St. Vincent de Paul
Society of St. Vincent de Paul
On October 21, 1848, Frederic Ozanam wrote a remarkable article in his newspaper The New Era. The article was entitled “Help Which Humiliates and Help Which Honors.”
“Help honors when to the bread that nourishes it adds the visit that consoles, the advice that enlightens, the friendly shake of the hand that lifts the sinking courage; when it treats the poor man with respect, not only as an equal but as a superior, since he is suffering what perhaps we are incapable of suffering; since he is the messenger of God to us, sent to prove our justice and our charity, and to save us by our works.”
History
On April 23, 1833, Frederic Ozanam’s twentieth birthday, he gathered with five others in Emmanuel Bailly’s newspaper office in Paris, France; and was challenged to do something positive for the poor. This challenge moved him to create our Society which was first called “The Conference of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. “We must do what is agreeable to God. Therefore, we must do what our Lord Jesus Christ did when preaching the Gospel. Let us go to the poor.”
In a short time they changed their name to The Society of St. Vincent de Paul. They retained the term Conference to refer to the individual unit, which was usually parish-based.
The Society is currently established in 131 countries with membership of approximately 6,000,000 active members. Brazil and India have the largest membership.
Here in the United States the Society was established at The Old Cathedral (The Church of St. Louis of France), St. Louis, Missouri, in 1845. The first official meeting of the Society in this country was held on November 20, 1845. The chief promoters of the Society were the American bishops, many of whom personally established the Society in their dioceses.
Fundamental Principles
The following Mission Statement of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of the United States was approved by its Trustees.
“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 Frederic Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.”
Core Values
At St. Vincent de Paul we believe in the dignity of the poor; that growth in intimacy with Jesus is a life-long process; the Society is concerned with charity and justice; and prayer is essential, personal, and communal.
Vincential Beliefs
The poor have a right to their daily bread
The poor have a right to health
The poor have a right to a place to live
The poor have a right to elder care
The poor have a right to work
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
The Ascension Conference
We meet every other Tuesday at 7:00 PM, and you are always welcome to attend any of our meetings.
We serve families within our parish boundaries which include portions of the following zip codes: 45420, 45429, 45440.
If you have any questions please call the parish office at 253-5171.
Types of Membership
Active Members are those Catholics who participate regularly in the meetings and charitable activities of the Vincentian Conference into which they have been received.
Associate Members are those who accept the Society’s basic principles, may or may not be Catholic, but do not participate regularly in the life of the Conference which has enrolled them. Associate members are those who sometimes are “on call” to take part in the meetings and charitable activities of the Conference.
Contributing Members is the designation given to any individual who regularly or in a substantial way provides financial support but who does not engage directly in the work of the Society.
Members of the Society are part-time, unpaid voluntary workers, who freely undertake to devote some of their time, talents, and resources to the service of their neighbor. The Society, as a subsidiary part of their lives, cannot take precedence over their obligations to their families, their livelihoods, and indeed, their own legitimate interests. The Conference is the basic unit, “the grass roots” of the Vincentian organization.