St. Vincent de Paul

“You will find God in the poor.”

– St. Vincent de Paul

The St. Vincent de Paul Society was started at San Martin de Porres in 1981 and has been active and strong ever since. Mr. Conrado Montemayor and his wife took over this ministry in 1982 and have been leading it for the past 31 years. The goal and service of this ministry is to help those less fortunate in our community. For many years, Mr. Montemayor along with other volunteers would visit the sick at their homes and offer services such as prayer and would minister the Eucharist to those who were physically unable to attend church. Every Christmas, the St. Vincent de Paul Society sets up a tree in the foyer of our parish filled with ornaments labeled with the gender and age for a different child in need of a gift for that Christmas.

The community of San Martin has always been truly generous as this ministry collects hundreds of gifts each year for the children of the colonias. In the recent years, San Martin de Porres parishioners have helped in donating an average of about 800 gifts for the children.  What a wonderful example of the great stewards of our church. The needs of the less fortunate are not confined to only the holiday season but rather throughout the year. The St. Vincent de Paul Society also assists families within the parish boundaries with charitable contributions to help pay utilities. This help could not be made possible without, once again, the help from our faithful parishioners.

Through the generous donations collected at our Sunday Mass, St. Vincent de Paul is able to extend a caring hand and help these needy families. With the continued growth of our faithful community and the guidance of our Lord, we pray that our ministry continue to sustain such strength so that we may always be able to help others.

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

– 1 Peter 4:10