Non-European to lead Vincent de Paul Society

(May 29, 2010) For the first time in the history of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a president will be chosen from outside Europe. The society began its Extraordinary General Assembly on Friday in Salamanca, Spain, with the plan to elect its 15th international president general. Two of the candidates are from Brazil, one from Egypt and another from Singapore. Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council Cor Unum, is attending this assembly, which runs through Tuesday. He will address the members on the subject of charity and will preside over a Mass on Sunday. The society, a lay organization that does charitable work, is present in 146 countries and has some 800,000 members worldwide, with an additional 1.5 million volunteers cooperating in its projects. Created in 1833 in Paris, the society began with a group of students, among them Frederick Ozanam, who was beatified in 1997, putting in motion their idea to unite "all young people of heart and spirit for some charitable work." Several million poor people receive aid and support from the society through material assistance or a friendly presence, but also through orphanages, homes for the elderly, micro-credit programs, scholarships, professional formation, medical help and hospitals, hospitality centres, and disaster relief and rehabilitation.