Our Heritage
How the Society Began
As Christians we are called to love our neighbor. St. Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) was an exemplar of this commandment. He was a priest ministering to a wealthy family, who realized that God wanted him to work with those living in poverty. St. Vincent founded several Congregations to help the poor. One of these, the Daughters of Charity, was founded by St. Vincent and St. Louise de Marillac.
Fast forward to April 23, 1833. On his twentieth birthday, Frederic Ozanam, a university student, and a group of five friends and their mentor, founded the Society. They desired to show that their faith inspired them to love and care for others; and to learn about, deepen and be strengthened in their faith, so as to grow closer to God. They took as their patron, St. Vincent de Paul. Blessed Rosalie Rendu played a very important role by guiding and directing the founding members of the Society as they began their work.
Growth of the Society
After its humble beginning in Paris, the Society grew to over 2,500 conferences around the world during the lifetime of Frederic Ozanam. Since then, the Society has expanded dramatically. There are now more than 44,600 Conferences with over 800,000 members serving the poor in 155 countries throughout the world.
Blessed Frederic Ozanam died on September 8, 1853, at the age of 40. He was beatified by the Catholic Church on August 22, 1997.
The Society Comes to the United States
Just twelve years after its founding in France, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul established roots in the United States. On November 20, 1845, the first Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States was established in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, popularly called “The Old Cathedral.” Now there are about 4,500 conferences in the United States.
