The first Conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in Scotland was St. Patrick’s, Edinburgh, and was founded on the 25th May 1845.
Each member had to promise to receive the sacraments regularly and to recite every night the Litany of Loretto, one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer of St Vincent de Paul. Their main task was to visit the homes of the poor and sick, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, pray at their deathbeds and follow their remains to the cemetery. It was this more than anything else which impressed the non-Catholics in the city. The members of the Society gave great edification by their simple piety and great faith. They also found time to instruct children and adults in the faith and to prepare them for the reception of first communion.
Their ideals were for a night shelter, the supervision of apprentices and an orphanage. Soon, however, the work was becoming too much to cope with, especially financially. Other Conferences began to appear with the springing up of new parishes. There was so very much to do with more immigrants arriving and the city becoming unhealthier.