Planting the Seeds of St. Vincent... literally.

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Did you know that on the grounds of St. Vincent’s Seminary and the Vincentian Family Office in Germantown, adjacent to The Miraculous Medal Shrine, lives a more than 100-year-old oak tree grown from a seed of St. Vincent’s oak, which still stands near his birthplace? Similarly, the seeds of the Vincentian family’s legacy, the focus of this issue, were planted 170 years ago.

The original massive oak tree outside the Berceau, the birthplace of St. Vincent de Paul, was planted sometime between 1200 and 1230. Thus, it was alive during the time in which St. Vincent lived (1581–1660).

The great oak tree, the Lou Bielh Cassou (the old oak) in Gascon, is centuries old and laced the countryside familiar to a young Vincent. The account of St. Vincent placing a small statue of Mary in a fold of the trunk and then praying there is legendary.

In 1951, a selection of the best acorns was harvested from the tree. Experts performed the “marriage of the oak,” since they placed a huge white veil over the tree to ensure that it would produce acorns of a pure seed. Some acorns were harvested and distributed to many countries, guaranteeing that the original oak’s descendants would flourish. One acorn made its way to the current location of the Eastern Province motherhouse in 1901. It has thrived there ever since (pictured).