The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded in Paris, France in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam and a group of young college students with the rallying cry ” Let us go to the poor.” The Society quickly spread quickly across Europe with Conferences in Italy in 1842, England in 1844, and Belgium, Scotland, and Ireland in 1845. The Society came to the United States at St. Louis MO in 1845, where our National Headquarters still remains today.
The Society was established in Central Florida 1986 and follows a 187 year tradition of charity work based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ. We are a Catholic Lay Organization of more than 800,000 men and women of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, rich and poor, throughout the world who volunteer to provide person-to-person services to the needy and suffering. Membership in the United States totals approximately 146,000 volunteers within 4,600 Conferences in local communities serving “Friends in Need” who are suffering.
The Diocesan Council of Orlando includes 22 Conferences across the nine Central Florida Counties of the Orlando Catholic Diocese, representing some 1,274 members.
The Western District Council was founded in 2012 and consists of the four local Conferences in Polk County, St. Joseph/St. Matthew in Winter Haven, St. Ann in Haines City, St. Teresa of Calcutta in South Lakeland, and our newly formed St. Anthony Conference in North Lakeland.
Board of Directors
- Kathy Morris, President
- Donna Ray, Vice President
- Barbara Orr, Secretary
- Charles (Chuck) Craig, Treasurer
- Tony Corrente, St. Joseph/St. Matthew Conference President
- Kathy Morris, St. Ann Conference President
- Donna Bishop, St. Teresa of Calcutta Conference President
- Charles (Chuck) Craig, St. Anthony Conference President
- Deacon George Ferraioli, Spiritual Adviser
- Donna Bishop, Disaster Relief Chair
- Rosalba Semidey, Voice of the Poor (VOP) Chair
For more information about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, click the link below to visit the National Website