Society of St. Vincent de Paul services poor in 149 countries

	Dr. Michael Thio, left, international president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, talks with Ralph Middlecamp, executive director of the District Council of Madison of the society, while in Madison to attend the society’s National Assembly. Standing is Thio’s wife, Rosalind. (Catholic Herald photo/Pam Payne)

MADISON — Since its founding by college students in 1833 in Paris, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has grown to serve the poor in 149 countries on five continents.

Its international president is a sign of that worldwide growth. Dr. Michael Thio, a resident of Singapore, is the first non-European to serve as the society’s international president.

Thio was in Madison recently to speak at the National Assembly of the United States Council Over 650 people from throughout the country attended the meeting here.

There are 141,000 active members of the society in the United States and more than 800,000 members throughout the world.

Person-to-person aid for the poor

Click here to read more on the St. Vincent de Paul Society National Assembly Worldwide society One of the oldest and most successful charitable organizations in the world, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization of more than 800,000 members — men and women throughout the world who volunteer to seek out and provide person-to-person aid to people who are poor and needy in 149 countries on five continents. The society was founded in 1833 in Paris by Frédéric Ozanam, five fellow university students, and their mentors. Ozanam and his companions were moved by the plight of the poor and were challenged to put their faith into action. They adopted St. Vincent de Paul as the Society’s patron because he cared for the poor, forgotten, and downtrodden of Paris. The international office of the society is headquartered in Paris. Society in the U.S.A The Council of the United States of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul provides leadership and support for the growth and health of Society Councils, Conferences (local member groups), and Special Works. The National Council Office, located in St. Louis, Mo., enables the society to serve local communities by creating materials for the spiritual formation of members, providing networking information on advocacy and justice issues, and facilitating the response to the needs of those who are poor throughout the world (through “twinning” and disaster assistance). There are more than 141,000 active, associate, and contributing St. Vincent de Paul members in the United States (svdpusa.org). Society in Dane County The District Council of Madison Inc.–Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization in which members join together in friendship to grow spiritually by providing person-to-person services to people who are in need, suffering, or forgotten. Sales of donated goods at six Madison-area thrift stores help fund the charitable work of the Society in Dane County. At its Center for Vincentian Charity in Madison, the society operates a large client-choice food pantry and a charitable pharmacy; distributes vouchers for bedding, furniture, and clothing; and provides other forms of emergency aid to local people in need. The society offers programs that provide housing for men, women, and children in Madison. These and all other services provided by the society are offered without regard to the religious affiliation or beliefs of those assisted. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization. There are more than 415 active and associate members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul who reside in Dane County and offer their assistance here (svdpmadison.org). Society in Diocese of Madison There are currently 33 conferences of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the 11 counties of the Diocese of Madison. There has been an increase of five conferences in the last five years.

All Vincentians are dedicated to the mission of the society to seek out and provide person-to-person aid to people who are poor and in need.

Thio emphasized the importance of this person-to-person contact. “We serve Christ in the poor,” he said in an interview.

In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Thio to be a member of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which coordinates the Church’s charitable works worldwide.

In June, Thio attended the meeting of Cor Unum and met for the first time with Pope Francis. Thio said the new Holy Father is very familiar with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

“He visited the poor in the slums of Argentina with members of the society. He reminded us that we are a Catholic apostolate, and we must be like Jesus and bear witness to Christ by our actions.”

Thio said Pope Francis “has the intellect and wisdom of a Jesuit” and the “humility and simplicity of a Franciscan and a Vincentian.”

“He is a people person and is very humble,” said Thio, which is not to say he didn’t also admire Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict, both of whom he also has met.

Thio noted that before he became a priest, Blessed John Paul II was a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

When he was pope, Pope Benedict XVI told Thio that the society “was a powerful tool for evangelization.”

Mother’s influence

Thio himself owes his interest in helping the poor to his mother, a teacher of English in Singapore. “She always had a kind word for the poor person and helped them,” he said. “She told me, ‘Michael, you must help the poor.’”

As a teenager, Thio was introduced to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul “I have been a member for 46 years,” he said.

Before he was elected as the international president of the society in May of 2010, he was the managing director of British Telecom in Southeast Asia.

His objectives as the international president — his “manifesto,” as he calls it — include enhancing the spirituality of members, proper formation of lay leaders, focusing on membership of youth, collaborating with other Catholic and Christian charities, staying close to the hierarchy of the Church, and being accountable and transparent.

Growth among youth

Since the society was founded by college students, Thio observed that it is appropriate that the society’s membership is increasing among youth, college students, and young adults.

About one-fourth of the current 800,000 members around the world are youth and young adults, he said.

Ralph Middlecamp, executive director of the society’s District Council of Madison, accompanied Thio to the interview.

Middlecamp agreed that “young people have a passion for the poor.”

He observed that the University of Wisconsin-Madison had the first St. Vincent de Paul Conference in the country at a non-Catholic college.

“Fifteen years ago it was revitalized and is doing very well,” said Middleton.

The society has even founded schools, such as Ozanam School in Santiago, Chile, named for the society’s founder. This school is educating 800 students in primary and second levels.

“We are helping poor students get an education,” said Thio. “This is one method of systemic change to help the poor.”

International growth

After 180 years, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has grown so that 50 percent of the society’s members are in Africa and Asia.

The society is especially growing in the Far East and Africa at the rate of two new countries per year. The newest countries where the society is operating are Nepal and Mongolia.

These countries have many poor people, so people in the countries are helping their own poor.

“My election as the first non-European president bears out that the society is truly international,” said Thio.

Thio noted that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was recently accepted by the United Nations Economic and Society Council with special consulting status.

Thio said the society is collaborating with other organizations to bring resources of money and personnel to serve the poor worldwide. Among the special concerns are serving over three million refugees throughout the world.

The National Assembly focused on governance functions and sharing “best practices,” said Middlecamp. There were sessions on spirituality and systemic change, that is, finding ways for the poor to get out of poverty.