A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Historica 3. (Szeged, 2000)

PÁL József: A Szent Vince Szeretet Egyesület tevékenysége Szegeden és Újszegeden

THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF SAINT VINCENT IN ÚJSZEGED The organisation in New Szeged was established in 1923, but during its first years, it operated as the branch organisation of the main group of Szeged. It became an independent organisation in 1926 when its number of members surpassed that of the mother organisation. The actions of charity of the organisation of New Szeged were primarily connected to events related to Church holidays (the day of the canonisation of Saint Vincent, the name day of Saint Elisabeth, and Christmas). The most spectacular and best known charity work, however, was the organisation of the summer vacation of children in Szeged. Mainly health, education, and charity played important roles in this event, but — as Guidó Karácsonyi, parish priest, had openly stated in his writing in the história domus — the establishment of the Saint Vincent Children's Pool of New Szeged had political and civil goals as well. Most importantly, it aimed to remove the children from the influence of the Social Democratic Party which "stuffed the head of children with Marxist ideology during pool- and play-time" in their "Child friendly" pool. Based on size, the largest charitable aid was completed in New Szeged through what was called the impoverishment relief. All of the religious organisations of the town were involved, but the Saint Vincentians were the ones who played a decisive role. The means of aid were primarily collected by the Saint Vincentians themselves through clever events, dedication and financial sacrifice. By participating in this work, they also enriched themselves, since they allowed their spiritual lives to become noble as they transferred the teachings of the Gospel into their everyday life.