Opening the Door to a Lifetime of Service
Women have always been part of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s mission – serving families experiencing homelessness and poverty, organizing charitable efforts, and supporting Vincentian works in countless ways. For many years, however, their contributions often took place quietly behind the scenes.
Irene Frechette, a Vincentian of more than 50 years and former National Vice President for the Northeast Region of SVdP, remembers exactly when that began to change. A moment in time was all it took for Frechette to pave the way for women to become official members of SVdP and eventually lead.
Knocking on the Door
Frechette first encountered SVdP in the early 1970s through her parish in Massachusetts. At the time, membership in the local conference – and nationally – was largely reserved for men.
“The priest would tap a man on the shoulder after Mass and invite him to join,” she recalled. “That’s how it worked back then.”
Her husband became a member. Meanwhile, Irene and other women supported the work from the sidelines – wrapping Christmas gifts, preparing food baskets, and helping however they could.
But they weren’t invited into the room where decisions were made. One night, she and a friend decided to change that.
After their husbands left for a meeting in the church rectory basement, the two women followed about 20 minutes later and knocked on the door.
“When they opened it, they said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And we said, ‘We’re your new members.’”
The men let them in, and the rest is history.
Growing Into Leadership
That small moment opened the door not only for Irene, but for other women who would follow.
“At first it was, ‘Oh, the girls are here – they can take the minutes,’” Frechette said. “Then it was, ‘They’re good with the finances.’ Little by little, we became part of it.”
Frechette didn’t just join – she stayed, and she led. Over the next five decades, she took on nearly every role within SVdP.
“I’ve probably held every local position there is to hold,” she said. “Secretary, treasurer, president … then district, then diocesan leadership.”
A National Perspective
Frechette eventually served as National Vice President for the Northeast Region, where she made it her mission to connect with Vincentians who often felt overlooked.
“I knew there were people in places like Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire who hadn’t been visited in a long time,” she said. “So my goal was to go out to them.”
She traveled widely, meeting with Conferences, helping form new districts, and ensuring that Vincentians across the region felt connected to the broader mission.
“It was about bringing what the Society has to offer to people who didn’t always get to see that,” she said.
A Voice for Change
Throughout her journey, Frechette has remained a strong advocate for both the people SVdP serves and the volunteers who serve them.
“I’ve always seen myself as representing the people we serve,” she said. “Their voice should be part of every decision we make.”
Her perspective was shaped not only by her Vincentian experience, but by her own determination to push forward in spaces where women were not always expected to lead.
“Any woman of my generation who achieved anything had to push,” she said. “You had to stand your ground.”
That mindset is what first brought her to the door of that meeting decades ago – and what has guided her ever since.
The difference now is that more doors are open. And for those that aren’t, Frechette believes they still can be.
“It’s possible,” she said. “I have to believe that.”
