St. Catherine Labouré Parish Thrives on Vincentian Tradition

St. Catherine Labouré Parish on Sappington Road in south St. Louis regularly draws 2,600 worshippers to five masses every weekend, many times with standing room only.

Nestled in a tidy suburb on the south side of St. Louis, St. Catherine Labouré Parish is an enduring example of how the Vincentian tradition of service to the poor can be integrated into suburban parish life.

The parish began in the early 1950s as a response to suburban growth and the baby boom after World War II. The Archdiocese needed help serving an expanding population, and the Vincentians responded to the challenge.

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FROM THE PROVINCIAL

The Invisible Poor

The season of Lent calls us to renewed prayer, self-denial, and acts of charity. For all of us who look to Saint Vincent de Paul for inspiration, “acts of charity” will always mean a more intense turning to and reaching out to the poor, those most in need, those abandoned by society.

In the last year-plus, the Vincentian Family in the United States has been examining how to make the poor more visible, giving them both a face so they can be seen and a voice so they can be heard. I recently encountered a segment of the poor in our country who for me had become invisible by my forgetting about them. In late January I joined a number of other religious leaders for a hands-on workshop in New Orleans with the purpose of raising consciousness about the “after-Katrina” plight of the poor in New Orleans.

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Reflections on a Call to Kenya

By Father Ron Ramson, CM

After the Midwest Province undertook the Kenya Mission, I had no desire to go to Africa. I was happy working for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at its national headquarters in St. Louis. I was doing good things that I thoroughly enjoyed.

But Father Gary Mueller, CM, coaxed me to come to Kenya with my friends, Joe and Nancy Mueller,
to give presentations to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in various areas of Kenya. I agreed. That was all God needed. I was in Kenya for only a few days when I knew that this was where I was supposed to be. A subsequent discernment process in St. Louis confirmed my “feelings.”

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Meet Our Own: Brother Tim Opferman, CM

Brother Tim Opferman, CM, didn’t set out to be unusual, but looking back now on his 30 years as a Vincentian, his path has been unique.

“I’m a ‘lifer.’ That is, I went to the seminary right after grade school and I have been with the Vincentians for 38 years,” he says. Although that might make it sound as though his path was planned, Bro. Tim says, “It wasn’t until my senior year at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Lemont, Illinois, that I thought the Vincentian life might be something I was called to do.”

He decided to explore the possibility, and attended the internal seminary in Santa Barbara, California, for formation. He grew more attracted to the Vincentian way of life, and distinctly recalls realizing as a novice that he was interested in becoming a brother. A brother is formed in the same Vincentian tradition as a priest and takes vows, but follows a different path of service.

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Honor a Loved One

The Vincentian Tribute Program is a way of expressing our gratitude to the many friends who share in our work and make it possible

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