MANAGED BY-
CENTRAL COUNCIL OF BOMBAY - SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT de PAUL
         

 From Bombay and Calcutta, where the main foundations were laid, the Society gradually spread to other parts of India and by 1900, Conferences had been established in Poona, Trivandrum, Koshikode, Secunderabad, Bangalore and Alleppey. The Conference of St. Francis Xavier, Poon, was ‘aggregated’ in 1867. The Conference of ST. Joseph, Palayam, Trivandrum, was established in 1878. It was the first Conference to be established in Kerala, followed by the Conferences of Mother of God, Koshikode, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Alleppey, which were ‘aggregated’ in 1881 and 1903 respectively.

            In 1905 the Central Council of Western India was formed in Bombay with a circumscription initially comprising the whole of the then Bombay Presidency and part of the then Madras Presidency. It was the first Central Council to be established in India. The next milestone in the development of he Society in India was reached in 1953 when the National Council of India then known as the Superior Council of India, was formed in Bombay. Brother J.B. Fernandes was elected its first President. One of its first Vice-Presidents was Brother D.J. Ferreira, whose membership of he society lasted over fifty years. The birth of the National Council of India marked a turning point in the history of the Society in India. Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the Council, the late Valerian Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay and Patron of the Society, remarked: “India had been put on the map of the world-wide Society of St. Vincent de Paul”. With the establishment of the National Council of India, a process of reorganization and development of the Society in India was set in motion and several new Central Councils, mainly in Kerala, were formed to consolidate and animated the work of Conferences.

            In the year 2003-04 the National Council of India celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Golden Jubilee scholarships were distributed to students, Golden Jubilee memorial projects were undertaken by a majority of the central councils, weekly novinas were said by all the central councils during the course of the year and daily prayers were recited by all members. The closing ceremony for the Golden Jubilee was held at the 2003-04 A.G.M at Kottar, were a youth rally was held.