Years of Service
Organizations
Countries
Goal: End Homelessness!
The Vincentian Spirit of Medellín
‘Go to the poor,’ he said. St Vincent didn’t wait for the poor to come knocking. He was proactive in his charity. Sometimes people don’t want to ask for help. Sometimes people can’t ask for help, even though they need it. But St Vincent circumvented that, saying you are our sister, our brother....
‘There was no room at the inn’ – Luke 2:7
Looking after our homeless brothers and sisters living on the streets has been at the forefront of Vincentian charity since the inception of our Charism. St Vincent himself housed foundlings – children without parents who would have been homeless without his support. There are an estimated...
Little Rock – The first 13 Houses Campaign project for homeless people officially opened
The first 13 Houses Campaign project for homeless people officially opened after renovation work was completed. The two-bedroom house lies in the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, and is run by the Vincentian homelessness charity, Depaul USA. It will become home to an individual or family who have...
Service at the heart of Vincentian charity
Service is at the heart of Vincentian charity. People giving up their time to help our poorest brothers and sisters has carried the spirit of St Vincent across the world over the past 400 years. The St Vincent de Paul Society in Australia is one of the largest charitable organisations in the...
Hope and suffering in Manila
It’s Tuesday in Manila and it’s hot. The street is bustling. Over 150 people are gathered outside the church on the paving stones. Mass has just ended and the early evening traffic buzzes past as the congregation departs. Some of that congregation are now preparing food. There must be 20 of them,...
Little Rock – A small house leading the way
At the end of June, I had the opportunity to visit Little Rock in Arkansas, USA, and see the very first 13 Houses project: A small house, in the middle of a leafy neighborhood, destined to become a home for people without one. Whilst walking up the driveway with Chuck Levesque, Director of Depaul...
“We need to be ambitious and united as Vincentians in order to eradicate social injustice!”
Last week, I had the privilege to travel to Salamanca, in northern Spain, to meet with many Vincentians passionate about helping our homeless neighbours. I arrived at the CM Centre of Spirituality and was warmly welcomed by the provincial councilors for social work of the Daughters of Charity....
Akamasoa (Madagascar): a place where to learn how to bring St. Vincent words to life
From the 1st – 7th of May, Mark McGreevy and I, Anja Bohnsack, went to visit Madagascar to meet and learn from Fr. Pedro Opeka. Over the past three decades he has created Akamasoa – a project aimed at supporting people living in slums by providing them with the tools, opportunities and the...
“St Vincent and the Homeless” by Fr. Robert Maloney
WELCOMING THE STRANGER Homelessness was a major focus of St Vincent’s charitable work – from accommodating foundling children abandoned by their parents, to organizing aid for those displaced by conflict in Lorraine, to providing soup to thousands of Paris’ poorest citizens. In many ways,...