“Charity is the cement which binds Communities to God and persons to one another” – St Vincent de Paul, SSVP Patron

Contact Details

The Church in recognising the work we do in bringing dignity to the human person has blessed our work by allowing us to do this in all parishes that have a SSVP conference operating within it. If you require help, please use the contact details below in the strictest of confidence.

St Joseph’s Conference

If you need the assistance of the St Vincent de Paul Society in St Joseph’s Parish please email ssvp.stjosephs@rckilmarnock.com
Assistance available on a Wednesday morning in St Joseph’s Church Hall, please visit from 10.00am to 11.00am

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Conference

If you need the assistance of the St Vincent de Paul Society in OLMC Parish
Assistance available on a Monday night, please visit from 07.30pm to 08.15pm

Or

Please email olmc_ssvp@icloud.com

If you are not sure which Parish, please use any of the above.

Origins

Birth of the Society of St Vincent de Paul

In 1833 Frederic Ozanam and a group of friends from the Sorbonne University were challenged to prove their faith in Christ through action, not just words.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul was formed when they took up this challenge and began to work with the desperately poor in Paris. Developing a simple system, they went in teams to help the poor in their homes, in the streets, in the hospitals and the asylums. Adopting as their patron Saint Vincent de Paul, a 16th century cleric renowned for his work with the poor, the Society arose from humble beginnings to become an international organisation found in 150 countries with 45,000 conferences and 800,000 volunteers.

From a small Conference of Charity, the Society has today spread throughout the world, thus fulfilling the wish of its founder “I would like to embrace the world in a network of Charity”.

When he saw how his idea had begun to grow, with more people wishing to join in his work, he decided to rename it and call in after the French Saint who he found to be closest to understanding the conditions that the poor live in, this Saint was Saint Vincent de Paul, and that what we have been called to this day.

SSVP are grateful for the generous support and donations of the Parishioners which allows us to give help and support to those in need.

Please place your requests for visits to the home/hospital in the box at the back of the Church, please also include the name and contact details of a relative/ friend.

Visit The Society of St Vincent de Paul Scotland for more detailed information