About Us - Society of Saint Vincent de Paul - National Council of Canada

About Us

Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is a lay Catholic organization of charity whose mission is to live the Gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice and joy.

The Society in BC and the Yukon has been serving communities since 1915 and is dedicated to bringing love, respect, aid, development, hope and joy and to build a more just society.

History

The first conferences began in 1915 in Vancouver. The Holy Rosary Conference regularly met every Sunday at 4pm. Vancouverites, in the troubled time of WW1, were grateful for the support and aid offered by this and other established conferences.

After WW1 and during the 1920’s three of the original conferences continued to meet regularly. Three new conferences were also meeting regularly by 1924. During the 1920’s and 1930’s the work of the Society in Vancouver and Victoria continued to expand with 8 conferences reporting for the Annual Report of 1939.

After many years of service to communities in the Vancouver area, The Flying Squad (National Formation & Extension Team) made their appearance with the express ‘commission’ of extending the Society outside the Vancouver and Victoria areas. Seven new conferences were formed in the Archdiocese area, these being the first new conferences in 24 years. In March 1989, the BC Provincial Council was formed and continued to develop and expand conferences into the Fraser Valley, Kelowna and Kamloops to become a truly Provincial-wide council.

Today there are 42 active conferences with hundreds of volunteers that support thousands of families annually across British Columbia and the Yukon.