The spirit of St Vincent de Paul is alive and well in 2025.
Growing up in a Catholic family in the 1960s, the St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) was very much part of our world. My father was a Vinnies volunteer and my mother spent many years working at the Rendu Centre. We later moved to a Vincentian parish where we encountered the distinctive charism through the work of the priests, brothers and various ministries of the Daughters of Charity.
The St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) is a lay Catholic organisation founded in Paris by Frédéric Ozanam in 1833. Profoundly moved by the abject poverty of families living on the streets after the French Revolution, he gathered a small group of people to begin the work of ministering to the poor, modelling their mission on the patron saint of Christian charity, St Vincent de Paul (1581-1660).
“Deal with the most urgent needs. Organise charity so that it is more efficient…teach reading and writing, educate with the aim of giving each the means of self-support. Intervene with authorities to obtain reforms in structure… there is no charity without justice.” (St Vincent de Paul).
Vinnies has grown today into a global organisation with over 800,000 members and 1,500,000 volunteers, assisting 30 million people each day. The Society works towards creating a more just and compassionate world by providing food, clothing, housing and access to support networks for people in the community who are marginalised or disadvantaged. Vinnies offers a ”hand up” rather than a “hand out” and advocacy on behalf of those in need goes to the heart of what the St Vincent de Paul Society stands for.
While historical perspectives and contemporary data help to provide context for the work of the Society, the interactions between members and volunteers with clients is where the Gospel message and the spirit of St Vincent de Paul himself are enlivened. Vinnies is about engaging with the personal stories of others, wherever and in whatever circumstances prevail. The slow and gentle work of God in the world today is never clearer than in the relational aspect of walking with another and getting to know their story. Jake’s is one such story…
Click here to read Jake’s story.
“May those… in the shadows be seen by those in the sun” | The Sisters of The Good Samaritan
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by Dr. Monica Dutton