Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul – September 27th
“How much our hearts should be on fire with love for this ministry of assisting poor people and for devoting ourselves earnestly to it, because the need is so great, and God expects this of us.” – Saint Vincent de Paul
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been putting these words into practice for over 180 years, since its founding by Blessed Frederic Ozanam. Challenged by a detractor of the faith to demonstrate the good he was doing socially in France, young Frederic and six companions formed this Catholic lay organization and named it for St. Vincent de Paul, the venerated “Priest of the Poor.” Members of the Society, or “Vincentians,” are men and women who strive to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to individuals in need. Internationally, there are Vincentians in 150 countries. In our country alone, there are more than 150,000 members helping some 12 million persons annually. The list of services of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States is endless, including disaster relief.
The Society in the Diocese of Wilmington consists of 35 local conferences in 32 parishes and 3 prison conferences. The Conference of St. Polycarp serves the needy in the Smyrna-Clayton area funded principally by our parishioners’ donations.