Blessed Frederic (1813 -1853) was born into a Catholic family at Milan, Italy. He received a good education. He studied law in Paris, took up journalism and contributed to a French Roman Catholic daily paper. He was awarded a Doctor of Law in 1836 and subsequently appointed Professor in Sorbonne.
It was during his studies, at the age of 20, that he founded, along with fellow students, the Society of St Vincent de Paul; the Society took the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Vincent de Paul as its Patrons. They received guidance from St Rosalie Rendu who, at that time, worked in the slums of Paris. Their initial work likewise focused on the Paris slums but, it rapidly spread to other parts of France and abroad.
The Society presently numbers about 700,000 members in some 148 countries worldwide. Pope John Paul II beatified Blessed Frederic in 1997.
Bl. Frédéric Ozanam:
Prat that our routine family work will involve helping the poor and marginalised.
Glory be to the…
