OUR FOUNDER “Embrace the world in a network of charity.” Blessed Frédéric Ozanam Frédric Ozanam, who conceived this Society, was a brilliant young Frenchman, lawyer, author and professor in the Sorbonne. 1n 1833, Ozanam led a group of university students in founding a society whose object was to minister to the needs of the Parisian poor. ​ The Society's establishment was due in part to the desire of the founders to furnish a practical refutation to reproaches directed against Christianity by the followers of Saint-Simon, Fourier, and other popular teachers of the day. "Show us your works!" taunted the St. Simonians. “We admit the past grandeur of Christianity, but the tree is now dead and bears no fruit." To this taunt Ozanam and his companions retorted by forming themselves into a Conference of Charity, later adopting the name of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Since then, the Society has spread throughout the world, affecting the lives of millions through its acts of charity. Frédéric Ozanam was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II on August 22, 1997.