The career of the French saint Vincent de Paul has attracted the attention of hundreds of authors, but the fate of his legacy remains vastly neglected. This book provides a thorough examination of the major activities of de Paul's immediate followers, analyses the unique model of religious life designed by de Paul, and includes a study of the termination of the little-known Madagascar mission which revealed the terrible pressures on de Paul's followers in the decade after his demise. The book also investigates the darker side of the Congregation's novel alliance with Louis XIV, by examining its treatment of Huguenot prisoners at Marseille later in the century.