St. Vincent de Paul 'twinning' project to ship goods to mission

Published: 2004-01-20

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis has taken the sister parish concept one step further. The increasingly popular practice of "twinning," or partnering a U.S. parish with one in the developing world, enables diverse communities to get to know their brothers and sisters in Christ thousands of miles away. Although twinning is new to many parishes, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has been partnering with groups around the world for 150 years. Recently, the Twin Cities-based St. Vincent de Paul Society made the archdiocesan mission in Venezuela one of its partners. "We're sending a 40-foot container to Venezuela at the end of January, and we plan to fill it," Harry Poletes, St. Vincent's donation warehouse manager, told The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the archdiocese. The shipment, one of the biggest undertakings the group has tackled in recent years, will include clothes, medical supplies and equipment, office furniture and even church pews.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .