OUR HISTORY The St Vincent de Paul Society was founded in Paris, France in 1833 by a 20-year old Italian student, Frederic Ozanam. Frederic and his friends visited people in their homes offering friendship and support. This group became known as the ‘first’ Conference of the Society. The practice of visiting people in their homes, known as Home Visitation, remains the core activity of the Society’s members. Today, the Society operates in 153 countries and has over 800,000 members. Australia has over 60,000 members, dedicated to assisting people in need and combating social injustice. The Society started in Tasmania in 1899 when founders established a Conference in Launceston. From humble beginnings, the Society has grown to 27 Conferences within three Regional Councils across Tasmania. Each year the Society, with the support of Conference Members, undertakes a variety of good works, the most recognised being the traditional Vincentian home visits and the annual Sleepout to draw attention to homelessness. ST VINCENT DE PAUL (1581 – 1660) As a young man Vincent ministered to the wealthy and powerful. However, an appointment as chaplain to a poor parish, and to galley prisoners inspired him to a vocation of working with those most marginalised and powerless. An extremely gifted man, Vincent took on roles of spiritual director to other priests, negotiator with members of the aristocracy and reformer of the clergy. He organised social welfare on a national scale in France and above all dedicated his life to serving the poor, sick and disadvantaged people, seeing in them the face of God.
PAGE - 39
ST VINCENT DE PAUL (TAS) LTD | ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT 2024-25
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator