St. Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international lay Catholic charitable organization founded on April 23, 1833, by Frédéric Ozanam in Paris, France, to assist the poor. The society was established in the United States in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, commonly called The Old Cathedral, in 1845. Father John Timon, an American Vincentian priest from Pennsylvania, and later Bishop of Buffalo, New York, brought copies of the Rule of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul back from Dublin, Ireland, to St. Louis.

The first meeting of the society in the United States was held on November 20, 1845, just 12 years after its founding in Paris. Nineteen of the most important Catholic laymen of St. Louis attended. The conference was aggregated, or officially recognized by the Society's International Council, in Paris on February 2, 1846.

Members of the society are known as Vincentians, men and women culled from every ethnic and cultural background, age group, and economic level, who strive to develop spiritually by providing person-to-person assistance to individuals in need. Vincentians are unified by a spirit of poverty, humility, and sharing, which is nourished by prayer and reflection, mutually encouraging gatherings, and devotion to a basic Rule.

The society offers substantial aid to those in need on a person-to-person basis. It is this personalized contribution that makes the work of the society distinctive. This aid may take the form of intervention, consultation, or often through direct dollar or in-kind service. An essential precept of the society's work is to provide help while conscientiously maintaining the confidentiality and dignity of those who are served.

The society takes on an advocacy role for those who are defenseless or voiceless. Like that of its founder, Frédéric Ozanam, the vision of the society “is to embrace the world in a network of charity,” and it follows a group of core values that are central to its creed and ministry. Specifically as their values relate to the poor, Vincentians believe in the dignity of the human person and identification of Jesus Christ with the poor; that Jesus Christ is the evangelizer and servant of the poor, and that growth in intimacy with Jesus Christ is a lifelong process; that poverty of spirit is the primary beatitude; and that their primary concern is charity and justice.

Organized locally, Vincentians witness God's love by embracing all works of charity and justice. The society collaborates with other people of good will in relieving need and addressing its causes, making no distinction in those served because, in them, Vincentians see the face of Christ. The society's organizational structure begins with the Council General in Paris, France, which oversees the work of over 700,000 Vincentians across 142 countries in six continents.

The U.S.A. National Council, which is based in St. Louis, consists of over 128,000 members throughout the United States and officially represents the society throughout the United States and internationally. The governance of the National Council is vested in a board, [Page 654]presided over by an elected national president and other officers, with eight regional vice presidents who help aid communication and service. The basic unit of the society is the Conference, usually parish-based, supported and served by a Council, through which each Vincentian works. In 2007, U.S.-based Vincentians donated six million hours of their personal time, providing in excess of $500 million in services to over 20 million people in need.

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