to perfect and establish the faith of Saint Vincent still more. At that time new opinions were being spread throughout France by enthusiastic supporters. These opinions, under the pretence of interpreting the Fathers, and especially Saint Augustine, had for their aim, concealed with diabolical cleverness, to separate the faithful from the teaching and authority of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. These mischief-makers, under the cloak of friendship, often sought to insinuate their novelties into the mind of the Saint. Saint Vincent charged the most learned theologians to refute their systems by confronting them with contradictory propositions, which had been formulated by Councils or by the Popes. This was one means of forewarning those who might not have been sufficiently on their guard.

But the agitation went on increasing; the enthusiasts spread their scandalous teaching in the schools, amongst families, and even threatened to contaminate Religious Houses. Saint Vincent, watching all this harm, approached several of the Bishops in France and begged them to come to some agreement with the other Bishops, and to lay the matter before the Apostolic See, so that such disorders might be more quickly and effectively remedied. Meanwhile, in order to prepare all Christians to base union of minds and hearts upon the Sovereign Pontiff alone, he circulated maxims such as the following by inserting them into his sermons:

"The Pope is the Head of the Church, with whom all the members must remain united. It is to Him we must have recourse to be reassured in our doubts and difficulties."

"In case of divergence and opposition of sentiments on religious matters there is no hope of re-establishing union, unless one refers to a third power, which in the absence of a General Council can be none other than the Pope."

"When the Sovereign Pontiff has pronounced upon any doctrine, there is no alternative but to submit our minds to his decision, and for all to unite in the one faith, with true and sincere obedience to the Head of the Church."

"Those who will not unite on these conditions can no longer hope for any union, because falsehood can never agree with truth; there is nothing more to be done but pray for their conversion."

"It is by no means extraordinary that at the ancient Councils all did not always hold the same opinion; this fact proves once more how necessary it is that the Pope should be judge of controversies; for, besides being the Vicar of Christ, he is the Head of the whole Church, and consequently the Superior of all Bishops."

"Holy prelates in past centuries were accustomed to have recourse to him, to ask his advice, especially when they were assembled together, as we see in the writings of the Holy Fathers and in the History of the Church."

"We must neither presume nor dread that his judgment may not be accepted; should it happen so, it will only show which are the obstinate and which the true children of the Church."

Some apparently wished a General Council to be called, in order to have a more solemn judgment on the new opinions and so more easily bring back the wanderers to submission. But the Saint answered: "In the present state of affairs it is not advisable to assemble a General Council; we know what time it would need to do that, and how long it took for the last one: the remedy would come too late for such a pressing evil. We must have immediate recourse to the Pope about this serious disorder, which is penetrating into families and cities and universities. It is a fire which is increasing every day, troubling minds and threatening the Church with irreparable desolation if a remedy is not quickly applied. And who would be capable of remedying it? Certainly none else than the Holy See. The Council of Trent, in its last session, left to the Pope the care of settling whatever difficulties would arise from their decrees. Now supposing that the Church were to find herself again forced into holding a General Council, as you wish, assembled according to Canon Law, as the last one was; and were the Holy Spirit to direct again this same Church, as no one can doubt, why could we not continue to follow the Light of this Holy Spirit, Who has shown already what is to be done on such occasions; that is to say, that we are to have recourse to the Sovereign Pontiff? To defer this recourse, would be to deprive a great number of learned and very pious persons of the merit of the obedience which they promised to pay to the Decrees of the Holy Father as soon as they should be published. Such persons desire naught but to know the truth."

The Bishops of France sanctioned, by their approbation and their praises, the projects of the Saint, who had no other end in view than to come to the aid of their zeal. They therefore addressed themselves to the Pope so that, as Universal Doctor of the Church, He might pass judgment upon the new doctrines and make known the Truth to those who had wandered from it. This step consoled Saint Vincent more than can be imagined, and his joy was supreme when Innocent X, in 1653, published and sent to Paris the Constitution by which he condemned the erroneous theories of the Jansenist Doctors, who had created such sad dissensions in France.

Scarcely had the Saint read the decisions of the Vicar of Jesus Christ than he took every care, according to dictates of charity, to maintain purity of faith and Catholic doctrine among the members of his Congregation and all others. To this effect he often talked to them at the Community Conferences, to make them realize all the gratitude they owed to God for having preserved them from these false doctrines, which are capable of corrupting and ruining the entire Congregation. He also recommended them to send up to Heaven ardent prayers for the peace of the Church, for the extirpation of the new errors, and for the conversion of the unhappy people who had been infected by them. As to the books of the innovators, he persistently forbade the reading of them, as also the supporting, directly or indirectly, any opinion whatsoever which appeared to favour them; or, again, he forbade the slightest discussion with regard to the Pope's decisions.

After having thus provided for the preservation and safety of his own, he gave scope to his zeal so that a great number of Religious Communities might share the same advantages; and by his counsels and his charitable mediation he preserved them from the contagion of the condemned errors.

He did not forget those who had gone astray, visiting repeatedly for this purpose Superiors of Religious Communities and other persons of quality, even the most zealous partisans of the new doctrines. This was to entreat them all to strive with all their might to reconcile spirits, to lead the most perverse back to their obedience, especially by treating them with all possible respect and charity. He himself held long private conversations with them, speaking to them unreservedly, and yet always showing them profound esteem and affection.

Towards the end of the year 1656 a new Constitution was published by Pope Alexander VII to conform and interpret more clearly that of Innocent X. Saint Vincent, still animated with the same zeal, began once more his visits and entreaties to those who had not yet submitted to the decision of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. There was a doctor at the Sorbonne who could not make up his mind to renounce the Jansenistic doctrines. The Constitution of Innocent X had staggered him, but, as to yielding full arid entire submission, he could not agree to it. To help to free him of his hesitation and perplexity, Saint Vincent admitted him to the House of Saint Lazare to make a little Retreat. The doctor, after having listened to all the arguments put before him, declared he was resolved to retract his opinions on condition that the Sovereign Pontiff would clear up certain doubts which he still felt; and he laid them before the Holy Father in a letter that was stamped with Christian humility. Saint Vincent obtained a very gracious answer for him, the sweet influence of which at last mastered his doctrinal difficulties.

When, however, the Saint saw this man still wavering just because he was the slave of human respect, he said to him at last: "But, sir, what more do you want? Are you waiting for God to send you an angel to enlighten you? You need not hope for it. He sent you back to the judgment of the Church, and the Church assembled at Trent sent you back to the judgment of the Holy See. Are you waiting for Saint Augustine to come back and explain it to you? Our Lord said once: 'If they do not believe the Scriptures, neither shall they believe One Who was risen from the dead.' And even if Saint Augustine himself were to come back to this earth he would have to submit again, just as he did before, to the judgment of the Sovereign Pontiff."

Such was his esteem, and such his immovable attachment to the Apostolic See. For him, as for Saint Cyprian, It was the sun placed by Jesus Christ in the centre of the world to enlighten all men with its rays, and to make them find in the Truth the Way which leads to Life.

It would be superfluous now to show how Saint Vincent was equally submissive to the Pope in things pertaining to ecclesiastical discipline; for he looked upon him as the Vicar of Jesus Christ and the Supreme Head of the whole Church, invested with full powers of governing, of leading forward or turning aside from poisonous pastures the flock of Jesus Christ. He could not fail to obey him in everything, with perfect submission of the understanding and of the will. Let it suffice to add that as long as the Saint lived he never ceased to urge his spiritual sons to practise the rule he left written in these terms: "We shall obey all our Superiors exactly, regarding each one of them in Our Lord, and Our Lord in them; so also our Holy Father the Pope, whom we shall obey with all possible reverence, fidelity and sincerity."

Practice - Resolve to obey diligently the commands of Holy Church, approving all that the Pope approves, condemning all that the Pope condemns.

- text taken from Virtue and Christian Refinement According to the Spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul, by Saint John Bosco