Chapter II: The establishment of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in England
When Ozanam returned from Lyons to Paris and commenced his lectures at the Sorbonne, he was gratified to see them attended by many young men of various nationalities. He gladly made the acquaintance of these, and persuaded some of them to join the Conference of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Etienne du Mont. Among these was a young Englishman named George Jonas Wigley, a student at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and another, an American. Ozanam took special interest in these, and thoroughly impressed them with his conviction that a new spirit of revolt against Religion and Law had arisen, and was destined to uproot the foundations upon which social order was based. Religion was the only barrier to some great social upheaval, which would surely come sooner or later. There were signs of its rapid approach in France, and he believed that all the chief industrial nations would be affected by it, especially England, America, and Belgium. He felt strongly that the spirit of class hatred, of the revolt of Labour against Capital, could only be combated by a revival of Religion, and by the personal visits to the poor at their own homes by educated Catholics, who would fraternize with the workmen and advise them. This, he said, was the principal object of the Conferences of “St. Vincent de Paul, and their work had already been very effective in Paris and Lyons. Hearing that Wigley was contributing some articles to the only Catholic newspaper in London, the Tablet, and that the Editor, Mr. Frederick Lucas, was a friend of his, Ozanam advised Wigley to write an account of the objects of the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul in France, and of the beneficial effects of their work among the poor. This Wigley did, and Mr. Lucas took up the cause warmly, and advocated the establishment of the Society in London. Ozanam was delighted with the news, and supplied Wigley with numbers of interesting statistics and instances of what had been done in France. Through Wigley he invited Lucas to act as Founder and first President of the Society in London. This honour, however, was declined by Lucas, but he succeeded in gaining the approval of the Vicar-General of the diocese, and of Bishop Griffiths. A number of influential Catholics were induced to form a committee for the purpose, among whom was Mr. Pagliano, the proprietor of the Sabloniere Hotel in Leicester Square. There the first Conference used to meet weekly, Mr. Pagliano acting as temporary President. Wigley translated the rules, etc., into English, and, at Ozanam’s request, returned to London and helped the new Conference to take the necessary steps for the organization of the Society and its affiliation to that of Paris. New ideas are slow to take root in England. English Catholics in the middle of last century were especially timid and apprehensive of the effects of introducing new works of charity by Catholics upon their Protestant fellow-countrymen. It was too soon after Catholic emancipation from the slavery of the Penal Laws to risk the revival of the “No Popery” cries in the streets. And therefore the progress of the infant Society was very slow. But Conferences were gradually started in many of the London missions, and were joined by many members, who recognized the practical value of the work.
In impressing upon Wigley the importance of introducing the Society into England, Ozanam used some strange arguments. He said that England had done a very great wrong to France in the eighteenth century, and owed her reparation for it. He said that the first French Revolution had been initiated and fomented by English Freemasons who had established the Order in Paris, and that the leaders of the Revolution in France were all members of the Order, the headquarters of which were in London, while its principles were opposed to Christianity and to the authority of the State. Also that the theories of the “Rights of Man,” which had been put forward by English philosophers, had sown the seeds of Socialism among the working classes in France, and had fomented the spirit of revolution and class hatred. He predicted that the inevitable result would be a war of Labour against Capital, the outcome of which would be a great commercial and social crisis, from which England and America would suffer more than France. It was fitting, therefore, he said, that Catholic France should repay the evil which England had done her by the good service which the Society of St. Vincent de Paul would render her by providing an antidote of charity and love of the poor against irreligion and anarchy.
A prominent quality in Ozanam’s character was his desire to see theories illustrated by facts. He felt that it was not enough to preach a doctrine; we must also practise it if we wish to get men to accept it. Thus we find him writing, in March, 1833, to his friend, Ernest Falconnet:
“You knew before I left Lyons what was the object of my ambition. You know that I hoped to form a reunion of friends working together at the building up of scientific knowledge under the standard of Catholic Faith. This idea remained for a long time latent, until a friend introduced me to a small literary society, the last remains of the old Committee of Research, but the unscientific methods of which left but little scope for philosophic and serious investigations. The average attendance at these meetings was fifteen, and it was scarcely dared to introduce the higher questions of the future or of the past for consideration.- Now the Society numbers sixty, and includes men of some note, students of art, philosophy, political economy, but mostly of historical subjects, and even two or three poets.”
Some of these young men were destined to make names for themselves in the world. Among those he mentions we find Montalembert, Lacordaire, Ampere, Alfred de Vigny, Sainte-Beuve, de M6rode, Lherminier, Victor Consid6rant, etc.
On January 29, 1844, several Catholics met at the Sabloniere Hotel—viz., Pagliano, Frederick Lucas (founder and editor of the Tablet), George J. Wigley, William Amherst, George Blount, Bosanquet, Robert Barnewall, Martial Thompson, Wright, Carew, James Floris, John Rogers Herbert (later a Royal Academician). It was resolved “that it was advisable that an institution should be formed on the basis of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, established in France, for London and its vicinity.”
On February 12 it was resolved to form the “Brotherhood of St. Vincent de Paul.” This title was altered to that of the “Society of St. Vincent de Paul,” on aggregation by the Council-General of the Society in Paris.
Brother Frederick Lucas, who, by articles in the Tablet, had done much to bring about this movement, was elected President, but he declined. Brother
Pagliano was then elected, and continued President till 1852.
During this period the “Clifton Tracts,” in refutation of violent anti-Catholic attacks in consequence of the establishment of the Hierachy in 1850, were published by the “Brotherhood of St. Vincent de Paul.” Brother J. Spencer Northcote (at that time a layman, and afterwards Provost of the Chapter of the Diocese of Birmingham) was editor.
On the resignation of the Presidency by Brother Pagliano in 1852, Brother George Blount, at the age of thirty-three, was elected on January 16, and continued President till his death, at eighty years of age, on January 18, 1899, a period of forty-seven years. He lived to see the Society raised from a few Conferences, on his accession to the Presidency, to 170 Conferences, with a total of 3,057 members, on December 31, 1898.
A subscription was set on foot to honour his memory by some Work of Patronage for Boys, which was his favourite work.
A freehold house and grounds were purchased, and the “George Blount Home for Working Boys” was opened at 31, Mitcham Lane, Streatham, London. Accommodation is there provided for twenty boys between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, who are either orphans or whose homes are objectionable, and who have daily employment. The work is carried on successfully by the Patronage Committee, with the support of the Conferences and members of the Society throughout England.
On Brother George Blount’s death, Brother the Marquess of Ripon was elected President, and on his death, July 9, 1909, was succeeded by Brother Sir John Knill, Bart.
Following Brother Ozanam’s maxim that “no good work is foreign to the Society,” the English Conferences started works of charity of many kinds in every parish in which they were established. In co-operation with the parish priest, who was generally chaplain to the Conference, they established ladies’ societies for the care of cases of women and children outside the scope of the Society. One of the first works to be established was that of the Catholic Shoeblack Brigade for the employment of poor boys, which was followed by the establishment of the Working Boys’ Home and the Patronage Committee. The next work founded by the Society was the St. Vincent’s Home for Destitute Boys at Hammersmith. This was a separate work, managed by a committee of members of the London Council, of which Brother George Blount was President. After being carried on for fifteen years, it was handed over to the care of Father Lord Archibald Douglas. It is now carried on by the “Crusade of Rescue for Destitute Catholic Children,” established by the late Cardinal Vaughan, and which supports nearly one thousand boys and girls. Numbers of these are sent every year to Canada, where their future is fully provided for.
In 1859, year of terrible war which robbed the Church of its patrimony and deprived the Holy Father of the necessary means for carrying on the rule of the Universal Church, Cardinal Wiseman appealed to the London Council to support a movement initiated by Brother Wigley for the revival of the ancient subsidy paid to the Holy See by our Saxon forefathers. This was called “Peter’s Pence.” His Eminence also asked that the Society should establish a cheap newspaper accessible to the poor, which should publish the truth concerning the war which was being waged by Victor Emmanuel, Cavour, and Garibaldi against the Church. In both cases the London Council found itself unable by the rules of the Society to undertake the responsibilities proposed, but collateral committees were formed by which they were carried out. A penny newspaper was established, named the Universe, and which worked in conjunction with M. Louis Veuillot, the proprietor of L’Univers of Paris. At the request of Cardinal Wiseman, the writer acted as first editor and Brother Wigley as foreign colleague.
In like manner the Peter’s Pence Association was formed of members of the Society, George Wigley being Hon. Secretary, Lords Feilding and Campden (afterwards Earls of Denbigh and Gainsborough) and myself as Hon. Treasurers.