The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was born from a challenge.
In 1830, Frédéric Ozanam, a Catholic law
student at the University of Paris, joined a student
discussion group – the Conference of History. The group met
on Saturdays to exchange ideas on a variety of subjects,
including religion.
One day during a particularly heated exchange, a member, Jean
Broet, confronted Ozanam and his friends.
“We agree that at one time your church was a great church and
was a source of good. But what is your church doing now? What
is she doing for the poor? Show us your works and we will
believe you,” Broet said.
It was during the Industrial Revolution, and many people who
came to Paris to find work, found poverty instead.
In 1833, inspired by that confrontation, Ozanam founded the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, inspired by the “Apostle of
Charity.” The society was created as an international lay
ministry of Catholic men and women who seek spiritual
fulfillment by working one-on-one with people in need. They
see their work as a means to holiness.
St. Vincent de Paul was born in Pouy, France, in 1581. He was
ordained a priest in 1600, and dedicated his life to
alleviating the suffering of the poor. St. Vincent founded
three organizations: Daughters of Charity, Confraternities of
Charity and Congregation of the Mission, all dedicated to
serving the poor, the sick and the imprisoned. He died in
1660 in Paris and was canonized in 1737 by Pope Clement XII.
His feast day is Sept. 27.
Ozanam is now Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. He was
beatified by St. John Paul II in 1997.
Today, the society has more than 800,000 members, known as
“Vincentians,” worldwide. In the United States, 150,000
“Vincentians” work in more than 4,000 conferences, the basic
unit of the organization.
The Arlington Council, one of 51 councils in the United
States, supports more than 600 members in 10 parish
conferences: Our Lady of Angels Church in Woodbridge, Our
Lady of Good Counsel Church in Vienna, St. John the
Evangelist Church in in Warrenton, St. Leo the Great Church
in Fairfax, St. Mary Church in Alexandria, St. Mary of the
Immaculate Conception and St. Jude Churches in
Fredericksburg, St. Matthew Church in Spotsylvania, and St.
Timothy Church in Chantilly.
Judy Helein, a parishioner of St. Timothy Church, is in the
first year of a three-year term as president of the Arlington
Council. She wants to increase the number of volunteers
because there is a need.
“We serve the working poor,” she said.
Helein joined the society in 2009 after returning from
Cambodia where she was a lay Maryknoll missioner. She went to
see what it was like to live life to the fullest.
“I found an abundance of life in Cambodia,” she said,
referring to the Gospel of John, and the words of Jesus, “I
came so that they might have life and have it more
abundantly.”
Helein said the society strives to see Christ in the
individual. Through service to the poor they build an
organization of fellowship and community.
The society provides food and pays rent, medical bills and
utility bills. Many parishes in the council have food
pantries, and the society operates a thrift store in
Fredericksburg that sells affordable clothing.
No money is given directly to clients. The society has a
working relationship with utility companies and landlords and
arranges payment directly with them.
According to Helein, the group gets half of its clients from
area social service agencies. The rest come through
word-of-mouth.
In 2014, the 637 members donated 85,518 hours of service and
helped 24,987 people in the area.
More than $970,000 was donated by council parishioners.
Nearly $850,000 was given to the needy. The remainder paid
for overhead of the thrift store.
There are three ways to help the Society of St. Vincent de
Paul: become an active member, an associate member or a
contributing member.
Kay Springer, a parishioner of Our Lady of Good Council
Church in Vienna, is an active member who attends two
meetings a month where she prays, reflects and reports on
projects.
After working as a public relations professional, she said
wanted to help in some way and give back. The Society of St.
Vincent de Paul gave her the opportunity. She follows the
philosophy of St. Vincent de Paul.
“We cannot better assure our eternal happiness than by living
and dying in the service of the poor, in the arms of
Providence, and with genuine renouncement of ourselves in
order to follow Jesus Christ,” said the saint.
Borowski can be reached at [email protected] or on
Twitter @DBorowskiACH.
Find out more
Go to svdpusa.org.
For information on the Arlington Council email [email protected].
