Vincent gave his energies and life to the needs of the poor in 17th-century France. Together with St. Louise de Marillac, he organized hospitals for the sick poor, founded institutions for abandoned children, opened soup kitchens, created job training programs, taught young women to read, bettered prison conditions, and organized countless local charities in the villages throughout France.

Any institution calling itself "Vincentian" must extend Vincent's dream to its own time and place. All of us at St John's University are inheritors of this legacy and vision. We are Vincentians. The challenge before us, as with every generation, is to choose whether Vincent's vision will be a piece of history or a living, breathing mission alive in its members.

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The Vincentian Center for Church and Society
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