The living legacy of Ozanam in the voice of the International General President of the SSVP
“We, the laity, are the main protagonists in the task of bringing the Gospel to places where priests and religious do not reach.”
Brother Juan Manuel B. Gómez
Folha de Ozanam presents a historic and exclusive interview with Juan Manuel B. Gómez, International President General of the SSVP. In the conversation, the President offers previously unpublished details about the strategies and progress of the canonization process of Frédéric Ozanam at the Holy See, as well as analyzing the relevance of the Vincentian charism in the face of new forms of poverty in the 21st century and Ozanam’s pioneering role as a precursor of the Church’s Social Doctrine. With special attention to Brazil, the country with the largest Vincentian presence in the world, the dialogue highlights the strength of youth and the leadership of the laity, constituting a true call to continue transforming realities and illuminating the existential peripheries through traditional home visits.
By Raquel Barros
Folha de Ozanam: President Juan Manuel, in the face of current global challenges, how does the original Vincentian charism of 1833 continue to respond to them? What are the “new forms of poverty” of the 21st century and what fascinates you most, personally, about the human and spiritual figure of Federico Ozanam?
Brother Juan Manuel: The new forms of poverty in the 21st century do not refer only to material poverty, but also to new forms of social exclusion caused by constant changes in society.
Many forms of poverty persist, although they have now intensified. Among others, we can mention: insufficient wages, digital exclusion, difficulties accessing housing, unwanted loneliness, inequalities in education and opportunities, the negative impact of pollution and climate change, immigration and displacement caused by poverty and insecurity, mental health problems and disability, and we could continue listing them.
The SSVP knows these forms of poverty firsthand because it is not a missionary organization; it is born and develops in each country; we have the capacity to alleviate suffering; however, we have the commitment to alert public authorities about injustices.
Federico stated that “charity is the Samaritan who anoints the wounds of the attacked traveler. But it is justice that must prevent the attacks.” It is fascinating how prophetic denunciation takes root in the thought of Federico Ozanam, who never settled for mere charitable aid, demanding structural changes and attacking the roots of social injustice.
Folha de Ozanam: Often, the world knows Ozanam only as the young, pious scholar who founded the Conferences. However, for the vast majority, there is an “unknown Ozanam”: the combative journalist, the democratic politician, and the brilliant professor at the Sorbonne. Who is this Ozanam whom the world and the Church itself still need to fully discover?
Brother Juan Manuel: What an interesting question! Frederick wanted to intervene in public life because he firmly believed in the need to reconcile the Catholic Church with the ideals of the newly proclaimed Second French Republic and democratic principles. He wanted to offer a social and religious alternative that would evangelize the working classes. At a time when the word “democracy” sounded anticlerical, Frederick sought to demonstrate that the doctrine of the Gospel was compatible with social justice and freedom.
In 1848, he led a party with an inspiring name: the Confidence Party, a Christian democratic movement that never fully consolidated. It advocated for social justice to promote the dignity of the working and lower classes, and for Christian democracy, based on the idea that Gospel values should transform society from within. In addition to religious and political freedom, it defended the family and the democratic system.
In the elections held on April 23, 1848, he failed to win a seat. He received approximately 16,000 votes from the residents of Lyon, insufficient to secure representation. Following this experience, Ozanam distanced himself from partisan politics, always prioritizing his commitment to social justice and helping the needy over the structures of political parties.
The movement eventually dissolved due to the political polarization of the time and the shift in public opinion toward other forms of authority. He wrote numerous articles and letters denouncing injustices and offering solutions from a Christian Democratic perspective.
An interesting anecdote is that, when he was already a professor at the Sorbonne, some students, instead of leaving the original plaque in his office that said “Course of Foreign Literature”, hung one that said “Course of Theology”, mocking the fact that, according to them, he was going to “preach” and act as a defender of the Church instead of limiting himself to literature.
Folha de Ozanam: The SSVP and the entire Vincentian Family eagerly await the canonization of Ozanam. How has the International General Council collaborated with the Holy See to reach this moment, and what is the current sentiment among the Conferences worldwide?
Brother Juan Manuel: For the General Council, the canonization of Ozanam is a historic milestone, but the truth is that we always received very positive comments from the postulators or from people close to him, but we were never sure.
A few months ago, I traveled to Rome to visit His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, to receive a personal update on the progress of the process. The Cardinal was accompanied by Monsignor Giampaolo Rizzotti, head of the “Studium” secretariat, and, after recalling the great Christian virtues of our Blessed, he shared with me the canonical dossier of the cause, from which it is clear that the canonization process remains open but is progressing slowly. In discussing the different strategies to adopt, the Cardinal encouraged us to submit a request for review of the first miracle, which had been rejected some time ago, provided that the doctors involved in the re-evaluation of the case were recognized specialists in this type of matter.
Furthermore, he suggested that we could present a second miracle at the same time.
We are working on this with the utmost interest.
At the end of the interview, we presented the SSVP Calendar of Saints, featuring the profiles of 103 canonized members from Conferences around the world. This calendar, by the way, is available on our website in Portuguese and Italian, written by our Brazilian brother Gesiel Júnior, to whom I express my gratitude for his dedication. The General Council continues to request prayers for the canonization of Ozanam.
Folha de Ozanam: What is your opinion of the strength and devotion of the Brazilian Vincentian laity? How is the Brazilian SSVP perceived from the outside?
Brother Juan Manuel: We know that Brazil has the largest Vincentian presence in the world, with thousands of active Conferences. I believe that the greatest strength of its lay people lies in decentralization and youth. Through the Youth and Children’s Commissions, the Brazilian SSVP has been promoting generational renewal, integrating students and lay professionals who contribute modern skills in administration, law, and social work.
In Brazil, the Vincentians manage complex structures, such as small hospitals, community dining halls and nursing homes, with a unique initiative called “solidarity bath,” which demonstrates a very high level of organizational capacity for the rest of the Confederation.
SSVP headquarters in Paris
For Brazil, Vincentian spirituality and charism live in the heart of each of its brothers and sisters, and this is its greatest distinguishing feature compared to other countries in the Confederation. It is moving to witness, on the occasions when my brothers and sisters from Brazil have invited me, how the SSVP is an integral part of the daily lives of each of its members.
I am extremely pleased, and it serves as an example for all of us, to see the emphasis placed on changing structures, promoting social justice, and providing families with educational, employment, and financial tools so that they can escape poverty permanently and autonomously.
Folha de Ozanam: Recently, the Church celebrated with great joy the canonization of Pier Giorgio Frassati, another young layman passionate about the Vincentian Conferences. Given that Ozanam’s process is historically older, how does the General Council analyze the fact that Frassati was declared a saint before the founder of the SSVP, and in what way does this new Vincentian sainthood encourage young people to demand Ozanam’s canonization even more strongly?
Brother Juan Manuel: In fact, the canonization process of Pier Giorgio Frassati is more recent than that of Federico, although the same is not true of his beatification, which took place in Rome on May 20, 1990, while that of Federico occurred seven years later, in Paris, on August 22, 1997.
I recall that Pope Leo XIV proclaimed his first saints on September 7, 2025: he canonized the first two young people of his pontificate, known for their profound devotion: Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati and Saint Carlo Acutis. Since 2017, Pier Giorgio Frassati has been the patron saint of Vincentian youth, whose feast day we celebrate on July 4, and thus he continues to be an example for young Vincentians. He was a young man of great spirituality and prayer life; his membership in the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul was very special from the day he joined the Conference of Blessed Cottolengo in Turin at the age of 17 in 1918, until his death at the age of 24. A great role model for Vincentian youth. I recommend reading some of his biographies or the articles and summaries available on the international website in all languages.
A great initiative was undertaken by young Brazilian Vincentians during the III Vincentian Meeting in Rome, in June of last year, when they wrote a letter to the Holy Father in favor of the canonization of Ozanam as an expression of love and a concrete model of holiness for the present times.
Folha de Ozanam: There is a strong movement and a long-standing petition for Ozanam to be declared a Doctor of the Church in the future. How do his academic intelligence and holiness combine to justify such an unusual title?
Brother Juan Manuel: In fact, during the previous presidency of our brother Renato Lima, the possibility was proposed that specialists evaluate the feasibility of obtaining this doctorate.
However, to achieve this, one must first reach a state of holiness.
The title of Doctor of the Church is bestowed by the Catholic Church upon saints who have made exceptional contributions to theology and doctrine through their writings. For this nomination, the Pope evaluates their holiness, orthodoxy, and eminent teaching. Currently, there are 38 recognized Doctors of the Church.
It is true that Ozanam did not write specifically about theology, although in many of his writings one can perceive his doctrinal basis in accordance with the Magisterium of the Church.
Folha de Ozanam: Many historians point out that, decades before Pope Leo XIII published the encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891), Ozanam was already denouncing the exploitation of workers, speaking of fair wages, and of the dignity of the worker. In your opinion, how did the Vincentian Conferences serve as a practical laboratory for what would eventually become the Church’s first major social encyclical?
Church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, where Ozanam and Amélie prayed
Brother Juan Manuel: The social thought of Federico Ozanam is closely linked to the essence of Rerum Novarum, proclaimed almost 40 years after his death.
The Conferences were founded and constituted a kind of “social laboratory”, since they put young lay people in direct contact with the negative consequences of the impact of industrialization: urban poverty, insufficient wages, unemployment, precarious housing and social exclusion, class differences and little respect for the essence of the family.
While many debates about the “labor question” remained theoretical, the Vincentians of the time were already visiting homes, talking with workers, and observing firsthand the living conditions of working-class families. Ozanam called it “the social question”: the conflict arising from the Industrial Revolution that pitted the “power of wealth” against the “power of poverty.”
“We must stand between these two sides, if not to prevent a confrontation, at least to mitigate it.”
Based on these experiences, Ozanam reached conclusions that anticipated several central themes of Rerum Novarum: in many respects, poverty can arise from unjust economic structures; work possesses inherent dignity because the human person has inviolable dignity; dignity is inherent in every person and is never lost or destroyed. Wages must allow for some flexibility; they cannot be merely for survival; working hours must be sacred and respected; the legitimacy of private property; and the protection of the most vulnerable by public authorities.
Which should promote social justice, not perpetual prosperity; the principle of subsidiarity, which establishes that problems should be resolved by the authority closest to the citizens, and the State or higher body should only intervene in a complementary manner. The creation of intermediary societies for their defense, for example, unions and guilds, as a method of defense against the excesses of public powers in relation to the weakest or most defenseless, etc.
One particularly innovative aspect was that Ozanam did not consider charity and justice as opposing realities; to combat poverty, it is necessary to understand its causes. Saint John Paul II proclaimed Ozanam in Paris, during the homily at his beatification in 1997, as a “Precursor of the Social Doctrine of the Church.”
Folha de Ozanam: Ozanam rejected both individualistic materialism (the prevailing capitalism of the time) and purely revolutionary solutions that denied human freedom. How did his thought manage to balance social justice and Christian charity in a way that was so innovative for the 19th century?
Brother Juan Manuel: Ozanam rejected the unbridled capitalism of the time, as well as cold and humiliating charity, transforming aid into a relationship of equality through home visits organized by the Conferences, where the ultimate goal was and still is the promotion and complete emancipation of the person being assisted.
Ozanam’s crypt beneath the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
On the other hand, in the face of revolutionary movements that repressed freedom and private property, he proposed a third way based on social Catholicism and democracy, advocating for the creation of labor laws and peaceful institutional reforms. With this approach, Ozanam demonstrated that true Christian charity is not a palliative measure to maintain the established order, but a transformative force and a precursor to modern social rights.
Regarding almsgiving, he writes an interesting article in which he states that it is humiliating when only material needs are met, “which provokes pity and is even remedied in the case of animals.” Federico says it is humiliating because there can be no reciprocity; these are favors that the recipient has no possibility of returning.
However, he states: “Help is honorable when it is offered at the highest level, when it seeks to liberate the person being helped, when it attends to: their soul, their religion, their comfort, their handshake, their conversation, their education, when they are visited, when one suffers with them.”
I conclude with a phrase that has always made me reflect: “Because that needy family you love also loves you, and they will have helped you generously; you will have received much more than you give, only when they, the grandfather, the mother, or the children, have prayed for you.”
Frederick used to say that whenever a visit was made, it was necessary to ask for prayers.
There is reciprocity, because, as Ozanam states, “with their prayers they give us back much more than we give them.”
Folha de Ozanam: The Social Doctrine of the Church teaches us the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity. How do Ozanam’s thought and the SSVP’s own structure— based on networks of affection and home visits— translate these theoretical concepts into a genuine welcome for the marginalized?
Brother Juan Manuel: The Social Doctrine of the Church presents solidarity and subsidiarity as two complementary principles. Solidarity invites us to recognize others as brothers and sisters and to actively commit ourselves to their well-being; subsidiarity maintains that the individuals, families, and communities closest to a problem should be the protagonists of their own solution, receiving support when necessary, but without being unnecessarily replaced.
This last principle is very important, and although it didn’t yet have that name, Ozanam always made it clear in his writings and letters: first the family, then the State. The term “subsidiarity” wasn’t used in Rerum Novarum either, although it was alluded to. Later, it became an integral part of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Ozanam’s vision of solidarity is not what we generally understand; he transforms it into something deeper than simple generosity: for him, it is about sharing life, time, and friendship.
The very structure of our Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is based on the principle of subsidiarity. Local Conferences work in direct contact with families and individuals in need within their own communities. Decisions about how to help arise from a deep understanding of each situation, not from a distant bureaucracy. In this way, those closest to the concrete reality can respond with greater sensitivity and effectiveness. The Higher Councils coordinate, train, and provide support, but they do not replace the initiative of local communities.
Home visits are perhaps the most visible expression of this synthesis, as they allow for the discovery of needs not reflected in statistics and, at the same time, the identification of the individual’s or family’s own abilities, talents, and resources. In this way, the support aims to empower those who receive it to become protagonists of their own development, rather than fostering dependency.
The friendship you mention, which characterizes us, reflects Ozanam’s intuition that poverty is not only the lack of material goods, but also loneliness, exclusion, and the loss of connections. The solidarity we call fraternity then becomes a “real embrace,” since it responds to both material and relational needs. Continuous accompaniment conveys to the marginalized person that they are valued and that they belong to a community: ours.
Folha de Ozanam: Pope Francis calls us to be a “Church on the move” and to go to the existential peripheries. Do you think Ozanam’s canonization will be a reminder from the Vatican to the world about the leading role of the laity in social transformation, and what final message does it leave for the brothers and sisters who consecrate their lives in the Conferences?
Brother Juan Manuel: Undoubtedly, I believe so. We hope that the future canonization of Frédéric Ozanam will take place soon, but we must be realistic and understand that the process for lay people follows different paths and has distinct characteristics compared to the processes for consecrated persons.
We, the laity, are the main protagonists in the task of bringing the Gospel to places where priests and religious do not reach. Our mission is carried out in the professional, social, economic, cultural, and political spheres. As Pope Francis reminded us, we, the laity, are at the “heart of the world,” called to permeate our families, workplaces, and communities with Gospel values.
When Pope Francis invited us to be a “Church on the move” and to reach out to the existential peripheries, we found in Ozanam an extraordinary precursor of this vision. He did not limit himself to analyzing the problems of his time; he went out to meet those who suffered, promoted organized charity, and understood that faith must be translated into concrete works of justice, fraternity, and service.
Therefore, as I have already said, I believe that his canonization would also serve as a reminder of the crucial role of the laity in Gospel-inspired social transformation. Ozanam teaches us that it is possible to reconcile a profound spiritual life with an active and transformative presence in the world. In his words, we must “show young people that it is possible to be Catholic and have common sense, that it is possible to love both religion and freedom.”
To the members who dedicate their lives and time to the Conferences of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, I wish to express my gratitude and my closeness. You are the face of a Church that accompanies, listens, and serves; you are witnesses to our Vincentian charism. Let us remember together that every visit, every gesture of help, every word of comfort, and every act of friendship toward other members of the Conferences and toward those in need has immense value in God’s eyes.
Let us continue walking together as one Conference, extending our presence throughout the world, with the hope, faithfulness, and joy that inspired our founders. The healthy growth of the Conferences depends on these values.
Federico’s example reminds us that charity not only changes the lives of those who receive help, but also transforms the hearts of those we serve. May Ozanam’s witness continue to be a light for the Church and a sign of hope for transforming the world.
Image credits: The images used in this interview were kindly provided by our brother. Juan Manuel B. Gómez for this publication.