In an extensive interview published by Folha de Ozanam and made available internationally through SSVP Global, Juan Manuel B. Gómez, International President General of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP), offers a wide-ranging reflection on the continuing relevance of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam. The conversation goes well beyond a remembrance of the Society’s founder: it presents Ozanam as a Christian whose spiritual insight, social commitment, and confidence in the mission of laypeople continue to challenge Vincentians facing the realities of the twenty-first century.

One of the central themes is the changing face of poverty. Gómez points to realities that cannot be reduced to material deprivation alone: inadequate wages, exclusion from the digital world, difficulty finding housing, unwanted loneliness, unequal access to education and opportunity, migration and displacement, environmental pressures, mental health difficulties, and disability. For him, the Vincentian response cannot stop at relieving immediate suffering. The SSVP’s closeness to people experiencing poverty also gives it a responsibility to recognize injustice and call attention to the structures that perpetuate it.

This leads directly to one of the strongest dimensions of Ozanam’s legacy: his conviction that charity and justice belong together. Gómez recalls an Ozanam who was much more than the pious young university student often remembered as the founder of the first Conference of Charity. He was also a journalist, professor, intellectual, and citizen deeply engaged with the social and political questions of his time, convinced that the Gospel could speak credibly about workers’ dignity, freedom, democracy, and social justice.

The experience of the early Conferences was crucial to the development of that vision. By entering people’s homes and encountering working families personally, young Vincentians saw realities that could easily remain abstract in political or academic debate. Their service became a practical school of social observation: poverty was not simply a private misfortune but could also be connected with unjust economic conditions, precarious work, inadequate wages, housing problems, and social exclusion. Gómez therefore presents Ozanam as a significant precursor of ideas that would later become central to the Church’s social teaching.

The interview also offers an important update on Ozanam’s canonization cause. Gómez recounts a recent visit to Rome, where he met Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. According to the International President General, the cause remains open, although progress is slow. Among the possibilities discussed were a request to reexamine a previously rejected miracle with appropriate medical specialists and the possible presentation of a second miracle. The International General Council continues to work on these possibilities and to encourage prayer for Ozanam’s canonization.

Another major theme is the meaning of the traditional Vincentian home visit. Gómez describes it not simply as a method of delivering assistance, but as an expression of solidarity, subsidiarity, friendship, and reciprocity. By knowing people personally, Vincentians can discover not only needs that statistics may overlook but also the abilities, resources, and aspirations of each person and family. The goal is not to create dependence, but to accompany people so that they can become protagonists of their own development.

Brazil receives particular attention in the conversation. Gómez highlights the enormous vitality of the SSVP there, especially its strong lay participation, decentralization, investment in younger generations, and commitment to forms of assistance that seek lasting change rather than temporary relief. For the wider international SSVP, he sees this combination of Vincentian spirituality, youthful involvement, professional competence, and concern for social transformation as an important example.

Ultimately, however, the interview returns to a broader question: the vocation of lay Catholics in the world. Ozanam did not separate spiritual life from professional, cultural, intellectual, social, or civic responsibility. Gómez sees that same calling at the heart of the SSVP today: laypeople are called to bring Gospel values into places and situations that clergy and religious cannot reach in the same way. Every home visit, gesture of service, conversation, friendship, and effort for justice can become part of that mission.

The full interview offers much more, including reflections on Pier Giorgio Frassati, the possibility of Ozanam someday being considered for the title of Doctor of the Church, the strength of the Brazilian Vincentian movement, and the continuing challenge of translating faith into transformative action. Readers are warmly encouraged to read the complete interview on SSVP Global: Read the full interview in English

Source: Raquel Barros, Folha de Ozanam, interview with Juan Manuel B. Gómez, published by SSVP Global, September 1, 2026.