Birth of the society of St. Vincent De Paul

The basic unit of SSVP is the Conference functioning at the Parish level. In India we have conferences exclusively for men and women. There are also mixed conferences, youth conferences as well as junior conferences in India.

Area Councils

An Area Council encompass-es the Conferences in the nearby areas that are grouped together for coordination, interaction and unity. As on 31.03.2015 there are 643 Area Councils.

Central Councils

Area Councils are generally grouped at Diocesan level into Central Councils. There are 82 Central Councils in India as on 31.03.2015.The Central Councils guide and coordinate the activities of the Area Councils and Conferences under its control.

National Councils

The Society was first introduced in India by the French Missionaries at Pondicherry during the Year 1852-53 as a non-aggregated Conference. The Society was officially started in India in 1863 when some conferences in Bombay were aggregated and the Bombay Particular Council was instituted. Thenonwards the Society continued to grow in India.On 09.11.1953 the Superior Council of India was established and instituted with the Council General International. The Superior Council of India was renamed as National Council of India on 06.08.1973. The National Council of India has its Headquarters in Mumbai and the present President’s secretariat is at Thodupuzha, Kerala with the election of Bro. Johnson Varghese as the 13th National President of India with effect from 28th February 2015. The National Council of India is registered under the Income Tax Act 1961with exemption under Sec 80G, FCRA under the ministry of HomeAffairs and Societies Regn. Act and Bombay Public Trust Act 1950.