“No work of charity is foreign to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul”

In October 1976, a longtime and much-loved member of Saint Vincent de Paul died suddenly leaving a widow and three children behind.  

When two college students, who had served with a Saint Vincent de Paul chapter in high school, heard about the death, they bought a Thanksgiving turkey dinner for the family and drove 60 miles roundtrip to deliver it to the grieving family. The widow and the family never forgot the wonderful act of charity.  

Today, in the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City the Saint Vincent de Paul Society continues to follow these teachings. Unlike many charitable organizations, one of the things that sets apart the society is that everyone is a volunteer. There are no paid staff members or buildings to maintain. All donations go directly to help the poor.
  
Saint Vincent de Paul was a French Catholic priest who served as a chaplain to imprisoned slaves in the 1600s and devoted his life to serving rural areas of France and the poor of Paris. One hundred years later, Blessed Frederic Ozanam, a young law student in Paris, founded the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. Its motto is “No work of charity is foreign to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.”

In the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Noreen Valadez is serving her 5th year as council president of the Archdiocesan Council of Oklahoma City. 

“There are so many things Christ taught about serving the poor. There is nothing we won’t try to help, all people have to do is call,” Valadez said. “Each conference (parish level) responds to the needs of the individual community. Aid and service can include things like utilities, rent, food, food pantries and furniture.”  

Funding for SVdP is primarily from the local parish. All money given by the parish, by friends of SVdP from other churches or the community or from memorial gifts go directly to help people in need. 

Valadez said people who become “Vincentians” experience spiritual growth and friendship. In addition to service, Vincentians meet twice a month for prayer and to share information about “cases” and resources. 
The two newest SVdP conferences are at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Ada and Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Sulphur, both under the direction of Father Aaron Foshee. 
“Since coming into the Church, I have been aware of the ‘preference option for the poor’ that has been expressed by the Church, and especially by recent popes,” Father Foshee said. “Saint Vincent de Paul offers a tangible way for parishes to address this issue in their local communities.” 

Father Foshee added, “The Catholic Church in east-central Oklahoma is growing in its identity as missionary disciples, but has, to date, not had such a specific outlet for ministry as Saint Vincent De Paul. Since inviting the Vincentians to my parishes a few months ago, I already have witnessed a profound desire to meet the needs of our neighbors with the Gospel of Christ as well as the organizational communion that Saint Vincent De Paul offers its members.” 

Lisa Schmidt works with the Saint Vincent de Paul chapter in Norman. 

“My biggest wish, of course, would be that organizations like ours weren't necessary. My more realistic wish is that there was a better understanding and grounding at the individual and parish level in the Gospel values expressed in Catholic Social Teachings and the very clear message that we all are called to see the face of Christ in every human being, to see them as God sees them, and hope they see Christ in us.”

Schmidt added that she wished people knew that “most of the people we meet through SVdP are decent, hard-working people who just need a little help. More and more of our neighbors in need are ‘newly poor,’ and asking for help from strangers or applying for assistance is something they never, ever saw themselves doing, and it's hard for them.”

SVdP volunteer Jim Ray summarized, “The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is about spiritual growth. It is the ‘works’ part of putting our faith into action and growing spiritually in the process.” 

For more information about the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in the archdiocese, go online to svdpokc.org or contact Noreen Valadez at (405) 706-7069, [email protected].  

Charles Albert is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.