Parish visitors are lay men and women who, with parish priests, form a pastoral team whose ministry is to reach out to members of our community who are unable to attend Mass or to be active in parish life. Visitors call upon anyone who requests their presence: in or out of the geographical boundaries of the parish, at home, in hospitals, or in nursing homes.

In a debate at the Sorbonne in 1833, 20-year-old college student Frederic Ozanam, defending the record of the Church's concern for the poor throughout the ages, was struck by his antagonist's argument: "You Catholics put all the burden of relief for the poor upon your religious and then wash your hands of the job. Don't try to impress us with what priests and sisters are doing for the poor. What are you doing?" These words haunted Ozanam and led to his response, "Let us go to the poor!" That challenge gave birth to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Today the Society is an international organization which functions in over 112 countries with over one million active lay volunteer persons organized into 50,000 groups (called conferences). These conferences attempt to bear witness to the Church and the mission received from Jesus by servicing the suffering, poor, and needy among us via a person-to-person ministry.

Our Vincentians visit the homes of families and individuals in need among us, usually in groups of two. We offer financial as well as spiritual and emotional support, depending on the need and what is being asked of us. Additionally, we sponsor special projects such as food, clothing, and blood drives, Thanksgiving basket distribution, and the Christmas Giving Tree Program (which generates as many as 500 gifts for needy families at Christmas). We also provide financial support to programs within our parish such as Earthen Vessels, the Advent/Lenten Luncheons, and the Parish Food Pantry.

Parishioners who are interested in actively reaching out to those in need in a more personal way, as well as in deepening their own personal understanding of the gospel mission, will find the Society of St. Vincent de Paul an important group to learn more about and perhaps join.

The Food Pantry operates in collaboration with Fair Food, a grassroots organization from Dorchester that provides fresh produce and bread to sites throughout the Greater Boston area through their "Dollar a Bag" program. The pantry is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 12 noon in St. Paul's lower church. The produce and bread provided by Fair Food are supplemented with nonperishable items provided through the generosity of our parishioners. Contributions are collected in the vestibule of the church prior to each of the weekend liturgies.

You can support this program

• as a regular contributor of nonperishable food items
• as a financial contributor
• as a volunteer
• by encouraging anyone who might benefit from this service to come to the Food Pantry on Saturday mornings

With a desire to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable among us, this committee was formed in 1991 and has focused on four areas: prayer, education, public policy, and outreach. Listed below are some of the projects in which the committee has been involved:

• Prayer: Evening prayer for members and friends and a day of reflection for social outreach groups.
• Education: A lecture series and ongoing discussion groups.
• Public Policy: Reviewing public and medium-income housing needs in the area with the hope of advocating fair housing for those who have lived, worked, and contributed to this community.
• Outreach: A weekly community luncheon is prepared and served during the seasons of Advent and Lent. The committee undertakes seasonal clothing and blanket distribution as well as visits to those in need who are in hospitals, half-way houses, detox centers, and shelters.

English classes for adults who are speakers of other languages are offered on Saturday mornings during the school year. Graduate students and undergraduates from the Student Center and members of the parish volunteer as teachers and tutors in the program.

The students in the classes, who are of many different nationalities, are referred by the Community Learning Center in Cambridge and members of the parish. They bring with them many varied levels of fluency in English. The program offers them extra practice through conversation and dialogs, selections for reading, and opportunities to learn more vocabulary and idioms in the language, along with instruction in grammar.

The time together for both the students in the program and the volunteers is an opportunity to interact with others from different cultures.