Who We Are
Who We Are
Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, 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 our founder,
Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron,
St. Vincent de Paul.
What We Do
When people in need of help call out, Vincentians meet with them, determine their needs, and do what they can to assist. Services are provided to individuals, without regard to race, color, disability, sex, age, or national origin. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has helped to feed and clothe the poor and needy of the world. We follow in the steps of our patron, St. Vincent de Paul. Vincentians are united in an international society of charity by their spirit of humility and sharing which is nourished by prayer and reflection.
Our History
Our Founder & Influencers
Our patron, St. Vincent was born in 1581 in southwest France. Vincent was a man of keen intellect and enormous creativity. He was ordained as a priest at 19 years old. After a period of wrestling with his faith, he dedicated his life to the service of the poor.
St. Vincent founded three organizations: Confraternity of Charities in 1617, and the Congregation of the Mission in 1625, and, with St. Louise de Marillac, co-founded the Daughters of Charity in 1633. The Congregation was created to evangelize the poor and help in the formation and education of priests. The other two focused on serving the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, and others in need. In 1885, Pope Leo XIII named Vincent patron of all works of charity. As St. Vincent de Paul, he became known as the “The Apostle of Charity” and “Father of the Poor”. The French Revolution in 1789 brought to a halt much of the work of St. Vincent and St. Louise’s.
In the midst of the political, social, religious, and economic turmoil of early 19th century France, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul began. As a young student at the Sorbonne, Antoine Frédéric Ozanam was appalled by the conditions he saw in Paris. At a student meeting, another student challenged Ozanam and other practicing Catholics, admitting that while the Catholic Church had done much good work in the past, he could not see what good the Church was doing currently.
On April 23, 1833, his 20th birthday, Ozanam invited five other students to a meeting, where they founded the first Conference of Charity to assist the poor. This Catholic lay organization was intended to help members increase in holiness by loving service to those in need.
The six students chose Emmanuel Bailly, a married layman, as their first president. Shortly thereafter, they changed their name to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in honor of their patron saint.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Today
The Society numbers about 800,000 members in some 140 countries worldwide, whose members operate through "conferences". A conference may be based out of a church, community center, school, hospital, etc., and is composed of Catholic volunteers who dedicate their time and resources to help those in need in their community. Non-Catholics may join with the understanding that the society is a Catholic organization.
Membership in the United States totals more than 172,000 in 4,600 communities. The national headquarters is in St. Louis. Programs include home visits, housing assistance, disaster relief, job training and placement, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, transportation and
utility costs, care for the elderly, and medicine.
The Society in the United States provides more than $675 million in tangible and in-kind services, serves more than 14 million people in need each year, performs more than 654,000 visits to people in their homes, and delivers more than 7 million service hours to those in need.