By Geoffrey Stumpo
For Proclaim!
According to the United States Census Bureau, the poverty rate for the City of Johnstown is a staggering 31.2%. This figure highlights how more than three out of every ten residents in Johnstown live below the poverty line.
In our fast-paced and achievement-driven society, it can be easy for the poor and downtrodden to be overlooked or forgotten.
Our Lord reminds us in the Gospel of Luke that we shouldn’t invite guests to a banquet based on status, wealth, politics, or popularity. Rather, we should invite the poor, the lame, the crippled, and the blind.
This is where the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul stands in the breach.
Founded in Paris in 1833 by Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul’s purpose is to live out the Gospel through person-to-person service to the poor.
The Saint John Gualbert Conference of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul was originally founded in 1893, making it the oldest Conference in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. It remained dormant for years until it was recently reinstated in the first quarter of 2024.
Since then, the Saint John Gualbert Conference’s members have served the poor in the greater Johnstown area in immeasurable ways through financial and spiritual support.
Some highlights of their service include paying utility bills and rent for those in need, providing spiritual support through home visits and prayer, fixing cars for working families, providing a refrigerator, and even helping a man get his Commercial Driver’s License to start a new career.
In June of 2025 alone, the Saint John Gualbert Conference paid out $4,609 in aid to those in need. Total aid dispersed from April to July of 2025 was over $9,300, and requests for assistance are expected to increase in the coming winter months.
The Saint Vincent de Paul Saint John Gualbert Conference has also served in the Society’s Thrift Store, Human Needs Office, and has a monthly commitment at the Family Soup Kitchen in Downtown Johnstown.
They have also planted trees and completed maintenance at local parks such as Sandyvale Memorial Gardens and Conservancy and at low-income housing complexes such as Coopersdale and Solomon Homes alongside other secular non-profits such as Johnstown Vision Together 2025.
Looking to build upon their recent successes and further its mission of living the Gospel through service to the poor, the Saint John Gualbert Conference of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and its members were officially inducted during the Proclaim! TV live Mass broadcast at Saint John Gualbert Cathedral on August 24 by Sonny Consiglio, Executive Director of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, with Very Reverend Matthew Baum, Rector of the Cathedral, as celebrant.
To celebrate, the conference is hosting a food drive in September at Saint John Gualbert Cathedral and Saint Patrick Parish to benefit the Saint Vincent de Paul food pantry on Franklin Street in Johnstown. All non-perishable food items can be dropped off at all Masses on the weekend of September 27 and 28.
The soup kitchens, food pantries, thrift stores, and human needs offices are separate from the Saint Vincent de Paul Saint John Gualbert Conference; however, they all fall under the auspices of the same Society of Saint Vincent de Paul umbrella.
Throughout the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul serves those in need through 22 Parish Conferences, eight thrift stores, five food pantries, two soup kitchens, a youth ministry program, and a car donation program.
Supporting the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is as simple as donating used items to or shopping at any of their eight thrift stores. All profits benefit local Conferences, soup kitchens, food pantries, human needs offices, and other services to the poor.
If you’re in need of assistance or interested in serving the poor through a more serious commitment of time or money, then you can contact the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul by visiting their website or contact the Saint John Gualbert Conference by calling (814) 536-0117 and dialing extension 8.
