Serving those in need: The Society of St. Vincent de Paul finds face of Christ in others through ministry

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John Cochran, Steve Corso, Dick Dohle and Jim Cunningham of the St. Vincent de Paul Society conference at St. Dominic Savio Parish in Affton loaded bread onto their school bus during a morning pickup at an aren agency store last week. The items, most of which are collected from local grocery stores and restaurants, are delivered to numerous food pantries in the St. Louis area. Pictured inside the bus is Steve Kornberger.

Right at the edge of the bustling traffic flowing up and down I-55 in South St. Louis is a convent — small in comparison to the massive highway, but mighty in the work that its residents are doing for the Lord.

The sisters at St. Agatha Parish convent have been doing this work for years, serving those who need it the most, through the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society conference.

This is just one example of the work of the 142 parish conferences located in the St. Louis area. Their efforts are at the heart of the Society’s mission, said Zip Rzeppa, executive director of the Society in St. Louis.

“We have 2,600 volunteers in the trenches doing 38,000 home visits a year,” he said. “It’s really very similar to how Jesus sent the disciples out two by two — they go two by two into the homes, and they see the face of Christ in the needy and the suffering. It’s about as hands-on as you can get with serving those in need.”