The National Council is proud to announce that our feature-length film, “Our Faith in Action,” will make its network premiere on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) on Jan. 6, 2019.
The spirit and charism of a 400-year old French saint lives on through the examples of charity by nearly 100,000 dedicated men and women of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The feature-length presentation "Our Faith in Action" tells the spiritually uplifting, personal stories of our Vincentian members in direct service with people in need across the country.
Sunday, January 6
3:30 p.m. Eastern/2:30 p.m. Central/1:30 p.m. Mountain/12:30 p.m. Pacific
Click here for more information
“The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him.” (Ps 34: 6)
“Psalm, 34 allows us today, surrounded as we are by many different forms of poverty, to know those who are truly poor. It enables us to open our eyes to them, to hear their cry and to recognize their needs.” (Pope Francis).
Every day is a “Day of the Poor” with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul as Vincentians grow spiritually by putting their faith into action as they serve people in poverty throughout the year.
Click here to learn more about opportunities to serve Click here for Pope Francis’ World Day of the Poor message
-
November 9: Beatification of Blessed Rosalie Rendu
Sr. Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, is recognized as a co-founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. She mentored the founding members of the Society in the spirit and heritage of St. Vincent and St. Louise de Marillac.
Sr. Rosalie always recommended patience, mercy and courtesy. She taught Frederic Ozanam and the first members of the Society how to make home visits and how to see Jesus in the poor. She gave them families to visit and advice on the Vincentian way to go to them: with respect and compassion. Sr. Rosalie Rendu was beatified in Rome in 2003 by Pope John Paul II. All Vincentians celebrate this beautiful model of love for the poor.
To learn more about the history of the Society, click here
The Disaster Services Corp., St Vincent de Paul USA is calling for your help to purchase hygiene kits for disaster victims! Hurricanes Florence and Michael battered the Southeast and recovery will take many months. We need to replenish our hygiene supplies for these and other impending disasters.
Personal hygiene kits are always in need to keep up with the disasters in the U.S. alone! Through this campaign, we would like to raise 10,000 kits for disaster victims. These hygiene kits have been customized for Disaster Services Corp., St Vincent de Paul USA and include items for specific age groups (e.g., a backpack and stuffed animal for kids).
The hygiene kits will be distributed by SVdP Disaster Services Corp. to disaster survivors.
Thank you for your support and generosity!
Click here to learn more or donate
Give a Vehicle to Help People in Need
Receive a Tax Deduction
You can help people in need by donating an old vehicle while easing your tax burden for the year. Do something good for others during the holidays by donating a vehicle to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The proceeds generated from vehicle donations in your community will go right back into the neighborhood to help feed the hungry, keep the lights and heat on, fund programs to help people help themselves, and more.
We accept most cars, trucks, trailers, boats, RV’s, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, heavy equipment and most other motorized vehicles. If you have any questions about what you can donate, please call us toll-free at (800) 322-8284 seven days a week.
Click here to learn more or donate
-
Throughout the Bible, Jesus would perform miracles to meet immediate needs. When Jesus fed the multitudes with loaves and fishes, it was in reaction to an immediate need. When Jesus healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, or cleansed a leper, it was at the request of an immediate need. Jesus' miracles were often in response to helping people in their most desperate time of need.
While the Society of St. Vincent de Paul does not perform miracles in the same way Jesus did, every day Vincentians are changing lives by practicing Jesus’ calling to help those in need.
Click here to learn more and support the FOP Grant Program Click here to donate
Is your Conference looking for a way to raise funds and awareness for helping people in need? One easy way to do that is by hosting a Friends of the Poor® Walk/Run. All proceeds from this event will stay local for assisting those in need in your own community. For more information, please check out our event page at www.fopwalk.org.
Benefits of Hosting a Friends of the Poor® Walk/Run
Questions? Contact Nathan Martin at (314) 576-3993 ext. 218 or [email protected]
Hurricane Michael will hit land on October 10, 2018, following Hurricane Florence’s devastation and destruction and both are among the strongest storms to strike the Southeast in decades.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) formed the Disaster Services Corporation (DSC), a national organization, specifically to aid local SVdP Councils in responding quickly and effectively to natural and manmade disasters. Your donation today will help to support the SVdP DSC with resources to respond to Hurricanes Florence and Michael and other disasters across the United States. Thank you if you have already made a donation and for your continued support. Please pray for those impacted by these hurricanes.
Click here to support SVdP relief efforts
Sept. 9 is the feast of Blessed Frederic Ozanam. He was the principal founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Frederic was a husband and father, professor and servant of the poor. He founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul as a young student with others of the Sorbonne in Paris.
Click to read more about Frederic and other Vincentian Feast Days
The International Council of the SSVP (CGI) intends to send emergency humanitarian aid to the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in India, Indonesia and other countries suffering from disasters, which will use these resources to help the poorest. Councils, Conferences, special works and Vincentians who wish to support this emergency mission can support the Fund for International Solidarity (FIS), created to help countries suffering from natural disasters.
Your contribution will help change lives, rebuild homes, provide shelter, emergency daily-living supplies and most importantly, restore hope to those in need!
Click here to help! Click here to learn more
Ralph Middlecamp to serve as 13th National President
Middlecamp has a 30-year history with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He previously served as the executive director of the Society’s Madison, Wis. Council for 18 years. Under Middlecamp’s leadership, the Society developed local housing programs, built a central customer-choice food pantry and service center, opened Wisconsin’s first charitable pharmacy not connected to a health care network, grown the Society’s base of Madison-area members and volunteers, and added six more thrift stores that sell and give away donated goods to support the organization’s mission of helping neighbors in need.
Click here to read more
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Archdiocesan Council of Santa Fe was recently notified of allegations regarding sexual abuse by a volunteer of the Society that occurred nearly 50 years ago. The Council’s leadership is working with the Archdiocese to understand and resolve the allegations in full cooperation with all authorities.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is today an independent lay Catholic organization. However at the time of these allegations, the Society’s Santa Fe operations were co-mingled with those of the Archdiocese as parish ministries and insured under the Diocese.
Read More
August 2: Feast of Blessed Ceferino Gimenez Malla
August 2 is the feast of Blessed Ceferino Gimenez Malla, who was revered for his Catholic piety and his honesty in business and charity to the poor.
He was an active member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He was a gifted storyteller and found joy in teaching children prayers, hymns and stories from the Bible.
He was imprisoned during the Spanish Civil War for protesting the arrest of a Spanish priest. While in prison, he routinely recited the rosary, which angered the guards. The guards offered Malla his freedom if he would give up his rosary, but he refused. He was executed as he clutched his rosary on August 2, 1936.
Every year, Vincentians from across the country come together to participate in SVdP’s National Assembly. A variety of speakers and workshops will provide insight on topics that relate to the mission of the Society. The SVdP National Assembly is a chance to renew the Vincentian spirit through time with others who work tirelessly to carry on the good work of St. Vincent de Paul, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, St. Louise de Marillac and Blessed Rosalie Rendu.
This year’s SVdP National Assembly will be held in San Diego, Calif. from Aug. 29 – Sept. 1.
Click here for more information about the meeting's agenda, to see a list of keynote speakers and to register today!
St. Louise de Marillac (1591-1660) was a friend and collaborator of St. Vincent de Paul. Together they co- founded the Daughters of Charity. They organized hospitals for the sick poor, asylums for the orphaned, workshops for the unemployed, championed literacy for the uneducated and established standards for local charities. Louise was a wife, mother, teacher, nurse, social worker and religious foundress.
Louise de Marillac was beatified by Pope Benedict XV in 1920 and canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934. Pope John XXIII named Louise the Patron of all Christian Social Workers in 1960. In 2016, her feast day was changed to May 9, the anniversary of her beatification.
Click here for more Feast Day information
July 4 marks the feast of the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He was a Vincentian and a voice for the poor and suffering in his home of Turin, Italy.
Pier Giorgio spent his life dedicating himself to helping the poor when he joined his local Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference at age 17. He continued serving until his death from polio at age 24. He was beatified in May 1990 by Pope John Paul II because he was such an outstanding example, not only for Vincentians, but for young people who are looking for a role model.
Click here for a short video about Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Frederic Ozanam was born on April 23, 1813 in Milan, Italy. On April 23, 1833 Frederic and six companions founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Also, St. Vincent de Paul was born on April 24, 1581. To commemorate these events, the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul celebrates the last Sunday of April as Ozanam Sunday.
Click here for other important Society dates
January is Poverty Awareness Month
Voice of the Poor (VOP) is the advocacy arm of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. With members representing every section and demographic of the nation, the VOP identifies those issues that are critical to those living in poverty and need, and helps bring attention to them so communities and our elected representatives can help develop strategies and tactics that will provide the most effective and efficient means to reduce or eliminate poverty.
Guided by Catholic Social Teaching, the VOP collaborates, educates, and advocates to improve conditions of the people we serve.
To learn more about the VOP, click here.
For ways to get involved, click here.
The National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been awarded a grant from an anonymous foundation to fund projects to strengthen predominantly under-served black communities and neighborhoods through urban gardening nutrition programs that are producing fresh produce for food pantries or other types of SVdP serving operations. Proposals are due March 22!
Click here for the RFP Click here for the application
On January 31st 2017, brother Renato Lima de Oliveira, 16thPresident General of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, issues his first Circular Letter which is the means by which President Generals have traditionally communicated directly with members of the Society, beloved members of Conferences, throughout the world. Because of its length, it is suggested that the Circular Letter be divided into two or three parts, each of which could form the basis for a reflection at Conference meetings.
Read the Letter Here
You can help people in need by donating an old vehicle while easing your tax burden for the year. Do something good for others during the holidays by donating a vehicle to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The proceeds generated from vehicle donations in your community will go right back into the neighborhood to help feed the hungry, keep the lights and heat on, fund programs to help people help themselves, and more.
We accept most cars, trucks, trailers, boats, RV’s, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, heavy equipment and most other motorized vehicles. If you have any questions about what you can donate, please call us toll-free at (800) 322-8284 seven days a week.
To donate or learn more,
Click Here
The National Council of the United States-Society of St. Vincent de Paul announces RFP’s for TWO grant programs totaling $231,000! These funds are a result of an Anonymous Foundation grant to the National Council. SVdP Conferences & Councils are eligible to submit. Due October 20th!
Click here for the Systemic Change RFP Click here for the Dental RFP
Representatives from 28 national, faith-based organizations sent a letter to the Congressional leaders urging a long-term funding extension of the Children's Health Insurance program (CHIP) as soon as possible. There are 8.9 million children who rely on CHIP. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is one of the signatories of the letter and National President Sheila Gilbert is quoted in the press release (ninth quote on the list).
Click here to read the press release Click here to read the letter to Congress
November 9: Beatification of Blessed Rosalie Rendu
Sr. Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, is recognized as a co-founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. She mentored the founding members of the Society in the spirit and heritage of St. Vincent and St. Louise de Marillac.
Sr. Rosalie always recommended patience, mercy and courtesy. She taught Frederic Ozanam and the first members of the Society how to make home visits and how to see Jesus in the poor. She gave them families to visit and advice on the Vincentian way to go to them: with respect and compassion. Sr. Rosalie Rendu was beatified in Rome in 2003 by Pope John Paul II. All Vincentians celebrate this beautiful model of love for the poor.
To learn more about the history of the Society, click here
The "World Day of the Poor" was established by the Pope Francis, on the celebration of the Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy, through the Apostolic Letter entitled "Mercy and Poverty." The celebration and specific actions take place on 19 November, each year.
For us, fellow members of the SSVP all over the world, the institution of the "World Day of the Poor" resonates prophetically before the care that we owe to the human being who is in this situation. The poverty of many of our fellow human beings is not a theoretical problem, but a shocking and tangible reality. We cannot have a simplistic view of this reality; our vision must be holistic, because it consists in the vision of the human being, made in the image and likeness of God. This day is important, because it reminds us to carry out more lovingly our Vincentian activities in favour of the less fortunate, since one of the biggest existing poverty is precisely the lack of love.
Click here to read Renato's letter