“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
Those words can feel startling, almost too great to be true. For a long time, John 14:12 raises a simple question in the mind: did Jesus mean this as literal reality, or as a symbol? I wrestled with that question before. While researching St. Vincent Ferrer, I found myself returning to John 14:12 with new clarity. What I found in his life helped make Jesus’ promise feel less distant.
The Impact of a Name
For years, St. Vincent Ferrer was mostly a familiar name. My father is named Vincent, so the Dominican preacher naturally came up as one of his patron saints. Still, if we’re honest, “Vincent” often triggers a more common association, St. Vincent de Paul, and the mind doesn’t always go further.
That changed after an unexpected conversation with a Catholic bookstore owner. While helping him with an order for Voyage Comics (another matter entirely), we drifted into saints. At some point he said something that pulled me up short: “St. Vincent Ferrer was one of the greatest miracle workers in Church history.” I was skeptical. Stories like that can grow larger over time, and every generation seems to add to the glow.
But curiosity won out. I began reading, and what I found was enough to force another question: why don’t more Catholics seem to know him today?
