nct had been right. Knowing Vincent's loyalty to
Holy Church and his obedience to authority, she determined to have
recourse to her brother-in-law, the Archbishop of Paris. An old house
called the College des Bons Enfants was at that moment vacant. She
asked it of the Archbishop, whom she had interested in her scheme, and
who proposed to Vincent to undertake the foundation. There was no
longer room for hesitation; the will of God seemed plain; indeed,
Vincent's love of the poor had been for some time struggling with his
humility.

The new Congregation was to consist of a few good priests who,
renouncing all thought of honor and worldly advancement, were to
devote their lives to preaching in the villages and small towns of
France. Their traveling expenses were to be paid from a common fund.
They were to spend themselves in the service of their neighbor,
instructing, catechizing and exhorting; and they were to take nothing
in return for their labors. Nine months of the year were to be given
to this kind of work; the other three to prayer and preparation.

In March, 1625, the foundation was made, and Vincent de Paul was named
the first superior. It was stipulated, however, that he should remain,
as he had already promised, in the house of the founders, a condition
which seemed likely to doom the enterprise to failure. Vincent could
hardly fail to realize how necessary it was that the superior of a new
Congregation should be in residence in his own house, but he confided
the little company to God and awaited the development of events.

The solution was altogether unexpected. Two months after the signing
of the contract of foundation, Madame de Gondi was taken suddenly ill,
and she died a few days later. Her broken-hearted husband not only
consented to Vincent's residence in the College des Bons Enfants, but
shortly afterwards, leaving that world where he had shone so
brilliantly, he himself became a postulant at the Oratory.

The beginnings of the new Congregation were humble enough. Its members
were three in number: Vincent, his friend M. Portail, and a poor
priest who had lately joined them. Before setting out on their mission
journeys they used to give the key of the house to a neighbor; but as
there was nothing in it to steal, there was little cause for anxiety.
In the course of their travels other priests, realizing the greatness
of the work, asked to be enrolled in the little company. Its growth,
nevertheless, was