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Is there a neighbor or friend of yours who is in temporary need, because of a job loss, an illness or an emergency?
If you live in zip codes 77005, 77025, 77030, 77045, 77081 or 77401, then call our Society of St. Vincent de Paul Church Conference Helpline at 713-664-5350 or email svdp77025@gmail.com so that together we can be a sign of God's love to Jesus in the suffering and in the poor. You can also visit this website for lists of resources: svdp77025.org. If you live elsewhere in the great Houston area please contact 713-741-8234 or call 211. If you would like to learn more about the spirituality of helping the poor, then please call 713-664-5350 or email svdp77025@gmail.com.
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Please enjoy this short history on how the Society of St. Vincent de Paul started.
In 1833, a 19-year-old college student, Frederic Ozanam, and his friends, began serving the poor in Paris, France. This was the beginning of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Today, there are more than 777,000 members serving in 149 countries around the world.
The Society came to the United States in 1845 and a Conference was formed in St. Louis, Missouri. The first presence of the Society in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston began in 1871. Currently, there are 58 Conferences operating throughout the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston linked by the common mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The three goals of a Conference are the spiritual growth of the members, developing friendship among the members and with those in need, and serving people with compassion, generosity, and respect. The vocation of the Society’s members, who are called Vincentians, is to follow Christ through service to those in need and so bear witness to His compassionate and liberating love.
The core of Vincentian activity is the home visit, where two members of the Society go to the home of an individual or family to talk with them, pray with them, assess their needs, give referrals and provide assistance, such as paying an electric bill or providing food. Most often, the assistance given is temporary to help an individual or family over a “bump in the road." In certain cases, the Conference may commit to a longer period of assistance to help lift a family out of a continuing struggle that has a foreseeable end.
Our mission is to bring men and women together to grow spiritually while providing them an opportunity to live the Gospel values and challenge them as people of faith. Our Vincentian members are drawn from every ethnic and cultural background, age group and economic level. They are a group united by their spirit of poverty, humility and sharing, which is nourished by prayer, reflection, supportive gatherings and adherence to a basic rule.
Vincentians witness God’s love by embracing all works of charity and justice. The Society collaborates with other people of good will in relieving needs and addressing its causes, making no distinction in those served, because in them Vincentians see the face of Christ.