September 27, 1540: Pope Paul III officially approves the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola.
September 27, 1660: Vincent de Paul (b. 1581) dies. After giving his life to serving the poor, he founded the first Confraternity of Charity in 1617, the Congregation of the Mission in 1625, and the Daughters of Charity in 1633 (the first non-monastic women's order completely given to care of the sick and poor). Canonized in 1737, he was named patron saint of all charitable works in 1885.
September 27, 1805: George Mueller, English philanthropist, is born near Magdeburg, Germany. Converted under the Moravians, he devoted his life to caring for orphans.
September 27, 1944: Aimee Semple McPherson, founder of the Church of the Foursquare Gospel and the most famous female evangelist of her day, dies (see issue 58: Pentecostalism).
September 27, 1970: Pope Paul VI names mystic Teresa of Avila as a “Doctor of the Church,” the first woman to receive that honor.
