St. Vincent de Paul Society convenes in Spain to elect new president

Salamanca, Spain, May 30, 2010 / 16:29 pm

The Vatican announced on Friday that the international, charitable Society of St. Vincent de Paul will convene in Spain this week to elect a new president.

From May 28 through June 2 in Salamanca, Spain, the International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will gather for its extraordinary general assembly, with the aim of electing the group's 15th president.

The confederation is a member of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” and has been able to serve 37 million impoverished people through their efforts over the years. Spain's gathering will bring representatives from the 51,000 local chapters in 142 countries around the globe. These chapters have  700,000 members, who are supported by 1,500,000 volunteers.

A main effort of the group being disaster relief effort, St. Vincent de Paul maintained its assistance in Haiti through its Zafen network which helped provide credit for small businesses and craftsmen during the country's recent catastrophic earthquake.

Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes who heads “Cor Unum” will address the delegates, discuss the identity of Catholic aid organizations and preside over a special Mass on May 30. The cardinal will also bid farewell to current president, Jose Ramon Diaz Torremocha, who has spent many years leading the organization.