Vincent Pallotti was an Italian ecclesiastic and a saint, born in Rome. He was the founder of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate later to be known as the "Pious Society of Missions" (the Pallottines).
He was born in Rome on 21 April 1795, to Pietro and Magdalena De Rossi Pallotti. Vincent descended from the noble families of the Pallotti of Norcia and the De Rossi of Rome. At the age of sixteen, he resolved to become a priest, and was ordained on 16 May 1818. Pallotti is described as small of stature, slight of built, with big blue eyes and penetrating glance. He was the uncle of Cardinal Luigi Pallotti.
Pallotti worked selflessly, looking after the poor in the urban areas of the city for most of his life. He organized schools for shoemakers, tailors, coachmen, carpenters, and gardeners, as well as evening classes for young farmers and unskilled workers. He soon became known as a "second Saint Philip Neri". He once dressed up as an old woman to hear the confession of a man who threatened "to kill the first priest who came through the door".
On 9 January 1835, Pallotti found the Union of Catholic Apostolate. In his words, the idea behind the Union was: "The Catholic Apostolate, that is, the universal apostolate, which is common to all classes of people, consists in doing all that one must and can do for the great glory of God and for one’s own salvation and that of one’s neighbor”. Pope Gregory XVI approved the Union on 11 July the same year.
The Society was placed under the protection of Mary, Queen of Apostles. During the cholera plague in 1837, Pallotti constantly endangered his life in ministering to the sick. On 28 October 2003, the Union of Catholic Apostolate was declared an International Public Association of the Faithful by a decree of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
In 1835, Pallotti formed the priests and brothers of the Union he called together into a community he called the "Society of the Catholic Apostolate". He had an intense devotion to the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, and to the Virgin Mary. His contemporaries, including the pope, considered him a saint during his life.
Vincent Pallotti died in Rome, on 22 January 1850.
He was proclaimed blessed by Pope Pius XII on 22 January 1950 and was canonized in 1963 by Pope John XXIII. On 6 April 1963, he was named principal patron of the Pontifical Missionary Union of Clergy.
When Pallotti's body was exhumed in 1906 and 1950, examiners found his body to be incorrupt, a sign of holiness in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. His body is enshrined in the church of San Salvatore in Onda, in Rome.
The followers of Vincent Pallotti, known as the Pallottines, are still operating internationally. They follow his motto, "The love of Christ impels us" (Caritas Christi Urget Nos). The Pallottines have major houses in Britain, Germany, New York, Poland, India, Ireland. Belize, and several other locations.
Other Saints of the Day
1. Saint Anastasius XIV
2. Saint Brithwald
3. Saint Dominic of Sora
4. Saint Valerius of Saragossa
5. Saint Blaesilla
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