April 5 Vincent was born in Valencia, Spain on January 23, 1350. At the age of Seventeen, he entered the Dominican Order. Soon after joining the said Order, He became the famous preacher. Wherever he went, his sermons worked wonders. Everyday, he rose at 2:00 a.m. for prayer and meditation. This lasted until 6:00 a.m., when he celebrated Mass. Vincent ate only one meal a day: soup, a tiny piece of fish and a glass of wine mixed with water. Late in the evening, after everyone else had retired, he would again pray and meditate, then prepare the next day's sermons and take care of his mail. This was his everyday routine for 20 years. In July of the year 1417 while preaching in the French city of Besancon, he visited a monastery of Poor Clare nuns. There he met Saint Collette, who prophesized that his death was two years away. As prophesied, two years later, on April 5, 1419, at the age of 69, Vincent Ferrer died in the small city of Vannes in Brittany. We celebrate his feast day on April 5.
