The Vinnies story
In 1833 St Vincent de Paul Society was founded by a 20-year-old student named Federic Ozanam. As he walked through the poorer suburbs on his way to university he because increasing moved by the hopeless state of the families there. He gathered his friends around him to talk about what they would do to assist the poor.
Today the Society of St Vincent de Paul is an international Catholic lay organisation inspired by the Gospels of Jesus Christ. This is a ground-roots organisation whose members and volunteers have been helping countless families and individuals for more than 150 years.
Vincentians work in a caring and practical manner to promote human dignity and justice through personal contact with those in need, hence the motto, People Helping People.
Our mission is to help people in crisis, comforting them and assuring them that their burdens are not meant to be carried alone.
This compassionate outlook, enthusiasm and vision continues today in Wellington, New Zealand. We are people who every day share their time and energy, while caring for humanity, to make a difference in the lives of those facing hardship.
“Love the poor. Honour them, my children, as you would Christ himself.”
Patron saint.
St Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul was born in the small southern French town of Pouy (later renamed Saint Vincent de Paul in his honour) on 24 April 1581 and ordained as a priest in 1600 at the age of 19.
As a young man he ministered to the wealthy and powerful. However an appointment as chaplain to a poor parish, and to prisoners, inspired him to a vocation of working with those most marginalised and powerless.
Vincent urged his followers to bring God’s justice and love to people who were unable to live a full human life:
“Deal with the most urgent needs. Organise charity so that it is more efficient…teach reading and writing, educate with the aim of giving each the means of self-support. Intervene with authorities to obtain reforms in structure… there is no charity without justice.”
Vincent de Paul died in Paris on 27 September 1660, aged 79. He was canonised on 16 June 1737 and, in 1883, the Church designated him special patron of all charitable associations.
Founder.
Frederic Ozanam
"The question which is agitating the world today is a social one. It is a struggle between those who have nothing and those who have too much. It is a violent clash of opulence and poverty which is shaking the ground under our feet. Our duty as Christians is to throw ourselves between these two camps in order to accomplish by love what justice alone cannot do".
Those words, spoken in 1834 by the Founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, Frederic Ozanam, remain relevant in today’s world.
Frederic was 20 years old when he began the Society with a number of friends in Paris on April 23, 1833. He made that defining statement a year later. It encompasses the spiritual ethos of the Society and its focus on working for social justice.
From the outset the Society favoured a practical, direct approach to dealing with poverty.