A BRIEF HISTORY OF SSVP IN MALAYSIA

The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP) was founded in Sorbonne University, Paris, in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam, a 20 years old student. Frederic while speaking in defence of the Church in a fiery debate at the University, was challenged to prove the practical value of his Christian beliefs. Responding to the challenge, he formed a small group, which set about helping the poor and the oppressed. The group name the society they had started after the patron saint of Christian charity, St Vincent de Paul, who lived from 1581 to 1660, and whose life was devoted to helping the under-privileged.

One hundred years later, in 1933, the Parish Priest of the Assumption Church in Farquhar Street, Penang, Rev. Fr. Souhait, saw the need for ‘Catholic Action’ within his parish to alleviate the poverty of some of his parishioners. He got together with some of the leaders in the church, and together they established the Conference of the Assumption of SSVP. The ‘Letter of Aggregation’ of the Conference of the Assumption, the first to be established in Malaysia, arrived from Paris, dated 27th June 1934.

From the time it was established, the Conference actively saw to the needs of the poor in the parish. The work of the Conference, however, had to stop with the outbreak of the Second World War and Japan’s occupation of the country. In 1945, with the ending of the Pacific War and the return of normalization of the country, the Conference of the Assumption was reactivated on the 1st of September 1945.

In early 1955, two ardent and experienced Vincentians from Holland, Bro. De Grys and Br. Bergers, joined the Conference and were surprised to learn that it was the only one in Penang. They suggested that other parishes in Penang set up their own conferences and that some sort of coordination among the conferences be established so that there would be rapport and liaison between the different parishes in this particular kind of work. A ‘Particular Council’ of Georgetown was established on 27th April 1955, and during the weeks that followed, three new conferences were formed, namely: Conference of Our Lady of Sorrows in Macalister Road, Conference of St Francis Xavier in Penang Road and Conference of the Immaculate Conception in Pulau Tikus. Bro. Dr Grys of the Conference of the Assumption was the first president of the Particular Council of Georgetown.

In the 1950’s, several conferences were started in Kuala Lumpur and a Particular Council for Kuala Lumpur was also formed. In 1956, the Society spread to Malacca, and by the early 1960’s, there were also conferences in Johor Bahru, Seremban and Ipoh. By 1963, there were 24 conferences in the country. However, there was no coordinating council or body for the country and the Society in Penang, Selangor and the other states operated independently and in isolation from one another.

To group together all the existing Conferences and Councils in the country into a national body, a National Society of St Vincent de Paul was formed in 1963. With the setting up of this union, the Particular Council of Georgetown dissolved itself on 31st December 1963, and in accordance with the new Constitution of the National Society, it resolved to become the ‘Central Council of Penang’, a component part of the National Society, with effect from 1st January 1964. Fundamentally, its role remained unchanged except htat in their new structure, it became directly attached to the Superior Council in Malaysia instead of the Council General in Paris.

During the mid 1960’s, conferences outside Georgetown were established under the Central Council of Penang. The new conferences were: Conference of the Holy Name of Jesus in Balik Pulau, Conference of St Anne in Bukit Mertajam, Conference of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin of Mary in Butterworth, Conference of St Michael in Alor Setar (Kedah) and Conference of Christ the King in Sungai Petani (Kedha). The conferences in Kedah withdrew subsequently to establish their own Central Council.

In 1968, the Central Council of Penang felt the need for an intermediate Council which would be Diocesan in scope. After a number of meetings over several years between  the Central Councils of Penang, Kedah and Perak, the Diocesan Council of Penang was eventually formed to become the intermediary link between the Superior Council and the Central Councils in the Diocese of Penang. With a further adjustment included as an amendment to the Society’s Constitution, the designation of the Central Council of Penang was changed, this time to ‘State Council of Penang’.

As the city of Penang grew and developed, new churches were built and new parishes were established. It did not take long for new conferences to be set up in each parish. The new conferences were Conference of St John Britto in Sungai Pinang, Conference of the Holy Spirit in Green Lane, Conference of the Risen Christ in Air Itam.

SSVP Malaysia to day consists of National Council which is based in Kuala Lumpur, an Archdiocesan Council, a Diocesan Council, 9 State Councils and 60 Conferences. It has about 700 members who continue to do the work, started 176 years ago, by Blessed Frederic Ozanam.