Saint Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome on April 21 1795 Pietro and Magdalena De Rossi Pallotti and died on January 22, 1850. He was an Italian ecclesiastic and founder of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate later to be known as the “Pious Society of Missions” the members are known as Pallottines. Vincent Palloti was descendent of the noble families of the Pallotti of Norcia and the De Rossi of Rome. His early studies were at the Pious Schools of San Pantaleone, and from there he passed to the Roman College. Vincent Pallotti was ordained priest on May 16, 1820. Shortly thereafter he earned a doctorate in theology. He was given an assistant professorship at the Sapienza University but resigned it soon after to devote himself to pastoral work. Pallotti worked selflessly looking after the poor in the urban areas of the city for most of his life. He organized schools for shoemakers, tailors, coachmen, carpenters, and gardeners so that they could better work at their trade, as well as evening classes for young farmers and unskilled workers.
On January 9, 1835, Pallotti founded the Union of Catholic Apostolate. On July 11 of the same year, Pope Gregory XVI gave his approval. The Society was placed under the protection of Mary, Queen of Apostles. During the cholera plague in 1837, Pallotti constantly endangered his life in ministering to the stricken.
In 1838 the Society was ordered dissolved, as it was seen as a duplication of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Pallotti appealed this decision to the Pope and the order of dissolution was withdrawn. On October 28, 2003, the Union of Catholic Apostolate was declared an International Public Association of the Faithful by a decree of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. He was proclaimed blessed by Pope Pius XII on January 22nd, 1850. He was canonized in 1963 by Pope John XXIII On April 6th, 1963 he was named principal patron of the Pontifical Missionary Union of Clergy. When Pallotti’s body was exhumed in 1906 and 1950, examiners found his body to be incorrupt, a sign of holiness in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. His body is enshrined in the church of San Salvatore in Onda, in Rome, where it can be seen.
The Pallottines have major houses in Britain, Germany, New York, Poland, India, Ireland and several other locations. The Congregation of the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate, commonly referred to as Pallottines, is an international community founded in Rome, Italy by St. Vincent Pallotti. The Pallottine Sisters trace their beginnings to the Pious House of Charity he established in Rome in 1838.
