Our Lady of the Atonement St. Vincent de Paul Conference
We are a group of parishioners who join together in Faith and friendship to provide person-to-person service to those who are in need and suffering. In the tradition of our founder, Blessed Frederick Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul. (Read about the St. Vincent de Paul Society founding and history here.)
Our mission is to be witnesses that Christ and His Gospel message are alive today by providing support and care to those in most need here in our parish and our surrounding community. Jesus reminds us that “… whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers, you did for me.” (MT 25:40)
The SVdP Conference meets regularly throughout the year. Please join us to learn more about our many service and outreach activities, and how you can participate.
For more information, contact Mary Ellen Madalinski
[email protected] 210-260-0595
Our primary service and outreach activities include:
Make home visits to those who are in need of assistance with food, rent, utility, and/or
prescription expenses
Coordinate the scheduling, preparation, and delivery of sack lunches for the homeless
every Friday. See more details here
Host Lenten collection of toiletries for the homeless
Host “Baby Shower” collection of diapers and other essential baby items for local crisis
pregnancy center(s)
Host summer collection for school supplies for children in need
Host Fall coat, sweater, and men’s shoes/men’s clothing drive
Host Christmas Angel Tree Project for families in need
Find out more about how our Conference served the community throughout the year by
clicking on our newsletters, published semi-annually.
Monthly “black box” collections occur after Saturday vigil and Sunday Masses the last weekend of each month.
- Envelopes are handed out before Mass and may be dropped into the SVdP collection box in the narthex after Mass.
- Or, drop your donation anytime in the secure SVdP collection box on the wall in the narthex (next to the door leading to the Sacristy).
- Or, use the QR code below, from your phone’s camera, to link to our online payment option.
You may make an online donation by accessing the following link:
Donate to Society of St Vincent De Paul OLA ConferenceOr use the QR Code below on your mobile device
The Beginnings of the St. Vincent de Paul Society
Amid the political, social, religious, and economic turmoil of early 19th century France, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul originated. As a young student at the Sorbonne, Antoine Frédéric Ozanam was appalled by the conditions he saw in Paris. At a student meeting, another student challenged Ozanam and other practicing Catholics, admitting that while the Catholic Church had done much good work in the past, he could not see what good the Church was doing currently.
On April 23, 1833, his 20th birthday, Ozanam invited five other students to a meeting, where they founded the first Conference of Charity to assist the poor. This Catholic lay organization was intended to help members increase in holiness by loving service to those in need.
The six students chose Emmanuel Bailly, a married layman, as their first president. Shortly thereafter, they changed their name to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in honor of their patron saint.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the United States
Just 12 years after its founding in France, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul established roots in the United States. On November 20, 1845, the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul was established in St. Louis, Missouri at the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, popularly called “The Old Cathedral.”
Several people were instrumental in the Society’s growth and development in the U.S., including Father John Timon, an American Vincentian priest from Pennsylvania who brought copies of the Rule of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul from Dublin, Ireland, to St. Louis. Timon spoke with various people about the Society’s work with the poor, including Bishop Peter Richard Kenrick. Kenrick asked Father Ambrose Heim, known for extraordinary zeal and ministry with the poor, to establish the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and be its spiritual advisor. Father Heim became known as “The Priest of the Poor.”
The Conference was formally recognized by the Society’s International Council in Paris on February 2, 1846, and would never have opened without the dedicated lay people who accepted the initial invitation to become members and serve the poor.
With nearly 90,000 Vincentian volunteers serving their communities, today’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul works in 4,428 parish-based Conferences across the United States. Our founding activity, still practiced today, is the face-to-face Home Visit, in which Vincentians visit the homes of those they serve, to identify both immediate and longer-term needs, including emergency assistance with utilities, rent, food, and clothing.
We have the perfect project for you and your family… Help Feed the Homeless!
YOU shop for and prepare 20 sack lunches. WE come to you to PICK UP the lunches.
Our Lady of the Atonement SVDP partners with St Ann SVDP to help feed the homeless that come to them each week. For more information, call or text Ben Hulsey at (210) 363-2030. Ben will reach out to you and explain the process.