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In the year of St Joseph, this year’s Feast Day Mass celebrating St Vincent de Paul was celebrated with St Joseph’s Centre for the Deaf at St Vincent de Paul Parish Church on Belfast’s Ligoniel Road. 
Attended by 30 parishioners, the mass was streamed live and was presided by The Most Reverend Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor and celebrated by Very Reverend Patrick Devlin, Chaplain to the Deaf in Down and Connor Diocese, with preaching from SVP Spiritual Director Fr Perry Gildea.
Fr Perry addressed those in attendance and those watching online at home and North
Regional President, Mary Waide, read from Numbers 11 and Psalm 18.
In Fr Perry’s sermon, he spoke of how God surprises us and how St Vincent de Paul was great at having a gift of being open to suggestions, ideas and guidance. He was also open to awareness, inspiration and encouragement and Fr Perry said that these are gifts the members of SVP should be open to.
Fr Perry said: “St Vincent de Paul is our guide, instructor, inspiration and the one who enlightens us. Every day brings a new problem, a new challenge or a new difficulty for the Society or for individual members of SVP and we should look to St Vincent himself for guidance. We have much to be grateful for on this Feast of St Vincent and much to be grateful for in the gospels and the scriptures which help us to penetrate the cloud that is often between us and what God really wants us to do.”
Mary Waide, Regional President, SVP North Region, said: “It was a privilege to welcome Bishop Treanor to preside again this year at our Feast Day Mass. I appreciate that the deaf in our community can feel isolated so it was a particular personal honour for me to witness the joining together of St Joseph’s Centre for the Deaf and SVP on his special day for Vincentians around the world.”
The mass ended with a video highlighting the work of St Joseph’s Centre for the Deaf over the past 40 years. It can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/cPgbvHZSmVk.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) is an international charity and the largest voluntary charity in Ireland. SVP members in Northern Ireland work in all communities to support people whatever their background, who are experiencing poverty and social exclusion, promoting self-sufficiency and working for social justice.
Every year SVP spends approximately £3 million to help those experiencing poverty in Northern Ireland. Last year, SVP responded to tens of thousands of calls for assistance from members of the public.
If you would like more information about becoming a member of SVP, becoming a volunteer in your local Vincent’s shop or if you would like the Society’s help, please visit www.svpni.co.uk, email info@svpni.co.uk or tel 028 9035 1561.
