Vincent Ferrer

 According to the future timeline of Star Trek on this date in the year 2063, Zephram Cochrane will pilot the first Warp Drive starship, the Phoenix, and make First Contact with Vulcans aboard the starship T'Plana-Hath ….until this happens we will need to rely on today’s saint to center our celebrations:

Saint Vincent Ferrer

Also known as

Vincent Ferreri

Memorial

5 April

Profile

The Scottish father of our saint today had a dream in which he was told that Vincent would be a world famous Dominican friar. With that sort of pressure what could Vincent do?   The boy joined the Dominicans in 1367.   His Spanish mother was delighted.  

 

During a severe fever in 1398, Vincent had a vision of Christ, Saint Dominic de Guzman and Saint Francis of Assisi. It was a life changing experience - Vincent received supernatural gifts much like Doctor Fate Master of the Mystic Arts. 

 

After this, he believed that he was a messenger of penance, an “angel of the apocalypse” sent to prepare humankind for the Judgment of Christ.    Some think the fever was meningitis and had an effect on Vinny’s noggin.  

 

No matter what else you think of Vincent, he was a great preacher who converted thousands in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was even invited to preach in the Muslim city, Granada in southern Spain. 

 He had the gift of tongues (he spoke only Spanish, but all listeners understood him).  He was constantly fasting; he underwent other mortifications like sleeping on the floor.    Known as a miracle worker all over Europe, it is reported he brought a murdered man back to life to prove the power of Christianity to the onlookers.    It is reported that on more than one occasion he healed an entire hospital full of patients just by praying in front of it.   He didn’t even try to bill Medicare.    He worked so hard to build up the Church that he became the patron of people in building trades.

 

At his canonization, they read aloud stories of his validated miracles, there were over 800.   There were more to be read, but the celebrants turned to the lector and said “Skip on down brother,” and simply moved on with the recognition, people were getting bored….

 

 

Born

23 January 1350 in Valencia

Died

5 April 1419

Patronage

brick makers

builders

construction workers

pavement workers

plumbers

tile makers

 

Representation

Bible

cardinal’s hat

Dominican preacher with a flame on his hand

Dominican preacher with a flame on his head

Dominican holding an open book while preaching

Dominican with a cardinal’s hat

Dominican with a crucifix

Dominican with a trumpet nearby, often coming down from heaven, referring to his vision

Dominican with wings, referring to his vision as being an ‘angel of the apocalypse’

pulpit, representing his life as a preacher

flame, referring to his gifts from the Holy Spirit