St Vincent de Paul

In Kilmarnock we have two Society of Saint Vincent de Paul conferences who provide assistance to those in need:

St Joseph’s Conference
Regular Assistance: Wednesday 10.30 – 11.30 am in St Joseph’s Church Hall
Assistance available: Foodbags, Warm Space, Tea & Coffee

To contact the conference outside of this time, please call the parish house.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Conference
Regular Assistance: Monday 7.30 – 8.15 pm in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Ring the bell by the small door at the front of the Church.
Assistance available: Foodbags

To contact the conference for assistance outside of this time, please email olmc_ssvp@icloud.com.

More information about the Society

Birth of the Society of St Vincent de Paul
In 1833 Frederic Ozanam and a group of friends from the Sorbonne University were challenged to prove their faith in Christ through action, not just words.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul was formed when they took up this challenge and began to work with the desperately poor in Paris. Developing a simple system, they went in teams to help the poor in their homes, in the streets, in the hospitals and the asylums. Adopting as their patron Saint Vincent de Paul, a 16th century cleric renowned for his work with the poor, the Society arose from humble beginnings to become an international organisation found in 150 countries with 45,000 conferences and 800,000 volunteers.

From a small Conference of Charity, the Society has today spread throughout the world, thus fulfilling the wish of its founder “I would like to embrace the world in a network of Charity”.

When he saw how his idea had begun to grow, with more people wishing to join in his work, he decided to rename it and call in after the French Saint who he found to be closest to understanding the conditions that the poor live in, this Saint was Saint Vincent de Paul, and that what we have been called to this day.

The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul are grateful for the generous support and donations of the Parishioners which allows us to give help and support to those in need.