At the recent Arlington Diocesan Council meeting of the Society
of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP), the new board was installed for the 2017-20
term. Members of SVdP are called Vincentians and are part of a worldwide family
of 1.5 million members.
The new board members are President Christopher Disney, First
Vice President Bob Hart, Secretary George Degnon and Treasurer Dave Hobart.
Outgoing President Judith Helein will remain as an ex-officio board member. She
was recognized for her three years of service and leadership and will assume
the functions of an advocate for the Vincentian Voice of the Poor program.
The Diocese of Arlington has 11 Vincentian parish conferences
with more than 400 members. In 2016, Arlington Vincentians made more than 4,300
home visits to assist the needy and donated $1.6 million in goods and services
to the poor, regardless of their religious affiliation. Plans are being
discussed to expand the society into other areas of the diocese.
The SVdP was named after St. Vincent de Paul, a French
priest who dedicated his life in 17th-century Paris to serving the
poor. The society’s principal founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, joined with
other French college students in the 1830s to create the organization whose mission
is service to the poor and indigent
