Fill in the Blanks
By Mike Syslo
Over the years, there has developed a
misunderstanding of the formal structure of
the Society in the United States. And this is
proven by the various structures that exist
throughout the country. It seems there are a
number of exceptions to the rule when it
comes to organization and naming
conventions. The purpose of this document is
to clarify what the structure is and what the
naming conventions should be.
The Basic structure of the Society is reflected
in the diagram to the right (Rule, Part III,
Statutes 10, 13; Manual, pgs 13, 33, 43). As
you can see, at the top is the National Council
and immediately below that are the eight
Regions that cover the United States. Within
that basic format, the
Society builds its physical structure based on
the Catholic Church’s geographic boundaries
known as dioceses and archdioceses. For
simplicity, instead of using the terms
(Arch)Diocese and (Arch)Diocesan Council,
we will simply refer to Diocese and Diocesan
Council.
Within each diocese, a Diocesan Council
should exist which supports multiple District Councils which support multiple Conferences
(Rule, Part I, Article 3.6). It seems simple enough and it is even simpler if we look at it from the
bottom up.
Let us view this from the standpoint as if we are bringing the Society into new territory. Let us
assume we are forming a Conference in Diocese X that has no St. Vincent de Paul presence. Our
first step would be to form a Conference in a parish. This Conference, once up and running, is
temporarily known as an Isolated Conference (Manual, pg 33). It has that status based on the
fact that there is no District Council to which it reports. The Isolated Conference reports directly
to the National Council. After a year of operation, it applies for and receives Aggregation (Rule,
Part I, Article 3.8; Part III, Statute 6).
Expansion begins and more parishes in Diocese X would like to form Conferences. Time goes
by and we have now formed two or three more Conferences. Each of these, as the first, is
considered an Isolated Conference. Now it is time to form a District Council.
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The Conference Presidents get together, form the District Council, elect a President, get a full
slate of officers, establish bylaws and begin providing support to the Conferences (Rule, Part III,
Statute 10). The Conferences are no longer “Isolated” and must start reporting to the District
Council. This is a “District Council” even though it is the only one in the Diocese. Based on the
naming convention in 2005 Nationally Approved Bylaws, this Council is called “Society of St.
Vincent de Paul, District Council of…” Since this is the first formed District Council in the
Diocese, the President becomes an official representative for Diocese X at the National Council
(Bylaws for National Council, Article 11). The President is a National Council Member and is
expected to attend all National Meetings and the appropriate Regional Meetings as a
representative of the Vincentians in Diocese X. The District Council must apply for Institution
in order to be formally accepted within the Society (Rule, Part I, Article 3.8; Part III, Statute 6).
Institution of the District Council is absolutely required for the National Council Member to be
able to vote at a National Meeting.
Expansion continues. More Conferences are formed and eventually two or three more District
Councils are formed. It is now time to form a Diocesan Council. The District Council
Presidents get together, form the Diocesan Council, elect a President, get a full slate of officers,
establish bylaws and begin providing support to the Districts and Conferences (Rule, Part III,
Statute 10). The President of the first District Council is no longer the National Council Member.
The President of the Diocesan Council becomes the National Council Member (Bylaws for
National Council, Article 11) and has the responsibility to represent the Districts and
Conferences of Diocese X at Regional and National Meetings. The Diocesan Council must apply
for Institution in order to be formally accepted within the Society (Rule, Part I, Article 3.8; Part
III, Statute 6). Institution of the Diocesan Council is absolutely required for the National
Council Member to be able to vote at a National Meeting. Based on the 2005 Nationally
Approved Bylaws, this is now the “Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Diocesan Council for Diocese
X.”
So this is essentially the structure of the Society in the United States. One simple way to look at
the structure is that only District Councils have Conferences attached or reporting to them.
Diocesan and Archdiocesan Councils have District Councils attached/reporting to them. So
regardless of the legal name established, if your Council has Conferences reporting directly to it,
then it is a District Council. There are many District Councils that have misnamed themselves as
Diocesan Councils.
There are also some Isolated Conferences that are no longer isolated and must start reporting to
the District Council closest to them.
Take some time and fill in the blanks. Start with the Conferences in your Diocese and move up.
If your Conferences are called “Isolated” and are within one-and-a-half to two hours driving
time, you should form a District Council or attach to the closest one. If your Council is the only
one in the Diocese, then your name should reflect “District Council” rather than “Diocesan
Council.” The recommendation for manageable Conferences is twelve (Manual, pg 33); so, if
your District Council has more than 12 Conferences, you should seriously consider breaking up
into multiple districts.
Fill in the blanks. The exercise will do you good.
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