By Paul Ainslie, President, SVdP Indy Council
In 1833, Paris was crowded, tense and politically volatile under King Louis-Philippe, following violent uprisings in 1830 and 1832. (The 1832 revolt inspired Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.) The city’s medieval landscape of narrow streets, dark alleys and poor sanitation contributed to the cholera outbreak that killed 20,000 residents just a year prior. This worsened the economic and social situation, and lower-income areas suffered greater losses from contaminated water supplies. Some even postulated that the government intentionally poisoned wells to subdue the masses, further exacerbating class tensions. Many European political refugees, mainly Poles, Portuguese, Germans and Italians living in France, played an active role in the demonstrations.
After the revolution, the Catholic Church in Paris began navigating a post-revolutionary revival, focusing on social action and restoration. In response to challenges, Frédéric Ozanam and other young college students established the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Paris in 1833, aiming to provide practical aid to the needy.
When Blessed Frédéric and his colleagues began their work, their familiarity with those in poverty was about the same as that of the average American today: they saw them on the streets or in alleys, passed by their poorly maintained houses and tried not to make eye contact. Fortunately for our founders, their efforts were guided by Blessed Rosalie Rendue, who had already been working with the poorest and could show the college students where to go, what to take and how to love the people they served.
Today, almost 200 years later, much has changed, but much remains the same. Rampant disease kills thousands worldwide each year. In the U.S., 1 in 6 children live in poverty. Asylum-seekers flee hostile homelands looking for a new, safer life in the U.S. And in Indiana, more than 1 in 4 households live on the edge of financial collapse.
As it was in 1833, today Vincentians step out into this world with one goal: to be the face of Christ to those in need. We do what we can with the gifts we have, but the greatest gift we bring is our love, which is Christ’s love.
