News Archives

On 27 September we celebrated the feast of St Vincent de Paul, the French, 17th century priest whose work among the poor and marginalized inspired our movement.

New Vincentian, Emma Henry, is the great, great granddaughter of Count Alexander Wilmot, who established the first SSVP conference in Cape Town on 17 November 1856.

Visiting families in their homes is at the core of the Society of St Paul’s work amongst the poor. This helps us verify and identify needs first hand.

Every week we deliver fresh veggies and non perishable foods to SSVP in Yeoville to assist with their Soup Kitchen

A testimony by Michelle Masimba (a young SSVP volunteer at St Charles)

2022 is the International Year of Le Taillandier, one of the seven founders of SSVP, who was born on 28 January 1811.

On Sunday 14 November, to commemorate the 5th Annual World Day of the Poor, SSVP challenged members across South Africa to collect 30 000 loaves of bread for distribution to the poor and hungry.

Our Table View Conference in the Western Cape reports a busy year of activities aimed at alleviating the plight of the poor and hungry.

The Ballito Conference has been really busy throughout the past year, packing food parcels, distributing blankets and serving meals.

700 children are signed up and are borrowing books from the Hotspot Library which is named after the area in which they live. In the winter months, soup is served to the children. We assist with financial support, books and soup ingredients.

Alleviating hunger remains our top priority. Apart from packing and distributing food parcels the Conference also supports 30 Soup Kitchens in the area which feed between 100-150 people per day.

In celebration of the month of the Feasts of Saint Vincent de Paul and Blessed Frederic Ozanam, the youth portfolio hosted a professional branding and CV development workshop focusing on the effective use of LinkedIn.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul is active in many parishes around the world. But who was the saint after whom the society is named? Günther Simmermacher tells the story.

September not only heralds Spring, but is a significant month in the Vincentian calendar, with two special festivals to commemorate. 

To all the women in our Society of St Vincent de Paul, I send warm Vincentian greetings. Today, 14 August 2021, we celebrate the second International SSVP Women’s Day, set up in 2020, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Amélie Ozanam.  It is an occasion to pay...

After ongoing lockdowns forced us to abandon our soup kitchen, SSVP members in Nigel decided to distribute sandwiches instead. Every Tuesday for the past 12 months, they have prepared 90 sandwiches with butter, cheese and polony and served parking attendants and...

The recent events in our country have caused much devastation and anxiety and on top of the impacts of Covid-19 have decimated what little some families had. It is events such as these that separate us as God’s children and yet He sent His Son into the world to save...

At around 5pm on 7 June, Belinda Nhlapo was outside cleaning her yard when she noticed smoke coming from her house. Within minutes, flames engulfed her home and it was completely destroyed, along with all her furniture, clothes and food. The authorities and the...

No matter how bad things get, there are those determined and resilient individuals who continue to strive to make a life for themselves and their families. Angela is one such individuals. After lockdown restrictions eased, she was determined to get back on her feet....

One of the recipients of a R500 Christmas shopping voucher, organised by our Howick Conference late last year, literally could not believe her eyes.

Just a quick reminder that the SSVP Council General’s news website is full of useful information.

Anyone who's spent time in Bloemfontein knows that winters can be extreme ... with bitter winds sending night time temperatures below zero. With winter well on the way, St Rose Conference has been running regular soup kitchens for the needy, as well as a blanket drive...

March 2020 ... national lockdown ... our churches were forced to close and our voluntary work and fundraising came to an abrupt halt. But, just as Jesus was able to feed multitudes of people with five loaves and two fish, by the grace of God and the support of our...

At St Martin de Porres in Worcester, members of St Vincent de Paul recently got stuck into preparing hundreds of tasty meals for homeless people in the community. Chopping vegetables, cooking up huge pots of stew, and then dishing up portions into styrofoam cups – it...

This item was written in faith and hope by Brenda Roberts – the Founder and Leader of The Woza Sidle project in Diepsloot Township north of Johannesburg, which falls under the Society Saint Vincent de Paul, Bryanston Conference. What a fantastic Saturday we had on 18...