Society of St. Vincent de Paul Chicago

Description

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an international non-profit organization dedicated to serving the poor and providing others with the opportunity to serve.

Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a catholic lay organization, leads women and men to join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.

History

In 1833, Frédéric Ozanam, a young Sorbonne student, often met regularly with his fellow Catholic students to discuss the issues of the day in Paris France. At one of their public meetings, a challenger admitted that the Catholic Church, at one time, had been a great source of good, but asked, “What is your Church doing now?… Show us your works and we will believe you.” Unable to respond, Frédéric and his friends conceded. Yet, this question weighed heavily upon Frédéric.

Very shortly afterwards, Frédéric and six friends were inspired to create the Conference of Charity, with the purpose of serving the poor of Paris. These young founders decided that no act of charity would be foreign to their organization. For people in need, the Conference members provided food, clothing, shelter and financial and spiritual assistance as well as tutoring programs and libraries.

Under the guidance of Sr. Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity who was often seen caring for the poor in the streets of Paris, Frédéric impressed upon the Conference members the need and importance of offering the kindness, respect and compassion of God to the people they visited. In his view, this was as important as the food or clothing they brought with them.

Frédéric chose the 17th-century priest St. Vincent de Paul, known as the Apostle of Charity, as patron of the Conference. Subsequently, the Conference of Charity was renamed the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.