St. Vincent Ferrer: Angel of the Judgment
Fr. Andrew Pradel
ISBN 9780895556868
eISBN 9781618904942
ASIN B00QU9FUEQ
This volume was part of the reading for Father Mark Goring’s, Saint Mark’s School of Reading in the spring of 2026. I enjoyed this volume but found it very repetitive. It was great learning about this incredible saint, and the videos by Father Mark Goring, Father Isaac Longworth, and Sister Elizabeth Marie really add to the experience of reading the book. This time the videos corresponded to a section in the book. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The description of this volume states:
“This TAN Books edition of “St. Vincent Ferrer: Angel of the Judgment” by Rev. Fr. Andrew Pradel O. P., features the complete text of the title, along with a supplemental reading section entitled “A Brief Life of Christ.” We’ve also included unique hand-selected classic artwork for the reader’s enjoyment, exclusive to this eBook edition of “St. Vincent Ferrer: Angel of the Judgment” from TAN Books.
St. Vincent Ferrer: Angel of the Judgment:
Commissioned by Our Lord Himself to preach His Gospel, St. Vincent began at age 50 an apostolate of preaching that would extend to France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and a few other countries as well. Traveling with him were as many as 10,000 people, including at least 50 priests. The throngs that gathered to hear him came from many miles around, such that he was forced to preach in the open--no church being large enough to hold all the people. Imprimatur.
A Brief Life of Christ:
Absolutely excellent for students and for adult review. Capsulizes the main events and sayings of Our Lord. Map of the Holy Land. A chronological outline. Perfect for a refresher.”
The sections and chapters in this volume are:
SECTION ONE
From The Saint’s Birth To His Religious Profession 1350–1368
1. Prodigies which Preceded the Birth of St. Vincent Ferrer—His Baptism—Infancy and Childhood of St. Vincent
2. St. Vincent Ferrer Receives the Habit of the Friar Preachers—His Novitiate and Profession
SECTION TWO
From The Saint’s Religious Profession To His Call To A Miraculous Apostolate 1368–1398
3. Studies of St. Vincent Ferrer—His Profound Learning—His Great Piety during His Course of Studies and Scholastic Labors
4. First Preachings of St. Vincent Ferrer—Continuation of the Saint’s Preaching Until His Definitive Call to Avignon
SECTION THREE
The Miraculous Apostolate Of St. Vincent Ferrer 1398-1419
5. Christ Miraculously Calls the Saint to an Extraordinary Apostolate in the Church—State of Christianity at the Epoch when St. Vincent Received His Divine Mission
6. St. Vincent’s Mode of Life during His Miraculous Apostolate—The Method Employed by the Saint in Preaching
7. The Company which Followed St. Vincent Ferrer in the Course of His Miraculous Apostolate—Extraordinary Fruits Produced by the Saint in Pious Souls during that Period
8. The Universal Conversion which the Miraculous Apostolate of St. Vincent Ferrer Produced in the Church—Its Abundant Fruits among Heretics and Jews
9. The Apostolic Success of St. Vincent Ferrer among the Followers of Mohammed—The Principal Countries and Cities in which the Saint Preached in the Course of His Miraculous Apostolate
10. The Saint’s Last Apostolic Journeys in Brittany—To the Council of Constance—In Normandy—And again in Brittany
SECTION FOUR
The Virtues Of St. Vincent Ferrer
11. The Virtues of St. Vincent Ferrer in Their Relation to the Service of God—The Saint’s Charity toward His Neighbor—His Heroic Devotedness to the Temporal Necessities of His Brethren
12. Incomparable Zeal of St. Vincent Ferrer for the Salvation of Souls—Other Virtues of the Saint
SECTION FIVE
The Marvelous Gifts Which Shone Forth In St. Vincent Ferrer
13. St. Vincent Ferrer Favored with a Multitude of Visions, Revelations, and Ecstasies—The Secrets of Hearts Revealed to the Saint
14. St. Vincent Ferrer Endowed with the Gift of Prophecy—The Grace of Miracles Accorded without Measure to the Saint
SECTION SIX
Death Of St. Vincent Ferrer 1419
15. The Saint Dies at Vannes in Brittany—His Burial—Canonization—His Relics
16. Devotion Offered to St. Vincent Ferrer by the People and by Holy Personages—Extraordinary Favors with which the Saint Rewarded the Devotion of His Clients
Notes
A Collection of Classic Artwork
A Brief Life of Christ
Introductory
The Setting
Birth of Jesus
Childhood at Nazareth
John The Bapist
Jesus Begins His Ministry
Journey To Galilee
The Kingdom and the Apostles
Manifestations of Divine Power
Speaking in Parables
Increasing Popularity
Death of John the Baptist
Miracles of the Loaves
The Bread of Life
Peter the Rock
Training of the Twelve
Visit to Jerusalem
Clash with the Pharisees
Judean Ministry
The Supreme Declaration
Raising of Lazarus
Last Missionary Days
Banquet at Bethany
Palm Sunday
Second Cleansing of the Temple
Day of Questions
Judas the Betrayer
The Last Supper
Arrest and Trial
Death on Calvary
Risen and Living Still
The eBook edition also includes, as noted above, the complete text of A Collection of Classic Artwork and A Brief Life of Christ by Fr. Leslie Rumble.
We are also informed that it has both:
Imprimatur: A. de Pous
Vicar General, Toulouse
October 9, 1863
Nihil Obstat: Fr. Raymond Palmer, Ord. Praed.
Censor Deputatus
Imprimatur:
Henry Edward
Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster
The volume was originally published in 1875, it was retype set with minor editing by Tan books in the year 2000. I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“May our publication be serviceable to you, dear reader! Should it produce any good in you, be pleased, in return, to remember us in your prayers to the Saint whom we shall have venerated together.”
“Many attempted to imitate his virtues and to walk in his footsteps, whom he lovingly directed by his good counsels.”
“Three years were devoted by the Saint to the exclusive study of Scripture, and one more year to teaching physics in the same Convent of Barcelona.”
“Besides the ascetic exercises to which he applied himself in his cell, he devoted a considerable portion of the night to prayer in the church.”
“Sin had acquired so strong a hold upon the world, the fervor of the good had become so relaxed and the crimes of the wicked had risen to such an excess, that God’s patient forbearance with His creatures was nearly worn out.”
“But to resume the thread of our narrative, St. Vincent was truly another St. Paul, sent by God to bring back to the Faith of Christ a multitude of Jews and Mohammedans, to convert innumerable sinners and to harmonize the faithful of every nation and condition of life in the most perfect bonds of Christian fellowship. We are thus able to see at a glance the general effect of the miraculous apostolate which he received from Christ Himself at Avignon. The Saint was not afraid to affirm it with his own lips. In one of his sermons which he preached in Castile, in the year 1411, we read thus: “The End of the World cannot be far distant, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Has not our Lord Himself said that the bearing of the fig-tree foreshadows the coming summer? Behold, then, the fig-tree of the Christian people. Each day records its reconciliations, and we witness souls forgetting and forgiving the greatest injuries. The delicate, the sensual and the vicious do penance. Obstinate sinners are converted and frequently approach the Sacraments. Nor is the Jewish fig-tree any longer barren, for we see it daily producing its abundant and choicest fruits in every city in Spain.” He might have added heretics and Mussulmen likewise. Truly, then, St. Vincent exercised in the Church an apostolate such as never was witnessed since the establishment of the Gospel. 1 St. Vincent having evangelized Avignon and the neighboring towns, set out on foot for Spain, preaching in various places where he was obliged to stay. It was at Graus, in Catalonia, that he instituted the procession of Disciplinants and laid the foundation of that marvelous company of pious souls who accompanied him in his apostolic journeyings. Here also he left behind him, as a souvenir, a crucifix which the inhabitants begged of him, and which became the instrument of many miracles.”
“He then exercised the sacred ministry in another way—he instructed the children in Christian doctrine, which, in the latter days of his life, was his most cherished occupation.”
“The Saint’s hope was even more lively. He made daily use of the means of salvation instituted by Divine Providence. He made his Confession every day and received the Sacrament of the Eucharist; he faithfully accomplished the duties of his calling, and he did not resist the inspirations of grace.”
This was a harder volume to read than many done in the school of reading. In part its age, in part being in translation, and for me in part because it was so repetitive. And maybe because of my dyslexia those issues were amplified. I am thankful I worked through it to the end, it was worth it. And to be honest if it had not been for the videos it would have ended up on my ‘did not finish’ pile. It was a good read with Father Mark Goring’s School of reading.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2026 Catholic Reading Plan!
For a list of all books that are part of Father Mark Goring's Saint Mark’s School of Reading click here.
