During the pandemic our St. Vincent de Paul Conference is not operating, please contact the House of Friendship at 519-742-8327.
For a Christmas Hamper Voucher please contact the Christmas Bureau at 519-742-5860.
Financial and Service Report 2016
Financial and Service Report 2015
The St. Francis Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an important and dynamic ministry in our Faith Community. These dedicated volunteers collect food and monetary donations, and put together emergency food hampers for our neighbours who are in need. Thank you to the parishioners of St. Francis who support this ministry through scheduled Food Drives and Parish Envelopes. For a schedule of the upcoming Food Drives, please see the Parish Calendar of Events. If you are interested in joining the Conference please contact the Parish Office at 519-745-7301, or stfranciskitchener@hamiltondiocese.com
At Christmas the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Francis Church assembles and distributes Christmas Hampers. Information about donation to the Christmas Hampers, or about signing up to receive one, is available in November and December. Every family deserves a good meal with their family for Christmas.
St. Vincent de Paul
Feast Day: September 27 Patron Saint of Charitable Societies
St. Vincent was born of poor parents in the village of Pouy in 
Gascony, France, about 1580. He enjoyed his first schooling under the Franciscan Fathers at Acqs. Such had been his progress in four years that a gentleman chose him as subpreceptor to his children, and he was thus enabled to continue his studies without being a burden to his parents. In 1596, he went to the University of Toulouse for theological studies, and there he was ordained priest in 1600.
In 1605, on a voyage by sea from Marseilles to Narbonne, he fell into the hands of African pirates and was carried as a slave to Tunis. His captivity lasted about two years, until Divine Providence enabled him to effect his escape. After a brief visit to Rome he returned to France, where he became preceptor in the family of Emmanuel de Gondy, Count of Goigny, and General of the galleys of France. In 1617, he began to preach missions, and in 1625, he laid the foundations of a congregation which afterward became the Congregation of the Mission or Lazarists, so named on account of the Priory of St. Lazarus, which the Fathers began to occupy in 1633.
It would be impossible to enumerate all the works of this servant of God. Charity was his predominant virtue. It extended to all classes of persons, from forsaken childhood to old age. The Sisters of Charity also owe the foundation of their congregation to St. Vincent. In the midst of the most distracting occupations his soul was always intimately united with God. Though honored by the great ones of the world, he remained deeply rooted in humility. The Apostle of Charity, the immortal Vincent de Paul, breathed his last in Paris at the age of eighty. His feast day is September 27th. He is the patron of charitable societies.
Visit the website of the Ontario Regional Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish 