The SSVP is a Catholic association made exclusively of lay people. She practises the charity of proximity, aiming to establish a personal relationship between each fellow member and a poor person. Her members are not content with helping the poor: they also want to be mediators between the rich and the poor. She is nourished with a particular spirituality in which the prayer supports action which, in its turn feeds the prayer. Her management and all the leading functions are in the hands of lay volunteers. Her organisation is based on the principle of subsidiarity.

The very fraternal relationship among fellow members, the spirit of community, is another form of strength among those who pray and act together.