Abstract
Kathryn LaFleur examines who Christ was for Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac and how they imitated him in their leadership. She places them within the context of the French school of spirituality and shows how their Trinitarianism and Christocentrism were derived from it. The French school focused on the incarnation, which was an integral part of both Vincent and Louise’s spirituality and service. For Vincent, Christ was the evangelizer of the poor, who not only served them but lived in them. Vincent identified five virtues that were necessary for members of the Congregation to be missionaries like Christ: simplicity, humility, meekness, mortification, and zeal. Vincentians were to give themselves totally to God for his service, as Jesus did. For Louise, “the humanity of Jesus became . . . the ultimate model for her relationship with God and with her neighbor.” With Vincent, she emphasized the emulation of Jesus’s spirit and actions. LaFleur sees four characteristics in Vincent and Louise’s leadership that should influence leadership today: ministry rooted in the mission of Jesus, a sharing of the Church’s mission, a life of prayer-contemplatives in action, and leadership of service. She concludes with questions for reflection about modern Vincentian leadership.
Recommended Citation
LaFleur, Kathryn S.P.
(1998)
"Christological Aspects of Vincentian Leadership: The Christ of Saint Vincent and Saint Louise,"
Vincentian Heritage Journal: Vol. 19:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://via.library.depaul.edu/vhj/vol19/iss1/3