U.S. Congregation of the Mission
The Vincentians first came to this country in 1816 under the leadership of two Italian Vincentians: Felix DeAndreis and Joseph Rosati. In October 1818 the missionaries founded their first permanent establishment in the United States: Saint Mary´s of the Barrens in Perryville, Missouri.
In 1835, the North American mission was raised to the status of a province of the Congregation, the first established outside of Europe. In 1888, the U.S. province was split into the Eastern and Western Provinces headquartered respectively in Germantown, Pennsylvania, and Perryville, Missouri. In 1958 the Western Province was further split with the creation of the Vice Provinces of New Orleans and Los Angeles. These vice provinces and the Vice Province of New England became provinces in 1975.
At present there are five provinces of the Vincentians in the United States: the Eastern Province headquartered in Philadelphia; the New England Province headquartered in Manchester, Connecticut; Midwest Province headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri; the Southern Province headquartered in Dallas, Texas; and the Western Province headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
