ABOUT US

THE STORY OF OUR FOUNDING

The Vincentian Family marks its beginning in 1617, when St. Vincent de Paul, inspired by receiving the confession of a poor farmer, founded the Congregation of the Mission. That same year he would found the first Confraternity of Charity and just a few years later, along with St Louise de Marillac, the Daughters of Charity.

For more than 400 years, members of the Vincentian Family have dedicated themselves to serving Christ in the person of His poor, and to love God, in Vincent’s words, “with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brows."

Two centuries after St. Vincent de Paul’s time, a young man named Frédéric Ozanam arrived in Paris to study at the Sorbonne. He soon joined a discussion group, the Conference of History, where students debated a wide variety of issues.

One week, during a heated debate, Frédéric and his Catholic friends were challenged by other students who believed the Church’s time had come and gone, and that the problems in society were best dealt with by modern, scientific methods.

A brilliant debater, Frédéric Ozanam could no doubt have offered a withering reply, but he responded instead with humility, considering whether he really was doing enough to live his faith.

On April 23, 1833, Frédéric’s 20th birthday, he and five other students gathered in the newspaper office of Emmanuel Bailly. With Ozanam’s words, the first Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was born:
“We must do what is agreeable to God. Therefore, we must do what our Lord Jesus Christ did when preaching the gospel.

Let us go to the poor!”