St. Vincent Ferrer – Basic Timeline of his Life
23 Jan 1350 Born in Valencia, Spain, the fourth child of William Ferrer & Constancia Miguel
1357 Entered the clerical state at age 7 and received an ecclesiastical benefice
1362-67 Begins philosophical studies at age 12, theology at age 14, master of both by 17
2 Feb 1367 He entered as a novice with the Order of Preachers in Valencia, Spain
1368 At age 18, he made his solemn profession as a Dominican
1370-72 Teacher of philosophy in Lérida, the most famous university in Catalonia
1372-75 Assigned to the Dominican studium in Barcelona to master the Sacred Scriptures;
Becomes proficient in Hebrew; imitates the spirit of St. Raimundo de Peñafort;
As a deacon, he takes on an active apostolate of preaching and teaching
1377-78 Studies with the Dominicans in France: Toulouse and Paris
1379-85 Teaches theology at the cathedral in Valencia, Spain
1381 Ordained a priest
1388 Superiors send him to Lérida to complete a Doctorate in Theology;
he receives the doctorate cap at the hands of Cardinal Pedro de Luna
1390 Cardinal Perdo de Luna, a papal legate and avid supporter of the Avignon Papacy, enlists
the service of St. Vincent Ferrer. He preaches throughout Spain. He converts Jewish
Rabbi Solomon ha-Levi, who is baptized Pablo de Santa Maria (later Bishop of Burgos).
1391 Jewish revolts threaten civil stability in Spain. He converts thousands in Valencia and
their synagogue is transformed into the Church of St. Christopher.
1391-96 Serves as confessor to Queen Yolanda of Aragon and Councilor of State and Grand
Almoner to King John I of Aragon; continues to preach throughout Spain.
28 Sep 1394 Cardinal de Luna is elected in Avignon as Pope Benedict XIII.
1396 Benedict XIII appoints St. Vincent his confessor and Apostolic Penitentiary
3 Oct 1396 St. Vincent lies on his deathbed twelve days. He is visited by Our Lord accompanied by
St. Francis and St. Dominic. He is miraculously healed and receives the sacred mission as
preacher of the Judgment – the Angel of the Apocalypse.
25 Nov 1398 St. Vincent begins his divine apostolate at Avignon, once Pope Benedict XIII releases him
from his service and sends him with full Apostolic authority.
St. Vincent Ferrer – Angel of the Apocalypse
1399-1419 At age 49, as Christ’s legate, he begins to preach all over Western Europe the impending
and terrible Judgment; he is the Angel of the Apocalypse
1399: Begins in Avignon, from there to Catalonia (Graus, Barcelona, Cerveva)
1400-02: Southern Coast of France (Provence, Aix and Marseilles)
1402: Rome, Valleys of Embrun, crossed Alps, Piedmont, Lombardy, Genoa
1403: Savoy, Dauphine, (Valpute – Valpur), Montferrat, Chambray
1404: Lausanne
Lent
, Switzerland, Geneva, Lyons, Lorraine, Upper Rhine, Germany, Flanders, Auvergne
1405: Called by Benedict XIII to to Genoa for a conference with Italian cardinals to end schism
Advent & Lent
Council in May
Claremont
, Genoa
, Genoa and Savone
1406: Receives an invite from Mohammed Aben-Baha to preach in Kingdom of Granada
Andalusia, Baéza, Ezija, Seville, Castille, Gascony
1406-07: England, Scotland, Ireland (until Autumn ‘07)
1407: Bordeaux, Gascony, Picardy Poitou
1408: Auvergne
Lent
, all across Spain, Cuenca and Molina, Perpignan, Montpellier, Perpignan
1409: Elne, Girone, Vich, Barcelona … by vessel to Tuscany, Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Siena
1410-2: Catalonia, Aragon, Leon, Murcia, Andalucia, Asturias, Valencia, Castile, Salmanca, Toledo
1413: Balearic Isles
1414: Tortosa, Saragossa
1415: Bologna, Central Italy, Spain, Perpignan
6 Jan 1416: King of Aragon publishes his edict ending his allegiance to the Avignon Pope
1416: Travels throughout Aragon, Castile, Italy, France, and Germany to end support for Benedict XIII
and gather support for the Council of Constance (very persuasive and powerful in his discussions)
Toulouse, Clairvaux, Dijon
1417-19: Brittany and Normandy (Toulouse, Nantes, Vannes, Rennes, Caen)
Nov 1417 Council of Constance elects Pope Martin V
5 Apr 1419 St. Vincent Ferrer dies in Vannes, Brittany
29 Jun 1455 Canonized by Pope Calixtus III in the Dominican church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in
Rome (Various miracles in Rome and in Vannes)
1458 Pope Pius II issues the bull of the Canonization of St. Vincent Ferrer
1460 The inhabitants of Valencia erect a church in his honor
1525 The Cathedral of Vannes sends some of his ribs to the Cathedral of Valencia
1590 Vannes gives Don Juan de Aguilar a rib of St. Vincent for saving them from the Hugenots
(the shrine of his relics are hidden by the canons so as to prevent their thievery)
6 Sep 1637 Translation of his relics, which were found after 47 years
THE GREAT PAPAL CRISIS OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY
Boniface VIII (1294-1303) succeeded by Benedict XI (1303-04)
Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy at Aivgnon (66 years, 7 popes, 1309-1377)
Clement V (1305-14), John XXII (1316-34), Benedict XII (1334-42), Clement VI (1342-52),
Innocent VI (1352-62), Urban V* (1362-70), Gregory XI* (1370-78)
* - Returned to Rome
The Great Western Schism (39 years, 1378-1417)
Rome
Avignon
Pisa
Urban VI (1378-1389)
Clement VII (1378-1394)
Boniface IX (1389-1404)
Benedict XIII (1394-1423)
Innocent VII (1404-1406)
Clement VIII (1423-1429*)
Alexander V (1409-1410)
Gregory XII (1406-1415*)
Benedict XIV (1423-1429+)
John XXIII (1410-1415*)
* - Resigned
Martin V (1417-1431)
Brief Timeline of the Great Western Schism
13 Jan 1377 Gregory XI returns to Rome from Avignon (1309-1377). [Catherine of Siena +1380]
1378 Bartolomeo Prignano, Archbishop of Bari, becomes Pope Urban VI (Rome).
20 Sep 1378 Robert of Geneva, Archbishop of Cambrai, becomes Pope Clement VII (Avignon).
26 Jun 1409 Gregory XII and Benedict XIII agree to meet to end grave crisis, but back out.
Council of Pisa elects Peter Philargos, Archbishop of Milan; becomes Pope Alexander V
1414 Council of Constance. Gregory XII and John XXIII agree to resign in 1415.
1417 Council of Constance elects Otto Colonna to be Pope Martin V (1417-1431).
The Heresy of Conciliarism
1431 Pope Martin V calls the Council of Basel (he died shortly thereafter).
1438 Pope Eugene IV dissolves the Council of Basel; they refuse to disband claiming authority over the
pope. They ‘excommunicate’ Eugene and elect an antipope, Felix V.
1438-45 Pope Eugene IV approves of the Council of Florence.
1449 The Council of Basel is finally dissolved and expelled by the secular authority.
Note: In general, the Avignon Papacy was supported by France, Austria, Bohemia, parts of Germany,
Aragon, Castile, León, Cyprus, Burgundy, Savoy, Naples, Scotland and Wales
Whereas the Roman Papacy was supported by Denmark, England, Flanders, Hungary, Ireland,
Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Northern Italy, and the Holy Roman Empire.