Diocese of Gary

April 20, 2008

Many of our parishes are blessed with a Conference of St. Vincent de Paul to facilitate a compassionate outreach to those who are experiencing various needs due to poverty.  Both parishes in which I served during the first 11 and one-half years of my priesthood had a Conference of St. Vincent de Paul.  Whenever someone approached the parish in need, two members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul would meet with them in their home to respectfully provide help in whatever way possible.

Last Sunday, the members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in our diocese gathered for the celebration of Mass and a potluck dinner to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the Society.  In 1833, Frederick Ozanam and six fellow students from the Sorbonne University were confronted by a fellow student with the challenge:  "What is your Church doing for the poor?"  A week later, on his 20th birthday, Frederick Ozanam said to his student friends:  "We must do what is agreeable to God.  Therefore, we must do what Our Lord Jesus Christ did preaching the Gospel! Let us got to the poor!"  On that night, the Conference of Charity, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, was born with Frederick Ozanam as its primary founder and inspiration.

These young men sought out wisdom and counsel from Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity.  Sister Rosalie taught them how to minister to the poor with gentleness and kindness in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul.  She emphasized the importance of respecting the God-given dignity of those whom they served.

At first, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was comprised mainly of students.  However, within five years, others joined the Society which had increased to more than 2000 members in 15 centers throughout France.

Members of the Society refer to their individual groups as Conferences and to themselves as Vincentians.  From the beginning, the key to their ministry to the poor and needy was home visitation.  After the example of Jesus, who sent His apostles and disciples two-by-two, members went to the homes of the poor in pairs.  They attended to the physical and material need of others (food, shelter, clothing, firewood), but also engaged in tutoring and providing libraries for those serving in the military.  They served with a spirit of prayer and were always solicitous to the spiritual and moral welfare of others.

By Frederick Ozanam's death, the Society had been established in 15 countries beyond France.  Today, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul consists of 690,000 members serving in 142 countries throughout the world.  In the United States, there are 115,000 members.  Their presence reminds each of us of own need to reach out to others with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.  They remind us of Jesus' criterion for the Last Judgment as recorded in the 25th Chapter of Matthew's Gospel:  "I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me"  (Mt 25:31-46).