The Vincentians

The French Revolution nearly destroyed the Vincentians in France. Those inmost other countries were isolated, persecuted in every degree from regulations to imprisonment and martyrdom. To these external miseries wereadded painful internal schisms: the Italians, abetted by other countries and the Vatican, pushed to center the Congregation in Rome; interdicts against communications with foreign superiors forced provinces in many countries to act autonomously; national pressures to swear loyalty and conform to compromising regulations created splits within the community and threatened to divide the Daughters and separate them from their brothers. Reduced membership and funding crippled Vincentians efforts as they emerged from the worst of the state obstructions. They began rebuilding and made struggling beginnings in overseas missions, notably the USA, Brazil, Turkey, the Middle East, and China, where the martyrdom of two missionaries galvanized interest in this challenging mission.