St. Vincent dePaul

If you need assistance, please call 302-249-4664 and someone will return your call.

Our SVDP society is still up and operating during this time.  A strong plastic box has been placed between the Church and the Parish Life Center, by the white fence for the courtyard.  You may place any donations of nonperishable food items in the box.  Please do not place any food or boxes outside of the box.  Our SVDP members will be checking the box and emptying it regularly.  If you wish to make a monetary donation during this time, please mail a check to:
 
St. Vincent DePaul Society
PO Box 94
Lewes, DE  19958

 

The Mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

 “A network of friends, inspired by Gospel values, growing in holiness and building a more just world through personal relationships with and service to people in need.”

Who We Are

Inspired by Gospel values, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic lay organization, leads women and men to join together to grow spiritually by offering person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering in the tradition of its founder, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, and patron, St. Vincent de Paul.  As a reflection of the whole family of God, members, who are known as Vincentians, are drawn from every ethnic and cultural background, age group, and economic level. Vincentians are united in an international society of charity by their spirit of poverty, humility and sharing, which is nourished by prayer and reflection, mutually supportive gatherings and adherence to a basic Rule.  Organized locally, Vincentians witness God's love by embracing all works of charity and justice. The Society collaborates with other people of good will in relieving need and addressing its causes, making no distinction in those served because, in them, Vincentians see the face of Christ.

 

How does the Society differ from other charities?

 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is composed of women and men who seek their personal holiness through works of charity. In this essential way, the Society differs from charitable associations or agencies whose principal objective is not the spiritual advancement of their members but the doing of good for someone else.President-General Adolpe Baudon, in his Circular Letter of January 1, 1877, writes:

"It is laid down in our Rule, and it has been always understood among us, that in uniting to serve our masters the poor, as St. Vincent de Paul expresses it, our object is not only to relieve material misery, a very laudable purpose in itself, but to aspire, especially, through the practice of that most sublime of virtues "charity" to render ourselves better and more fervent Christians, and to make our poor enter on the same path, if we have the happiness of succeeding."

In his Circular Letter of December 12, 1915, Vicomte Hendecourt, President-General writes:

"The Society has two aims: to do a great deal of spiritual good to its members through the exercise of charity, and to do a little spiritual and temporal good to a few poor families in the name of Jesus Christ. If it did not continually seek to combine these two aims, it would lose its raison d'etre. If it were to seek only the holiness of its members through pious exercises, there is no lack of Confraternities and Third Orders to meet that need. If on the other hand, it were to seek only the relief of the temporal miseries of the poor, it would only add one more to the list of public and private institutions founded for that purpose."

The Mission Statement is clear: Vincentian ministry is a means for acquiring holiness. The ministry of a Vincentian to those and with those who stand in need is the powerful means that affects holiness of life for the individual Vincentian. Vatican II states that the principal means of holiness for bishops and priests is their ministry. This applies to the laity also, because, in attending to the needy and suffering, a Vincentian is ministering to Jesus Christ himself.

St Jude the Apostle Parish:

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is a group of Catholic men and women whose primary mission is the spiritual growth of its members.  We strive to achieve this goal by providing individual attention and guidance, as well as food, clothing, and financial assistance to the needy, for Jesus said: 

“When I was hungry, you gave me food; thirsty, you gave me drink; naked, you clothed me.  Will you come to my help?” 

Meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday or every month at 9:00 AM in the Parish Life Center, EXCEPT December.  If you would like more information, or to volunteer, please contact Deacon Howard League, or call the Parish Office at 302 644 7300