For the first time in the history of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, leaders of the over 150 Bodies and Institutions of the Vincentian Family are currently meeting in Rome for the conference headline “Vincentian Family Moving Forward”.
This event of historical significance for the Vincentian Family started on January 8 and ends on January 12, at the Patristic Augustianum Institute in Rome.
For the first time ever, the Managers of the more than 150 Branches that make up the Vincentian Family are meeting each other.
The aim of the meeting for these leaders is to lay the foundations for a journey to be followed together for the betterment and unity among these branches.
The Vincentian Family was born from a double strong the experience lived by Saint Vincent de Paul in 1617 in France in the village of Folleville the French priest learned the spiritual poverty of the rural people and in the city of Châtillon, he found himself faced with material poverty.
Two events that started his personal conversion and after which he began to respond to the urgent needs he had discovered. His approach was to the person as a whole, holistically helping all types of poverty: spiritual, emotional, physical, material.
From that small mustard bean in 1617, the Vincentian Family has now become a large tree, made up of over 150 branches (lay associations and congregations of consecrated life) with about two million members in over 150 countries and among them also men and women who, although not formally belonging to a particular Branch, are inspired by the example of Vincenzo de ‘Paoli in the service of the poor.
At the beginning of the fifth century of life, the Vincentian Family looks to its future starting from that beginning with the awareness of the necessary urgency of an ever closer synergy with all that reality born from the “grain” grafted by the founder.
During the meeting, different topics will be addressed. These include Vincentian realities and the activities they carry out, introduction concerning the mission of the Vincentian Family and the presentation of the team of the International Office.
Members at the meeting will also address communication in the Vincentian Family and share the Vincentian Family Film experience.
Source: Augustus Aikins // Radio Angelus
