I Am St. Vincent: John Berry, SVdP National President

While St. Vincent de Paul of Tacoma, Pierce County, like other district councils, is managed independently, it is within the network of the broader global organization of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

The International Council is based in Paris, France, where our organization was first founded by Antoine Frédéric Ozanam in 1833. Currently St. Vincent de Paul is an 800,000-member strong organization that operates on 5 continents, in 153 countries, with 48,000 global conferences. Note that St. Vincent de Paul is a lay Catholic organization and is managed separately from the Catholic church. All parishes that have joined our organization were given the choice and they willingly opted-in to support our neighbors in need. Conferences refer to participating parishes, special works, and university chapters of St. Vincent de Paul.

Our national organization is comprised of 4000 conferences in 9 regions across the United States and is headed by John Berry, National President of St. Vincent de Paul. John has 14 years of experience as the Chief Executive Officer of St. Vincent de Paul Georgia. After his retirement from this role, he served as the National Vice President of St. Vincent de Paul’s Southwest Region. In 2023, he was elected President of the National Council of St. Vincent de Paul. His term will run from October 2023 to September 2029.

At a Mass at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, when he was installed at the 14th National President of the National Council of the United States, John Berry said, “As National President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, I will work tirelessly with all our Conferences and Councils to ensure that we remain a vibrant and relevant ministry service those who need our hands, our voice, and our love.”