Mission Statement:
“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.”
About St Vincent De Paul Society
There are 3 essential elements of the society: Service – Spirituality – Friendship.
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is one of the largest Lay organizations in the world! It all started in 1833 when a young university student named Frédéric Ozanam and a group of friends, took the risk of responding to the glaring inequality and injustice emerging in Paris, France. Frederic stressed the importance of offering kindness, respect and compassion to the poor. We, who have come after them are guided by the same desire to do God’s will through faithful service to those who are pushed to the margins of society.
Our Conference here at St Rose of Lima is one of the 50+ conferences located in or near Catholic parishes throughout Southwest Texas, and as Vincentians, we identify the need and provide a wide variety of services for basic needs such as food and utility assistance. Person-to-person assistance is at the core of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. We meet our neighbors in our pantry or in the homes.
Our main focus here at St Rose of Lima is our SVDP Food Pantry (located in the Church Hall) and we have over 40 faithful Vincentians that keep it in operation. Their time is spent in a variety of ways: taking inventory, ordering food from the SA Food Bank and local grocers, picking up food, stocking pantry shelves, preparing bags of food for our neighbors-in-need, interviewing neighbors, working with agency partners like the utility companies & Bexar County, data input, filing, preparing financial statements, housekeeping, planning events/fundraisers throughout the year. During Thanksgiving & Christmas we distribute turkeys or vouchers/gift cards to purchase to help with the holiday meals and at Christmas, our Angel Tree provides gift cards or toys for children, all donated by parish members. In 2024, our pantry provided 840 families with food and utility assistance, on a regular basis.
The St Vincent de Paul Society is open to all those who seek to live their faith loving and committing themselves to their neighbors-in-need. Those who would like to join our conference will need to take mandatory online training (including a background check) that is required by the San Antonio Archdiocese (see resources page) before volunteering at the pantry and then attend Ozanam orientation during the first year as a Vincentian. All training is required to be repeated, normally every 3 years.
Our Conference meets twice a month, the 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm. The first meeting of the month is focused on business and the 2nd meeting of the month is focused on spiritual growth.
Operating hours of our Food Pantry are: Mondays 8 am to Noon, Wednesday evenings 6 pm to 8 pm, and Fridays 8 am to Noon.
If you would like to join the St Rose of Lima St Vincent de Paul Society, Please complete this FORM.