Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: December 13, 2015
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
This weekend finds us marking a very special celebration. 150 years ago that the pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Father Cyril Delacroix, founded the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul. At our noon Mass many special prayers of thanksgiving will be prayed, for through the Vincentians’ generous service – aided by your generosity now, for a century-and-a-half! – countless numbers of needy persons have been assisted.
I was surprised to learn (from the marvelous little book, A History of the Catholic Church in Baton Rouge, which Father Frank Uter completed in 1992), that Father Delacroix actually founded the St. Vincent de Paul Society twice! It happened first in 1847, before the Civil War, while he was pastor of St. Patrick Parish in New Orleans. He met Mr. William Blair Lancaster, a recent convert to Catholicism who had just returned to Louisiana from France. Mr. Lancaster’s godfather was Mr. Jean Frederick Ozanam, who himself had founded in 1833 the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris!
When Mr. Lancaster shared with Father Delacroix the manual of the Society, and described in glowing terms how much good it was accomplishing in Paris, Father Delacroix was impressed. Knowing of the great needs in the area, the priest asked him to found a branch of the Society in New Orleans. Thus the first local Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Louisiana was born, out of the collaborative interest and good will of these two men, who became fast friends in this ministry. (Mr. Lancaster continued to work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society there, and served as editor of The Morning Star, which was then the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ official newspaper, until his death in 1897.)
When Father Delacroix was transferred up the River, becoming the 19th pastor of St. Joseph Church in Baton Rouge on December 27, 1865, he immediately resolved to found a local Conference of the Society here as well. This is why the sesquicentennial of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is dated from the beginning of his pastorate.
The St. Joseph Conference began immediately to organize and direct charitable work for the poor, and especially for orphans and homeless persons. In those years immediately following the Civil War, Baton Rouge like the rest of the South was particularly hard hit economically. Many, including disabled veterans, could not find work and were particularly susceptible to disease. Vincentians reached out to do their best: then as now, no one in need was turned away or left alone in despair. More and more parishioners – and over time indeed other citizens of Baton Rouge – became involved in their efforts. Finally, seeing its good work, on November 21, 1867, the Society’s General Council in Paris accepted and associated our local Conference with their growing international organization.
Of course, none of us have personal memories that go back 150 years! Still, if you wish to know of the charitable efforts of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the past, just notice what they do nowadays! They still house the homeless, and on the coldest days of winter still never turn anyone away. Their dining room serves hundreds daily. Their thrift stores make “gently used” clothing, housewares, appliances and other necessities available to those on limited budgets. Their free pharmacy provides medications to those who can’t otherwise keep themselves healthy. They provide free uniforms for public school students. And when disasters happen – from natural events like hurricanes to more common ones like house fires – those who find themselves without other resources can always turn to the Society for assistance.
Please join me in praising the St. Vincent de Paul Society and in celebrating them! Of course, you are also invited to join me in supporting their good work by your donations and volunteer assistance as well. In this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy that Pope Francis has called there is perhaps no better way to live out one’s faith than by practicing the corporal Works of Mercy in league with them!
My last word concerns that Jubilee: with the opening of the special Holy Door in the Cathedral this past week, the Year of Mercy is underway. A special brochure available in the church offers information on obtaining the special Holy Year Indulgence available to those who visit our venerable sacred space. Please make it a point to visit many times during the year and so obtain these blessings for yourself and your loved ones, and even for those who have gone before us in faith.
Yours in Christ,
