Frederic Ozanam was born on April 23, 1813 in Milan.

In 1815 the Ozanam family moved to Lyon where the father had secured a position in the Hotel-Dieu hospital. As a twenty-year old university student, Ozanam was profoundly Christian and pursued his studies assiduously, attending all the lectures of the history conference where literature and philosophy were given equal appreciation.

In 1832, Frederic began his classical studies at the Sorbonne. He married and was soon established both as a family man and as a successful professor at the Sorbonne. In Paris he was haunted by the misery of the poor, and his dream was to see harmony among social classes. He campaigned for justice and charity. His faith enabled him to see Christ in the poor, and in the evening of his life, he repeated very clearly: "Our aim is to keep the faith and to spread it among others by means of charity."

In 1833, anxious to respond to the attacks formulated by his colleagues - followers of Saint-Simon - Ozanam and some of his friends founded the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Ozanam was encouraged by the revered Joseph Emmanuel Bailly de Surcy, founder and former director of the "Societe des Bonnes Etudes" (society for good studies). Ozanam made a pact with his friends to follow their lead, but "to help the poor materially, and after a certain time, perhaps to help them to return to the practice of religion."

The first meeting of the new Society was held April 23, 1833.

From the very first, the members decided on visiting the poor in their homes, but this could not have been done without close collaboration with the Daughters of Charity, particularly that of Sister Rosalie Rendu, who initiated them into the care of the poor by actual practice.

This woman wielded a deep influence on the nascent Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and no one was better fitted to help them in the apprenticeship of charity.

For two years Sister Rosalie directed the young Vincentians to the homes of needy people, showering them all the time with good advice and wise suggestions.

When it came to forming a second Conference (as the group called itself), it was very difficult for them to think about breaking the bonds of friendship that had grown among them; but the unassuming Sister of Charity was able to convince them that a second Conference must be formed. It became the starting point for the expansion of the Society.

Among Canadian saints, Marguerite d’Youville is the one whose life witness, works and spirituality most reflect the mission of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. She was a woman of action, the example of someone who drew from the very Heart of God and made it visible to all persons in need to whom she attended. The cry for help from the poor did not come to her only from without, instead it arose from within herself, a poor person among poor people. For her, the poorest of the poor was the person who had the greatest need of God in order to become a man or woman. Her dream was to liberate the poorest of the poor by teaching him or her, through action, that he or she is loved. By her actions of serving the needy and her compassion for the poor, Pope John XXIII described her as the “Mother of Universal Charity”.

Marguerite had a great trust in the goodness of God and His justice towards all. This enabled her to achieve charitable works of astonishing scope, even by today’s standards. By her many works, she laid the foundations for the social and community services that we are currently familiar with within our society. In 1737, with three companions, she founded the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns, when they took their initial vows. As the years passed, the Grey Nuns were responsible for running hospitals, schools, housing for the poor and orphanages throughout Canada, the United States, Africa and South America. They were also well known for their work with the Inuit.

She was born in Varennes, Quebec on October 15, 1701, and died on December 23, 1771. Marguerite left to her contemporaries and to future generations, a spiritual legacy marked by an unconditional compassion for the poor and an inextinguishable faith in God the Father and His Providence.