Pope Francis has quickly endeared himself to Catholics and non-Catholics around the world. How many times since his election have we heard friends — in person or through social media — express their love and admiration for our new pope and how he is teaching, through both plain-spoken word and humble example, about Christ’s love for all, and especially those in need.

If Pope Francis has energized your faith, there is no shortage of ways to emulate his example. Start by drawing nearer to Christ through increased prayer. We can show our own own humility and openness to God’s grace by frequenting the sacrament of reconciliation.

Then it’s time to act. Perhaps we can volunteer with and support those who are already being Christ for the poor, the homebound, the disabled, the marginalized, the suffering. We think of Catholic Charities, the Christ Child Society, your parish or community food pantry, Just Faith, the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Worker houses, prison ministry, etc.

There are so many places to plug in. And in this space, we want to issue a special invitation to explore one option: the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

This is a milestone year and month for the Society, which quietly serves people in need. Last year alone, the 17 St. Vincent de Paul conferences in our diocese served nearly 95,000 people through their food pantries and assisted 15,000 others with energy assistance including rent and utility payments.

April 23 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Society’s prime founder, Blessed Frederic Ozanam. Descriptions of Blessed Frederic sound very much like Pope Francis: “Frederic and his companions knew that they must concretize their faith in action,” says one biography, “that they must evangelize like the apostles: not only by words, but by the constant practice of charity.” Frederic rallied them with this exhortation: “The blessing of the poor is that of God . . . let us go to the poor.”

And going to the poor is exactly what the 600 active, associate, and contributing Vincentian members in our diocese do on a regular basis. And they grow in their own holiness as they serve.

Pat Pratt, a conference member from St. Jude and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Peoria, recently shared a thank-you note she received from a single mother with three children who had recently lost a job she’d held for 14 years. The Society assisted her on a home visit. In part, the note reads:
“Your church and members pulled us thru a very rough time in our lives. I didn’t have a clue how I was going to feed my children or keep our utilities on. God sent an angel my way. She prayed with me and for me. She gave me valuable information that really helped me.” The woman has since found another job and is self-sufficient.

A similar thank-you note came to Ellen Abell, a Vincentian from St. Patrick’s conference in Urbana. It was written by a man who had lost his job two months after his wife lost hers. They lost their home to foreclosure, and had come to rely on the food pantry, where despite the hard times, the volunteers made him feel “like he was the apple of God’s eye.”

To learn more about the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, its locations in the diocese, and perhaps starting a conference in your own parish or region, contact Tom Pelger, president of the Peoria Diocese Council, at (309) 339-9022 or by email at tppelger@comcast.net. Taking this action, or a host of others in service to the poor, would be a wonderful gift to our new pope, to Christ, and to ourselves. — Thomas J. Dermody