St. Vincent de Paul Society: 400th Anniversary

In 1617 St. Vincent de Paul began forming groups, mostly of women, to serve the poor in his region of France.  He was joined by St. Louise de Merillac and their ministry spread, not only throughout France but around the world.  Now more than 260 groups trace their origin to St. Vincent de Paul  and basically every Catholic parish has a St. Vincent de Paul Society group to serve their local area.  This is a large number of the St. Vincent de Paul Society members in our English-speaking Catholic community in Phnom Penh—a wonderful group of committed Christians filled with compassion and love for those who need help.  This month the Cambodian Catholic Church has been celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Vincentian movement.