Children, Daughters of Charity in Eastern India Celebrate St. Vincent de Paul’s Legacy of Service

More than 300 students and 14 Daughters of Charity gathered at St. Catherine’s Convent in Raikia, in India’s eastern state of Odisha, on September 27 to celebrate the feast of St. Vincent de Paul and reflect on his legacy of service to the poor and marginalized.

The celebration highlighted the French priest’s enduring commitment to evangelization, care for the sick and practical service to people living on the margins of society.

Fr. Purushottam Nayak, principal of Vijaya Higher Secondary Junior College in Raikia, in the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, was the main celebrant.

“St. Vincent de Paul reminds us that the Gospel cannot remain only in words and prayers. It must become visible in our care for the poor, the sick, the forgotten and those who suffer,” Fr. Nayak said in his homily.

He encouraged young people to make service an essential part of Christian discipleship.

“Let us not wait for great opportunities to serve. Let us begin with the person before us, the poor, the lonely, the sick and the forgotten,” he said. “May our faith become hands that serve, hearts that listen and lives that give.”

Rani Singh, a Grade 10 student at St. Catherine’s Convent, said St. Vincent de Paul’s example challenges young people to begin with simple acts of kindness.

“Even a small act of kindness can bring hope to someone who is suffering,” she said, encouraging students to share what they have, care for those who are left out and treat every person with dignity.

St. Vincent de Paul was born in France in 1581 and ordained a priest in 1600. His encounters with poverty led him to organize missions and charitable works. In 1625, he founded the Congregation of the Mission and, together with St. Louise de Marillac, helped establish the Daughters of Charity.

In Raikia, the Daughters of Charity have continued this mission for decades. Their first house in the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar was established in 1947, shortly after India gained independence.

The congregation now has six communities in the archdiocese, serving through schools, hospitals, dispensaries, rural ministries, orphanages, homes for children and the elderly, and programs for people affected by leprosy. Their ministries also include family visits, evangelization, popular missions, clinics and rehabilitation services.

Ajit Pradhan, president of the Children’s Association of Our Lady of Charity Parish, Raikia, said St. Vincent de Paul’s vision of “faith through charity” remains a living inspiration for priests, religious and lay Catholics serving poor and marginalized communities in eastern India.

St. Vincent de Paul died in Paris in 1660 and was canonized in 1737. His legacy continues through Catholic communities and charitable movements across the world.

The celebration in Raikia recalled that for Christians, charity is not simply an act of generosity but a concrete way of living the Gospel through service to those most in need