St. Vincent de Paul

St Francis of Assisi Conference

Our History

In 1883, a young law student in France – named Frederic Ozanam – brought together a tenacious group of young people who would come to be known as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, after the ‘Patron Saint of the Poor’. These founding members met with a nun named Rosalie Rendu, a ‘Daughter of Charity’ who served the poor in the most impoverished parts of Paris. Sr. Rosalie sent the members of the Society on their very first ‘home visits’, beginning our tradition of serving those in greatest need, of treating them with dignity and respect, and of meeting with them right in their own homes.

 

We are still guided by these values today.

 

For over 100 years, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle-King County has provided critical aid to impoverished, under-served, and vulnerable populations throughout the Puget Sound region.

 

Born amidst the last great pandemic – the ‘Spanish Flu’, St. Vincent de Paul emerged, even in its infancy, as a critical part of the region’s social safety net . . .bringing love, mercy and compassionate care to those suffering the most. Since those challenging days a century ago, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has continued to bring together love and action, enabling stability, resiliency and self-sufficiency in our neighbors who face a daily struggle with poverty, homelessness, hunger, cultural and linguistic isolation, and more.

Who We Are Today

Our Vincentian Call


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.

Bl. Frederic Ozanam



Today, we continue to be guided by the words of Pope Leo XIV


“Having an experience with God brings you far beyond yourself and includes that dimension of what I would call human solidarity. An authentic experience of happiness has to include other people and has to include being concerned about other people and those elements express an important part of the Gospel message.



It’s not just about each of us and our experience of God either. You might have people say, ‘Oh, I have an experience of God and I don’t need to do anything else’. Well, then that’s probably not an authentic experience of God, because as we know from the gospels and as we know from the apostolic letters….


If you love God, then you also need to be showing it by loving your neighbor, and that the two go hand in hand.



And that experience can be a wonderful tool to bring an ‘experience of Christ’ in their lives.”

Interview posted by Catholic News Services 2025

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St Vincent de Paul

St Francis of Assisi Conference