Patron Saint of Algorfa - Saint Vincent Ferrer

Patron Saint of Algorfa 

• Saint Vicent Ferrer was born in Valencia, and is the patron saint of Algorfa we celebrate his life every year beginning with a church service in his memory, we then hold a solemn single file march through the streets of Algorfa which is lead by the local priest, the Alcalde and the Algorfa council members and other town officials followed by the people of the village. To be part of this celebration you need to follow a strict dress code and remember silence must be kept throughout the procession. Once the procession has ended a giant paella is cooked and beer is offered for all the followers to feast on. An amazing day but please remember this is a very religious day and is important to the Spanish, The Spanish are very welcoming to anyone wishing to join in and celebrate this day but please remember this is not just a free for all.

His Life

• Saint Vicent Ferrer was born in the Kingdom of Valencia (modern day Autonomous Community of Valencia, Spain), on the 23rd January 1350.

• He was one of the sons of William Stewart Ferrer (sometimes spelled William Stuart Ferrer), an Anglo-Scottish nobleman descended from the English (de) Ferrer family and the Scottish Stewart (Stuart) family, and his Spanish wife, Constantia Miguel.

• Ferrer was professed in the Order of Preachers at the age of 18, and after studying, became Master of Sacred Theology. He was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy. He was sent to Barcelona and received his doctorate at Lleida, the main university city of Catalonia at the time.

• He was depressed because of the Great Schism and was very ill at the age of forty. He claimed that God healed him and instructed him to go out and convert many. For twenty-one years, he was said to have travelled to Aragon, Castile, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland, preaching the gospel and converting many. Ferrer is also said to be responsible for converting many Jews to catholism, allegedly under duress or persecution. One of his converts, a former Rabbi, went on to become Bishop of Cartagena.

• He is also well known in Spain for his intervention during the political discussion known as the Caspe Compromise, a debate by which the succession of the King of Aragon was solved giving the throne to a Castilian prince: this would later help the union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon, approximately corresponding to today's Spain's territory.

• One of his main achievements in Spain in 1391 is to have preached the mobs whose riots led to the appropriation then transformation of a synagogue into a church, Santa Maria la Blanca [1].

• Saint Vincent died on the April 5, 1419 at Vannes, Brittany, France and his relics are buried in the Cathedral of Vannes. He was canonized by Calixtus III on the June 3, 1455. His feast day is celebrated on the April 5.