''Who will visit the poor?''

Dr Austin FAGAN writes about the origins of the St Vincent de Paul Society in England & Wales
“Who except the clergy visit the poor ? As far as we laity are concerned, the approved plan seems to be to manage all by a secretary, to avoid all dirty work whenever it can be avoided and to labour by a committee; or we try to do charity by nothing so vulgar as the sweat of the brow, in which all must labour, but by polite, genteel, not over-strained exertions of ladies and gentlemen in white kid gloves. We have already endeavoured to introduce to the favour of our readers a French society for lay persons. We refer to the St Vincent de Paul Society.”

Although Frederick Lucas simply used the word “poor’, a new expression had come into use during the 1830’s and -40’s. This was the word “pauper’, defined as “the poor who need to turn to others for help”.

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