April 5 is the feast of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), the Dominican friar and great preacher of the Western Schism. Born at Valencia, he entered the Dominican priory there in 1367 and became a noted theologian. After a vision of Christ with St. Dominic and St. Francis in 1398, he left his academic work and spent the last twenty years of his life preaching through France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland — riding from town to town on a mule, preaching to crowds of thousands in fields and squares.
Vincent was the greatest preacher of his age. He preached in the vernacular, in the open air, and addressed the crowds on the Last Judgment — the "Angel of the Judgment" was his popular name. He worked for the unity of the Church during the Western Schism, supporting the Avignon popes, and preached the penitential message that the schism had interrupted. He died at Vannes, in Brittany, on April 5, 1419, on a preaching tour of Brittany.
Vincent was canonized in 1455. His body lies in the Cathedral of St. Peter at Vannes. From Valencia, where he was born, to Vannes, where he died, the April 5 feast is the feast of the Dominican who rode through Europe preaching judgment and mercy.
