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"No act of charity is foreign to the Society."
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis is part of a worldwide organization of lay Catholic men and women who are committed to live and grow in their Christian faith through prayer and personal involvement in charitable works. The Society’s mission is accomplished through parish and community-based groups called Conferences (volunteers) and programs called “Special Works.” The Society’s work includes any actions that promote the dignity of the person, alleviate suffering and distress and correct the conditions that cause them. |
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1617
Born to the French peasant class, Vincent de Paul found the priesthood a way to help support his impoverished family. After ordination, he served as a tutor and chaplain to France’s wealthiest families, including the royal court, for many years. A false allegation of theft lost Vincent everything; his reputation, his influence, his power—everything he thought important. After a four year crisis in faith and an eventual revelation of God’s compassion, Vincent’s true life mission was revealed in the confession of a poor dying peasant. Vincent was struck with the reality that had he not been there, the man would have died not knowing there was a God who loved him. Slowly, Vincent was being led to the poor, to the very place from which he spent so many years running. Vincent de Paul faithfully served the poor for 43 years: the refugees, the beggars, the sick and the dying and orphans. Vincent de Paul died in 1660. He is today the Church’s Universal Patron Saint of Charity. |
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1833
Frederic Ozanam learned compassion at an early age. Typhus ravaged the Ozanam family of Milan, Italy and claimed 8 of 9 children. As the only survivor, Frederic witnessed his mother and father (who was a doctor) tirelessly tend to the sick and dying during this most horrible period. Post revolutionary Paris, where Frederic attended the Sorbonne, was openly hostile to anything Catholic or Christian. During a student meeting, revolutionaries issued a challenge: “(Christianity) may have been useful in the past, but what use is it today? What has Christianity to offer? Where are its works now? Show us your works!” Ozanam's reaction was immediate. Within weeks, Ozanam, at 20 years of age, and six of his peers formed the first "Conference of Charity." Under the conference, this group of seven men financed their works of charity out of their own pockets and from contributions of friends. They visited the poor in their homes, providing them with needed aid and assistance. Ozanam soon after placed the conference under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul who had spent his life in 16th century France serving the poor. |
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