The St. Vincent de Paul Society was formed in 1833 in Paris, France by Frederic Ozanam and his friends. Sister Rosalie Rendu of the Daughters of Charity Order was instrumental in training these men and providing a strong, caring guiding hand. Both Frederic and Sister Rosalie have been given the status of “Blessed” by the Church.
The Society quickly spread to other countries including: Italy, Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and Germany.
In 1845, just twelve years after its beginning, Father John Timon, an American Vincentian priest brought copies of the Rule of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul back from Dublin, Ireland, to St. Louis, Missouri. The first U.S. Conference was started in the original cathedral there. St. Louis has remained the headquarters for U.S. Society.
For over 125 years, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of the Archdiocese of Detroit has been providing the Greater Detroit Area and Southeastern Michigan with goods and services at little or no cost.
A Society’s outreach is done by volunteers who form a conference and are supported by an individual church community.
In 1977, only two years after the formation of St. Michael’s, Father Jackson asked Mr. Frank Caulkins if he could organize a SVDP group to help people within our church boundaries. Frank and his wife, Marie, had experience as long time members of St. Veronica’s Conference. Frank readily agreed and found others to help. Our conference has been continuously active for over 30 years. We are always looking for new people who would like to do this work.
