This feast day of St. Vincent de Paul offers us a perfect opportunity to consider the topic of poverty and our role in bringing comfort and hope to those who suffer.
St. Vincent de Paul lived in eighteenth century France and saw all about him the needs of the poor and marginalized. His desire was to help feed, shelter, and minister to the poorest of the poor at his time. Much like what Cross Catholic Outreach desires to do today.
In order to care for the poor, he organized groups of lay people to gather the necessities of life and distribute food, clothing, and medicine to those in need. Nearly every Catholic parish in the world today has a group known as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which cares for the needs of the poor in their parish and beyond.
As men and women came to St. Vincent and wanted to do more, he formally organized two religious congregations, The Daughters of Charity, to care for the needs of the poor and do catechetical ministry, and the Vincentians, a congregation of religious men to provide for the poor and conduct seminary education so that parish priests could more adequately care for the needs of the poor in their midst.
Cross Catholic Outreach carries out its ministry to the poorest of the poor in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul and many of the saints of the Church who have taught us how best to care for those in need.
-Father Ron Mrozinski