Society of Saint Vincent de Paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in 1833 to help impoverished people living in the slums of Paris, France.[6] The primary figure behind the Society's founding was Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, a French lawyer, author, and professor in the Sorbonne. Frédéric collaborated with Emmanuel Bailly, editor of the Tribune Catholique, in reviving a student organization which had been suspended during the revolutionary activity of July 1830. Ozanam was 20 years old when he founded the Society.[7] He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1997.[8] Emmanuel Bailly was chosen as the first President.

The Society took Saint Vincent de Paul as its patron under the influence of Sister Rosalie Rendu, DC. Sister Rosalie, beatified in November 1999 by Pope John Paul II, was a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, earlier known for her work with people in the slums of Paris. She guided Frédéric and his companions in their approach towards those in need.[9]

Blessed Rosalie Rendu, DC

SVP gradually expanded outside Paris in the mid-19th century and received benefactors in places such as Tours where figures such as the Venerable Leo Dupont, known as the Holy Man of Tours, became collaborators.[10]

The Society is part of the Vincentian Family which also includes two congregations founded by St. Vincent de Paul – the Congregation of the Mission with Vincentian priests and brothers and the Ladies of Charity – along with the Sisters of Charity in the Setonian tradition and several others, including some religious groups that are part of the Anglican Communion like the Company of Mission Priests.[9][1]

Servant of God Fr. Ignatius Spencer from London came to know the Society in visits to Paris. Parisian Monsieur Baudon, who would assume the presidency of SVDP in 1847, visited London in 1842 and persuaded Spencer to write about the Society in the Catholic Magazine. Then in January 1844 M. Pagliano, a London restaurateur and recent convert to Catholicism, gathered 13 Catholic men and the first English SVP conference was founded.[11] Early initiatives included the formation of the Catholic Shoe Black Brigade, providing boys with gainful employment and the first home of "the Rescue Society" which under various names still offers child care in many dioceses.[12]

In 2013 there were more than 10,000 members in more than 1,000 Conferences in the United Kingdom, making over 500,000 recorded visits annually to more than 100,000 people.[12]

Old Cathedral of St. Louis, Missouri, 1834

The Society's first Conference in the United States was established in 1845 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Basilica of St. Louis King of France, or "Old Cathedral". Fr. John Timon, CM, had learned of the Society while visiting with his Vincentian superiors in Paris. From Dublin, Ireland, he brought to St. Louis copies of the SVP Rule. On 16 November 1845, Bishop Peter Richard Kenrick dedicated the new St. Vincent de Paul church on South Eighth Street and invited Timon to preach. Timon discussed the Society in his sermon,[13] in the presence of prominent laymen who took hold of the idea and held an organizational meeting on 20 November 1845. The Conference included Moses Linton, founder of the St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal, and as chair Judge Bryan Mullanphy who would become mayor of St. Louis.[14] Bishop Kenrick appointed Fr. Ambrose Heim as spiritual advisor to the Conference.[15]

Gerald Ward was born in London in 1806 and was recruited for the Melbourne mission by the pioneering father, later bishop, Patrick Geoghegan. Ward was familiar with SVP from London and, observing the plight of the poor after the Victorian gold rush, established the Society in Australia in 1854. Ward served as its first president and helped establish the SVP orphanage in South Melbourne.[16]

In March 2023, Mark Gaetani was officially inducted as the 18th National Council President by Archbishop Christopher Prowse at St. Christopher's Cathedral, Manuka in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, taking over from Claire Victory.[17]

Fr. Chataigner, SM, established the first Conference in New Zealand in July 1867, but did not affiliate with the Council-General in Paris. The first to affiliate was the Wellington Conference founded in 1908 by Fr. Petitjean, SM, and Charles O'Neill, followed by other Conferences out of Wellington.[18][19]

Charles O'Neill was born in Glasgow in 1828. He graduated as a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Upon graduation he had joined the Society of St Vincent de Paul. He was secretary at Dumbarton in 1851. He led the St Vincent de Paul Society in the Western Districts of Scotland between 1859 and 1863. By 1863 he was president of the Superior Council of Glasgow and a member of the Council-General in Paris.[20]

The Society was first introduced in India by the French Missionaries at Pondicherry during the Year 1852-53 as a non-aggregated Conference. The Society was officially started in India in 1863 when some conferences in Bombay were aggregated and the Bombay Particular Council was instituted. Then onwards the Society continued to grow in India. On 09.11.1953 the Superior Council of India was established and instituted with the Council General International. The Superior Council of India was renamed as National Council of India on 06.08.1973. The National Council of India has its Headquarters in Mumbai and the present President’s secretariat is at Chennai, Tamil Nadu with the election of Bro. S. Jude ZR Mangalraj as the 14th National President of India with effect from 28th February 2021.

The National Council of India is registered under the Income Tax Act 1961 with exemption under Sec 80G, FCRA under the ministry of Home Affairs and Societies Regn. Act and Bombay Public Trust Act 1950.

The Society numbers about 800,000 members in some 140 countries worldwide, whose members operate through "conferences".[4] A Conference may be based out of a church, school, community center, hospital, etc., and is composed of Catholic volunteers who pursue their own Christian growth in the service of the poor. Some Conferences exist without affiliating with any local Council, and so are not counted in statistics. Non-Catholics may join and the Society serves all regardless of their personal beliefs.[4]

Australia

SVP Opportunity Shop in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales

St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in historic Anson Brown Building, Ann Arbor, MI

In Australia, "Vinnies" workers and volunteers number about 58,000.[23] Works include Conferences, Special Works, and Vinnies op shops,[24] assisting over 2,200,000 people in Australia each year.[25]

In 1996, Ozcare was established as a special work of the society. It provides aged care and disability centres and services.[26]

In 2018, the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland was named as one of the Queensland Greats by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in a ceremony at the Queensland Art Gallery on 8 June 2018.[27]

The St. Vincent de Paul Society runs charity shops in many countries including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Ireland, and Canada, as seen from websites for some in the US: St. Louis area with 9 such stores,[32] Cincinnati area with 7,[33] Omaha with 3,[34] Dayton with 2,[35] Des Moines with 2,[36] Florida with 35,[30] California with 26,[30] Pennsylvania with 24,[30] Western Oregon with 15,[30] Georgia with 12,[30] Arizona with 10,[37] and Idaho with 3.[38] Items from clothing to automobiles are sold for a small price, often with home pick-up for large items. Money, and many times donated items, are distributed to the poor.[39]

• International Confederation Society of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
• History of Society
• SSVP Canada
• SVP – Ireland
• SVP – England & Wales
• St Vincent de Paul Society Australia
• National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul
• National Council of New Zealand St Vincent de Paul Society
• Society of Saint Vincent, National Council Of Belgium in ODIS – Online Database for Intermediary Structures Archived 28 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Archives of the Society of Saint Vincent, National Council Of Belgium in ODIS – Online Database for Intermediary Structures Archived 28 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine