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New Conference With Special Tie to St. Gianna Beretta Molla
New Conference With Special Tie to St. Gianna Beretta Molla 680 583 SVDP USA

St. Gianna Molla Parish was erected by Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila in 2018. Fr. Jason Wunsch, who was the Parochial Vicar at Ascension Parish, was appointed as pastor of the new parish.

Fr. Wunsch and Archbishop Aquila are pictured here with Gianna Emanuela Molla, St. Gianna Molla’s daughter, at her mother’s grave in Mesero, Italy. Gianna Emanuela has since come to visit the parish in Denver and gave her testimony.

Fr. Jason was instrumental in initiating a Society of St. Vincent de Paul Conference at the new parish in April 2021. The Conference was approved by the National Council of the U.S. on April 28, the feast day of St. Gianna. The St. Gianna Molla parish boundaries cover a large area, including Denver International Airport, multiple new housing developments, and a rapidly growing population.

About St. Gianna Molla

St. Gianna Beretta Molla (1922-1961) was an Italian pediatrician and the tenth of 13children in her family. At the age of 20, she entered medical school in Milan and was diligent as a student and as a Catholic. While a medical student, she became a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and was active in reaching out to the elderly and needy.

She specialized in pediatrics and received degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949. Gianna was devoted to babies and mothers and at the same time, the elderly and poor. She opened a medical office in Mesero near Magenta where she was born.

Gianna married Pietro Molla in 1955. Their fourth child, Gianna Emanuela Molla, was successfully delivered by Caesarean section in 1961, but Gianna died from complications. She insisted that the baby be saved at the risk of her own life.

Gianna was beatified by Pope John Paul on April 24, 1994, and officially canonized as a saint on May 16, 2004. Her husband and their children attended her canonization ceremony.

St. Gianna Beretta Molla’s feast day is celebrated on April 28.

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04-22-2021 News Roundup
04-22-2021 News Roundup 1200 1200 SVDP USA

Through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Vincentians across the United States and around the world are finding spiritual growth by providing person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here:

INTERNATIONAL

NATIONAL

Help us share the good news of the good work being done in your local Conference or Council! Email us at info@svdpusa.org with the subject line Good News.

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04-22-2021 Letter From Our Servant Leaders
04-22-2021 Letter From Our Servant Leaders 600 685 SVDP USA

We are in the liturgical season of Easter.  We have come through 40 days of Lent, ending in Holy Week with the observance of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.

During this past month, I have been pondering the intersection of our liturgical celebrations with what is going on in the world and what is going on in my life personally. The Easter season is one of being open to the unexpected ways in which Christ appears in our lives. Like Mary and the apostles, we consider what do we do now and what do we do next.

My vocation was not always one of service to the poor. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I took a job as the Liturgy Coordinator at the campus Newman Center. It was on Good Friday in 1975 when I witnessed an unexpected intersection of liturgy with life outside the church walls and even with my personal vocation.

The environment was carefully planned, the music was moving and, of course, the Good Friday liturgy itself was profound. The church was packed, with many people standing or sitting in the aisles. After the first reading, we sat for a minute or two in silence before singing the responsorial psalm. That’s when down the aisle came a man who was about 35 years old, not well dressed, but not dirty or unkempt. He walked to the sanctuary center in front of the altar and began to talk to the congregation.

He said that Christians did good things and that religion was probably very important to us, but he thought we ought to consider how difficult life was out on the streets of Madison. The war in Vietnam was just ending. Returning soldiers were often on the streets and homeless; students were disillusioned, and it was hard to find work. The man said he was dealing with addiction issues and had been occasionally homeless.

The man spoke well. He engaged the crowd, but I wanted him out of there. He was wrecking the whole thing. What should I do? What I did was nothing, and I relied on our pastor to make the call. He sat there and patiently listened for almost 10 minutes, as did more than 700 others.

The uninvited speaker started to talk about how his life had fallen apart and how alienated he was from his family. Then he described how his brother had invited him to come share Easter with his family. He was hopeful that this was the beginning of a reconciliation and maybe an opportunity to start a new chapter of his life. He said he needed about $40 for a bus ticket, however, and was thinking that among all these fine Christians, there must be someone who would be willing to help him.

At that point the pastor slowly walked up behind him, put a hand on his shoulder and invited him to take a chair and worship with us. Father promised to work with him after the service. To this day there are people who are certain we planned the whole thing. They are sure that it was one of those creative things we were known for doing, and many insist it was the most meaningful Good Friday service they have ever attended.

After it was over, I was still upset that a carefully rehearsed and important liturgy was screwed up by a street person. Little did I realize that several years later working with the homeless and addicted would become part of my faith journey. The events of that day were a real-life parable of the world intersecting with the practice of our faith and a carefully planned liturgical celebration.

I remembered this story during Holy Week, while I was considering what the Society of St. Vincent de Paul plans to do as we emerge, I hope, from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are in the process of developing our next strategic plan, which will be rooted in living out our Rule and Mission Statement. We need to make those plans, but my Good Friday experience also cautions me to be open to the unexpected. Our neatly organized plans will never match the reality of what will walk into our lives. But we should look for grace in those moments and never doubt Divine Providence.

Serviens in spe,
Ralph Middlecamp
National Council President

Friends of the Poor Walk
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Friends of the Poor Walk/Run: A Step Towards Eliminating Poverty
Friends of the Poor Walk/Run: A Step Towards Eliminating Poverty 800 533 SVDP USA

Now in its 14th year, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Friends of the Poor® Walk/Run is an annual event that provides local Vincentian Conferences and Councils with an opportunity to raise funds and awareness to support neighbors in need. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2021.

The nationwide event raises awareness of the challenges faced by neighbors in need. At over 200 Walk locations across the country, more than 20,000 Vincentians, parishioners, families, and friends join together to support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Annually, over $3.4 million is raised each year.

Benefits of Hosting a Walk

While many Conferences and Councils are avid supporters of the Walk, others may be new to the program. Here are some of the benefits of hosting a Friends of the Poor Walk/Run:

  • Generating funds for direct service to people living in poverty in your community.
  • Increasing awareness regarding the challenges faced by neighbors in need.
  • Enhancing visibility and reputation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
  • Involving your parish, neighbors, and friends, family, and community in helping men, women and children in need in your area.
  • Cultivating new and existing members and donors.

Says Nathan Martin, who manages the program nationally, “The National Friends of the Poor Walk is an excellent way to raise awareness of the issues surrounding poverty, while at the same time raising money to help neighbors in need.”

To learn more about the Friends of the Poor® Walk Program, please contact National Director of Fundraising Programs Nathan Martin by emailing him at the link above, or by calling (314) 576-3993 ext. 218. Or visit the Walk website: www.fopwalk.org/

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04-15-2021 News Roundup
04-15-2021 News Roundup 1200 1200 SVDP USA

Through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Vincentians across the United States and around the world are finding spiritual growth by providing person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here:

INTERNATIONAL

 NATIONAL

Help us share the good news of the good work being done in your local Conference or Council! Email us at info@svdpusa.org with the subject line Good News.

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04-15-2021 Letter From Our Servant Leaders
04-15-2021 Letter From Our Servant Leaders 150 150 SVDP USA

The motivation not to speak up may be because one has nothing to say. It may, however, be because there is so much to say, but one represents so many different opinions.

An emerging and dangerous trend in America is for corporate CEOs to write opinion pieces and jump on television to comment on political and social issues. In apparent attempts at standing for social justice, advancing a cause, or simply to prove oneself relevant and engaged, mostly these executives are only proving the old adage that you can’t please everyone.

Every corporate position seems to bring a boycott, social media furor, and unequal and opposite reactions. Board members, stakeholders, and consumers all ask how the CEO could possibly speak for everyone when it seems that as a country we are divided on, well, everything. I’m not sure that even sliced bread, Mom, or apple pie could bring unanimous consent right now!

In the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, only the National President of a country can “speak for the Society”, and this can be prudently delegated for local issues, during crisis situations, or when the CEO (in countries that have them) is so allowed, usually on administrative issues. This is a precious, protected, and potentially dangerous responsibility. We have all seen instances when a reputation was harmed more by the response than by the originating action.

Our National President Ralph Middlecamp and I routinely get asked to speak up about an issue of great importance to the one making the request. Many such requests are in regard to valid concerns either to Americans, Catholics or Vincentians, and perhaps to all three. Ralph and I could distribute a scathing press release, get on Twitter, or hold a news conference almost daily. Here is why we don’t.

First, we try to “stay in our lane” as the Society. While there are many issues and causes that fall under Catholic Social Teaching, for example, the Society’s sweet spot is in matters that concern our friends in need. While a dotted line could be drawn from almost anything to how it more adversely affects people in poverty, we choose to focus on the more direct issues and impacts. Admittedly this can be a fuzzy line to draw.

Second, we recognize that while all of our members are united in their Vincentian spirituality, they are not so aligned in their politics, social causes, or even their views on the Church. We feel it is disingenuous to speak on matters without hearing from you, and we can for the most part be assured that there is no unified Vincentian opinion. You can speak for yourself without a Vincentian “tag” that inadvertently ties us together against your will.

Third, and just as importantly, when you stand for everything you stand for nothing. Not everything warrants a response. Responsible leaders, and usually the most effective ones, speak more rarely and thus are heard when they do speak. Think about the celebrities and political opinion givers: Are their comments sometimes above, or below, their jobs or relevance in our lives? Haven’t we all at one time asked why we should care about that actor’s opinion, or why the elected representative is commenting on an issue s/he clearly knows so little about? While it is our American birthright to be free to give an opinion, it doesn’t mean we should use it so darn often.

When you see that President Ralph (or me, or our national Voice of the Poor group) has commented publicly on an issue, know that it has been carefully considered in light of the above. Likely there was a discussion first about our specific Vincentian/SVdP stake in the game, our objectives in speaking, and how we think our members will respond. That’s what servant leaders do. Together we don’t want to be just another voice; we want to be your voice.

Yours in Christ,
Dave Barringer
CEO

St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy
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Serving the Uninsured at St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy
Serving the Uninsured at St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy 1920 2560 SVDP USA

For the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, one pervasive challenge across the communities we serve is poor health management, often exacerbated by lack of access to prescription medications.

The first pharmacy of its kind in Texas, the St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy serves the uninsured whose household income is at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, which for a family of four is an annual income of $25,701. Nearly 1 in 2 Texans have incomes at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

Since its founding in March 2018, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul North Texas’ freestanding charitable pharmacy, named the St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, has filled the gap for many North Texans unable to afford medication. Nearly half of all Texans have incomes at or below 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

As the pandemic’s effects continue to severely impact our neighbors in need, the pharmacy has been busier than ever, serving nearly 1,000 patients and averaging more than 400 prescriptions per week since March 2020. The St. Vincent de Paul team also innovated their service model by removing the transportation barriers that had previously prevented some clients from obtaining their medication by allowing for prescriptions to be mailed or personally delivered to those who need it.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul North Texas CEO Mike Pazzaglini recently spoke on the program’s expansion on Good Morning Texas. He noted that rather than a reduction in services, the St. Vincent de Paul pharmacy actually served exponentially more neighbors in need over the last year. “We went from 9,000 the year prior, to this year, where we filled over 17, 500 prescriptions.”

Says one pharmacy patient, Elsa R., “I am really grateful because I depend on my medication and I would not know how to find the means to pay.”

Neighbors in need aren’t the only ones who see the benefits of the pharmacy. Vincentian volunteer Martha Korioth notes that, “Vincentians are called to BE the face of Jesus TO others — and, to SEE the face of Jesus IN others. As a volunteer at the SVdP Pharmacy, I see the face of Jesus in the face of each Pharmacy staff member, and I see Jesus’ smiling face on each friend, who comes to pick up their medications. Remarkable growth [of the program]… is leading to Systemic Change for the poorest of the poor in this community.”

To learn more about how you can help support the St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy in Texas, or to learn whether you qualify for services, visit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul North Texas website.

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Contemplation – May I Have A Word With You?
Contemplation – May I Have A Word With You? 940 788 SVDP USA

Blessed Frédéric, layman and primary founder of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, is considered the primary role model for members of the Society. In his words and in his deeds Frédéric leaves us with an example of charity and virtue. At the same time, his words can remind us of our own frailty and of the needs of the neighbors that we serve.

Writing from Lyon, where he was at the time starting out in the practice of law and living with his elderly mother, Frédéric shared with his friend Francois Lallier his experience of what has been called “one of the deepest forms of poverty”:

“At the moment,” he wrote, “I am suffering a malady which will appear strange in a town where I have so many relatives and friends; I mean isolation.” [Letter 173, 1838]

As a lawyer, he argued before the court, and spoke with colleagues and clients daily, but never shared personal conversations. He tended to his mother, who was ill, but could not unburden himself without upsetting her in her frail state.

And so, in the midst of a bustling city, the city in which he’d grown up, in a profession that required interaction and conversation, he nevertheless felt alone.

Don’t the poor whom we serve often live and work in some of the most crowded areas of our cities? Don’t they walk down streets filled with people? They walk right past us, in our coffee shops and restaurants, or we breeze past them, phones pressed to our ears, without so much as a glance, or a smile.

To whom can they speak? With whom can they share their thoughts, their needs, their hopes, their discouragements? Who will hear them? Who will listen?

Perhaps the increased isolation we all have experienced this past year will help us to better appreciate our Essential Element of friendship, meant to be shared not only with each other, but with our neighbors in need.

Perhaps, like Frédéric, we will “appreciate now by its privation the whole value of the spoken word, how much more it cultivates thought than the dead letter of the greatest writers.” [Letter 173, 1838]

In the poor we are called to see Christ, the Incarnate Word. With our words we share not just information, but what our Rule [2.5.1] calls us to share: ourselves.

Contemplate

How can I better offer words of comfort, healing, and friendship?

Recommended Reading

Spirituality of the Home Visit

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04-09-2021 News Roundup
04-09-2021 News Roundup 1200 1200 SVDP USA

Through the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Vincentians across the United States and around the world are finding spiritual growth by providing person-to-person service to those who are needy and suffering. Read some of their stories here:

INTERNATIONAL

NATIONAL

Help us share the good news of the good work being done in your local Conference or Council! Email us at info@svdpusa.org with the subject line Good News.

help the needy
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Will You Help the Friends of the Poor?
Will You Help the Friends of the Poor? 2560 1707 SVDP USA

At the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, many of our nearly 4,500 Conferences and Councils across the United States have felt the financial effects of COVID-19. Some are seeing up to a 300% increase in need for food alone! And with 10 million Americans currently behind in rent payments, we expect a similar increase in demand for rent assistance in coming months, regardless of eviction moratoriums and government help.

By making a gift to the Friends of the Poor Grant Fund, you will provide emergency funding for local St. Vincent de Paul Conferences and Councils, to help Vincentian volunteers meet the growing demand for food and other basic emergency needs.

Will you donate today to the Friends of the Poor program? Your financial support is crucial and will allow Vincentian volunteers to bring the hope of the Gospel, answering Christ’s call to his disciples in Mathew 25: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.”

Your Donation Makes a Difference 

Please donate today at www.svdpusa.org/friendsofthepoor. You will be helping those most impacted by COVID-19.
Thank you, and may Christ’s presence fill your hearts this most sacred time of year.
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