By Paul Ainslie, President of SVdP Indy
September 9th marks the Feast Day of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, a key founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. His commitment to serving those in need continues to inspire the Vincentian spirit of the organization today.
Born in Milan, Italy, in 1813, Frédéric Ozanam was one of 14 children, though only three survived beyond infancy. He spent his early years in Lyon, France, and survived a near-death experience at age six. Frédéric excelled academically, studying at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he earned a law degree. After a brief time practicing law in Lyon, he returned to Paris to teach at the Sorbonne.
While in Paris, Frédéric joined a group of students and faculty, mentored by Catholic news editor Emmanuel Bailly, in a discussion group called the Conference of History. These discussions included contemporary issues and eventually led to the founding of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. When challenged by others to “show how the Church has helped,” Frédéric famously responded, “Let us go to the poor.” This response became the guiding principle for the group, which officially became the Society of St. Vincent de Paul on Frédéric’s 20th birthday, April 23, 1833. Frédéric dedicated his adult life to serving those in need through the Society. Even though he died at the age of 40 in 1853, the Society had already become an international organization, including a presence in the United States.
In the 1830s, Paris, in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, was grappling with significant social issues including disparity, hunger, poverty and disease. Frédéric Ozanam was acutely aware of these societal problems and felt a profound call to action. He sought to address not only the immediate, pressing needs of individuals but also the underlying systemic injustices embedded within French society. He wrote: “The knowledge of social wellbeing and reform is to be learned not only from books nor from the public platform, but by climbing the stairs to the poor man’s garret, sitting by his bedside, feeling the same cold that pierces him. When these conditions have been examined in all different parts of the country, it is then and only then that we know the elements of these formidable problems.” And he stated, “The order of the society is based on Charity and Justice.”
As we look around at the self-imposed chaos of our world, may we take heart from these words from Frédéric almost 200 years ago: “The question which is agitating the world today is a social one. It is a struggle between those who have nothing and those who have too much. It is a violent clash of opulence and poverty which is shaking the ground under our feet. Our duty as Christians is to throw ourselves between these two camps in order to accomplish by love what justice alone cannot do.”
(To learn more about the life of Frédéric Ozanam, read “Apostle in a Top Hat” by James Patrick Derum, or see the collected letters with his wife, Amelie, in “Amelie Ozanam: A Heart with Much Love to Give” by Matthieu Brejon de Lavergnée.)
