Our Mission:
Charity in Action
As one of the oldest charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization of about 800,000 men and women throughout the world who voluntarily join together to grow spiritually and offer person-to-person service to the needy and suffering in 153 countries on 5 continents.
The services the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides include: home, hospital and prison visits, housing assistance, disaster relief and long-term recovery, education and mentoring, food pantries, dining halls, clothing, help with transportation, prescription medication, and rent and utility costs.
The National Council coordinates programs that directly benefit local Conferences and Councils such as: domestic disaster relief efforts, the Friends of the Poor® Walk/Run and the Friends of the Poor® Grant Program. Other support includes: fundraising and communications resources, the Servant Leadership Program, Vincentian training material and the Serving in Hope Training Program. Financial support is provided to international relief efforts as requested by the SVdP International office in Paris.
The Society was founded in 1833 in Paris by Frédéric Ozanam. As a college student, Ozanam and his companions were moved by the plight of the poor and challenged to put their Catholic faith into action. They adopted St. Vincent de Paul as the Society’s patron because he cared for the poor, forgotten and downtrodden of Paris.
The first St. Vincent de Paul presence in the U.S. was established in 1845 in St. Louis, Mo., where the headquarters remains. U.S. membership totals nearly 100,000 in 4,400 communities.
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.
As a reflection of the whole family of God, all members, known as Vincentians, are drawn from every ethnic and cultural background, age group, and economic level. Vincentians are united in an international society of charity by their spirit of poverty, humility and sharing, which is nourished by prayer and reflection, mutually supportive gatherings and adherence to a basic Rule.
Organized locally, Vincentians witness God’s love by embracing all works of charity and justice. The Society collaborates with other people of good will in relieving need and addressing its causes, making no distinction in those served because, in them, Vincentians see the face of Christ.