St. Vincent and St. Louise shifted the Church's model away from a hierarchical pyramid structure towards prioritizing the poor and vulnerable. They taught that those in need are at the center of the Church's mission and represent Jesus Christ. Today, Pope Francis echoes their teachings by emphasizing that Christians are called to care for the vulnerable as Jesus identified with the little ones.

1. vinFormation

2. Before St. Vincent and
St. Louise
A “Roman”
vision of the
Church
A hierarchical
Church
A vertical institution
in which the Pope
occupied the highest
position in the
pyramid, then the
bishops and priests,
and on the lowest
level were the laity
St. Peter's Basilica. Photo by MatthiasKabel, via Wikimedia Commons

3. A “last
judgement”
model of the
Church
(Matthew 25)
Those who are
poor are at the
center of the
Church’s
mission
After St. Vincent and
St. Louise

4. Restoring the vision of Jesus
as laid out in Matthew 25
When speaking about those poor and humble men
and women, St. Vincent stated: ‘they are our lords
and masters … they represent Jesus Christ’.
In this way Vincent gave a new perspective to the
theology of the mystical body.
Haiti United States, West Virginia

5. Today, no wonder the members of
the Vincentian Family are pleased
to listen to the words of
Pope Francis:
"Jesus, the evangelizer par
excellence and the Gospel in
person, identifies especially with
the little ones (cf. Matthew 25:40).
This reminds us Christians that we
are called to care for the
vulnerable of the earth.”
(Evangelii Gaudium, #209)
Photo courtesy of L’Osservatore Romano