Spirit
Students from DePaul Catholic are well prepared for the many and diverse challenges in high school. They demonstrate not only a strong sense of confidence in themselves but also a beautiful commitment and responsibility to larger community. They come to us rooted in the practice of Christian values.
- Rita McGovern, Asst. Principal for Academic Affairs, Little Flower Catholic High School
Vincentian Spirituality
The cornerstone of the “Spirit” of The DePaul Catholic School is its Vincentian Tradition. Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), founder of the Congregation of the Mission, pursued the priesthood as a way to assure a comfortable life. Through a profound conversion experience in his early ministry, Vincent unraveled the central paradox of life: it is in giving that one receives.
In a Paris marked by great affluence enjoyed by a few as well as by dire poverty endured by the masses, Vincent discovered that one finds God and oneself in service to others. A man of deep faith, keen intellect, great business acumen and enormous creativity, he was at home in the hovels of the poor and in the palaces of royalty. Respected by the powerful and loved by the poor, Vincent bridged social classes through his works of charity and his advocacy for the disenfranchised.
In collaboration with St. Louise de Marillac (1591-1660), Vincent founded the Daughters of Charity. Together they organized hospitals for the sick poor, founded asylums for the orphaned, opened workshops for the unemployed, championed literacy for the uneducated, advocated for the incarcerated, and established local charities.
Vincent also reformed the education and formation of the clergy throughout France where his community of priests and brothers, commonly known as Vincentians, undertook the spiritual care of the poor, particularly those in rural areas (http://www.vincenter.org).
Campus Ministry
The DePaul Catholic School is a shared parish school of Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Francis of Assisi Parishes in the Germantown Section of Philadelphia. The office of Campus Ministry strives to uphold the traditions of the Vincentians, the Daughters of Charity, and the Roman Catholic Church by stressing the importance of spirituality and service work, especially to those most in need. This is accomplished through class service learning projects and weekly prayer services and liturgies.
Vincentian links of interest:
The Vincentian Family or FamVin (find them on Facebook here)
