By Michael Gresham
The Texas Catholic
Hundreds of Vincentians representing parishes throughout the Diocese of Dallas gathered Jan. 31 at the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas celebrated its 70th anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving, marking a milestone that leaders said honored both the organization’s history and its enduring mission to serve Christ in the poor.
“Vincentians seek the Lord by seeking out those in need,” said Archbishop Andrew Bellisario, CM, of the Archdiocese of Anchorage-Juneau, who served as the main celebrant and homilist for the Mass. “Vincentians don’t wait around for those who need to come to us. We seek them out where they are.”
The archbishop noted that the society’s mission centers on friendship, holiness, and building a more just world through personal service to those in need. Referencing the day’s Gospel, where Jesus leads his followers up the mountain and shares the Beatitudes, Archbishop Bellisario said the Beatitudes offer “an entirely different perspective on suffering and discipleship.”
“Happiness, joy, and fulfillment, Jesus teaches, will come to people with open hands, humble hearts, and receptive spirits,” the archbishop said, adding that Vincentians have an opportunity to “bring Christ’s love to the world through kindness.”
Luis Gonzalez, CEO of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas, said the society’s presence in Dallas dates back to January 1956, when the first conference formed at Holy Trinity Catholic Parish. The parish remains the only one in the diocese run by the Congregation of the Mission, the 400‑year‑old religious order founded by St. Vincent de Paul.
Gonzalez added that some historians trace the society’s local roots in the Diocese of Dallas even earlier, pointing to St. Alice in Fort Worth, which hosted a conference in 1945 when it was part of the Dallas diocese. The parish, today known as Holy Family, is now a part of the Fort Worth diocese.
SVdP’s growth has continued across the diocese in recent years with the newest conference, a Spanish-language group, established at St. Augustine Catholic Parish in southeast Dallas. Gonzalez said that Our Lady of Angels Catholic Parish in Allen was preparing to hold its first conference meeting and could become the diocese’s largest conference, with more than 80 people already signed up.
‘An enormous impact’
In a letter marking the 70th anniversary of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas, Bishop Edward J. Burns expressed his gratitude and praise for the organization’s decades of service.
“We are so grateful for the tremendous ministry and service the Society of St. Vincent de Paul North Texas has given to the north Texas community over the past 70 years,” he wrote, adding that the Vincentian call to holiness “has had an enormous impact on the vibrancy and faith of the whole Church in the Diocese of Dallas.”
With more than 800 Vincentians in 40 conferences, Bishop Burns wrote, members “are living witnesses to the Gospel message and to our diocesan renewal to be missionary disciples.”
The bishop said that the society exemplifies “the Church’s mission of mercy and proclaims the Gospel message through your service of hope and compassion in collaboration with your parish, other organizations, and one another.”
Bishop Burns also praised the society’s model of encountering Christ in the poor, calling the Vincentian charism a unique witness within the diocese. He concluded his letter with a prayer that “the fruitfulness of your apostolate, inspired by the Holy Spirit, flourish and blossom over the next 70 years and continue to be a foundational element of the Church in the Diocese of Dallas.”
Gratitude and service
Gonzalez said the 70th anniversary Mass served as both a moment of gratitude and renewed mission.
“It is an opportunity for us to give thanks for the blessing and privilege that it is to have served in the Diocese of Dallas for the past 70 years and to recommit to discovering Christ in the poor and marginalized, the forgotten and hopeless,” Gonzalez said. “It is a beautiful witness of our faith and community.”
Gonzalez praised the society’s home‑visit model, which he said remains its foundational ministry, offering personal encouragement and practical help to neighbors in need, often through rent, utility, or car‑repair assistance.
One of the society’s most significant works — a charitable pharmacy — grew directly from those home visits. Since opening in 2018, Gonzalez said the St. Vincent Pharmacy in Dallas has dispensed “over 470,000 prescriptions, worth $138 million, dispensed to 9,300 patients, free of charge.”
“The pharmacy is a perfect example of responding to the growing needs of our community,” Gonzalez said. “One in four neighbors in the diocese are uninsured, and our ability to provide free medications for chronic illnesses is a game changer.”
As the Diocese of Dallas’ population has grown, the society not only has increased its number of conferences but also has worked to invite more Catholics to deeper discipleship and encounters with Christ in those they served.
He said the SVdP already has several initiatives planned for 2026 and beyond, including relocating the pharmacy, opening a satellite office with Catholic Charities Dallas, and expanding its presence in Lancaster. The society also was identifying parishes where new conferences could assist pastors and parishioners.
“My hope and prayer is that the Society of St Vincent de Paul can be seen as the mission of mercy that it is, inviting the faithful to come and be the hands and feet of Christ in serving the poor and vulnerable, a beacon of hope that transforms those who become a part of it,” Gonzalez said. “Our Holy Father Pope Leo encourages us all to go out and be missionary disciples, and SVdP fosters that discipleship through our charism of service.
“There is nothing quite like encountering Christ in the very people we are helping,” he added. “It changes the heart and transforms the mind.”
Cutline for featured image: Parish conference members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas stand for a blessing during a Mass of Thanksgiving on Jan. 31 at the National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, marking the society’s 70 years of faith and service in the Diocese of Dallas. (MICHAEL GRESHAM/The Texas Catholic)
