11-13-2025 A Letter from Our Servant Leaders

We Are a Youth Movement

On April 23, 1833, his 20th birthday, Blessed Frédéric Ozanam and his university friends started a powerful movement we now know and love as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Frédéric always recognized the important role the young play in revitalizing the Church and his Society: “…it is essential for the Society to recruit its members from among the young. The Society was born fourteen years ago: it must not grow old as its founders grow old and charity becomes a common practice. Young people are useful for their boldness, and even for their imprudent acts, for the new ideas they bring, for the initiatives we had not thought of.”

It was a youth movement then — and it remains one today. We are living in an exciting time for the Catholic Church! You may have read an article or seen a news piece in recent months, noting the increase in conversions to Catholicism among Gen Z.

When you read about these young converts, you start to see the same themes come up about what’s drawing them to the Church: an attraction to the physical beauty of Catholic churches and the Mass, an appreciation of the history and tradition of the Church, and a desire for discipline and structure.

Thank God for drawing these young people to Him! This is an invaluable opportunity for Vincentians to hear Jesus’s voice saying, “…Look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.”

We should be excited not just by the opportunity to gather these young souls for eternal life through Christ and His Church, but also to invite and involve these passionate young people in our Society!

Our Society can undoubtedly offer the beauty, tradition and structure that young people are hungering for. Think of the strong tradition we’ve inherited from Blessed Frédéric Ozanam—our Society, now more than 190 years old—and from the Church’s 2,000-year-old commitment to the poor. Think of the structure required by our Society for Vincentians to meet regularly and follow the discipline of our Rule. Think of the beauty of the smiles of our neighbors in need when we assist them with their material needs and bring hope into their lives.

A wise Vincentian once told me, “You’re either growing every day, or you’re dying.” So, I pray that I and every Vincentian would embrace this opportunity the Lord is providing us to grow – and to grow younger ourselves in embracing the young! Ultimately, I believe youth is not a number — it’s a state of mind. It lives between your right and left ear. It’s a spirit of openness, curiosity, and passion. If we accept the Lord’s invitation to involve the young, we will “stay fresh and green” (even if we have a gray hair or two – or more).

Recently, our National Vice President for Youth, Young Adults, and Emerging Leaders, Linda Roghair, shared a wonderful reflection about our youth conferences. She reminded us that every youth conference must be connected to a parish conference or a council. In discussing this, we reflected on how Frédéric’s first conference was a youth conference — a small group of young believers who decided to bring their faith to life through action. In that spirit, every one of our over 4,000 U.S. conferences is truly a youth conference.

As many of you know, I recently became a grandfather — and I’m loving every minute of it! Yet even as I hold that new life in my arms, I want to stay young and vibrant on my own spiritual journey. Jesus tells us how, reminding us that “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So, what would Blessed Frédéric do today?

He would listen to the needs of the poor, invite everyone (young and old) and go out — two by two — to meet Christ in the poor.

As we look toward the 180th anniversary of the Society in the United States on November 20, we give thanks for all who have carried this mission forward — young and old — with faith, courage, and joy.

And as we near Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks for the gift of youth — not measured in years, but in the daily renewal of our minds through God’s grace and our willingness to grow with Him. May we continue to see Christ in every person we serve and may the youthful spirit of Blessed Frédéric inspire us to transform the world with love.

Blessings,

Michael