The St. Vincent de Paul Society works with the poor and neglected in our community. It offers person-to-person assistance to men, women and families in need. Vincentians seek personal holiness through works of charity.

Typically, the aid is for a variety of needs from intervention in a crisis (help with rent, utility, food, transportation, clothing, etc…) to consultation or in-kind services to help the person in need get through a crisis.

The Society was started in Paris in 1833 by a 20-year-old college student named Frederic Ozanam. He and five other university students were challenged about how much good the Catholic Church had done and responded by forming a “Conference of Charity’’ to assist the poor.

They later re-named the group the St. Vincent de Paul Society in honor St. Vincent, who was often referred to as the “Apostle of Charity” or “Father of the Poor.”

The Society spread throughout Europe and was established in the United States in 1845 in St. Louis, Missouri. There is a national, regional, diocese and church level organization to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The church level is called a conference and each one has a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, though not every Catholic parish has a St. Vincent de Paul Society.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society has grown to become the largest lay Catholic ministry in the world. There are 4,500 conferences in the United States and 400,000 members. There are 25 conferences in the Diocese of Orlando with approximately 800 active members.

At St. James, Vincentians meet every Monday night from 6 to 7:30 at a room in the Diocese of Orlando offices. Non-members are welcome to sit in on meetings and learn the specifics of the operation at St. James.

Parishioners or those in the community needing assistance call the SVDP hotline at 407-648-9472 to let Vincentians know they need help. A Vincentian will return the call and schedule an appointment to discuss the situation.

Clients are normally seen on Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon. If a person can’t make that time, a more convenient meeting time will be arranged.

For more details on the St. Vincent de Paul Society, please call Bill Fay at 407-648-9472.