The Superior General speaks of his activities during the month of May
Interview by Father Julio Suescun, Manager of CMGlobal

J.S. Your agenda for this month of May has been very full. In your latest communication with the Congregation, via Internet, you spoke to us of your visit to London, from 1-5 May. What other activities, from this month of May, do you wish to share with us?

S.G. On Sunday, 13 May, I took part, at the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity of Rome, in the celebration with the Vincentian Family concluding the Marian pilgrimage, which had been held throughout the year; on the 18th, I shared with an English-speaking group of Daughters of Charity in Via Ezio; from the 14th to the 17th we had the Tempo Forte in the Curia, about which you will be informed in the upcoming circular; on the 19th, I visited a group of young Daughters of Charity in Quercianella at an interprovincial formation meeting; on the 20th, I moved on, with some members of the Curia community, to Leghorn in order to present to Father Gino the parchment of affiliation; and I am leaving for a couple of days of meeting with the Superiors General in Rome.

J.S. What was this Marian pilgrimage of which you spoke?

S.G. As part of its project for the Christian animation of the youth, the Daughters of Charity, on the occasion of the second centenary of Saint Catherine’s birth, prepared a pilgrimage by stages, which united the young and other members of the Vincentian Family too in the various houses of the Daughters of Charity of the province. In May, they concluded the pilgrimage in the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity. There we had a Eucharist and afterwards a fraternal sharing.

J.S. What was the objective of the meeting in Via Ezio?

S.G. A group of English-speaking Daughters of Charity, who had taken a Vincentian Heritage course in Paris, traveled to Leghorn, the point of arrival of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Europe, to the parish of Father Gino, dedicated to Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, and to Rome. I went to greet them and to give them a word of encouragement from the Superior General.

J.S. What did you say to the young Daughters of Charity gathered in Quercianella?

S.G. Before this group of young sisters from the Provinces of Rome, Siena and Turin, we opened a serene and relaxed dialogue on the challenges which confront the sisters, especially the young ones today, living in communities and provinces that are aging.

J.S. Who is this Father Gino, to whom you have alluded?

S.G. Father Gino Franchi is a diocesan priest, who has served for 40 years as pastor in the parish of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Leghorn. He constructed a church dedicated to our holy sister and has contributed to keeping alive and up-to-date the Vincentian charism in Leghorn. He has much knowledge of Saint Elizabeth Ann and, out of love for her Christian personality, has captured, in several published books, the soul of Saint Elizabeth Ann, as reflected in the thoughts from her intimate diary and in her letters. All that and his cordial friendship with the Vincentian Family have made him worthy of this honor, which is affiliation to the CM.

J.S. Concretely, what does Affiliation mean?

S.G. That we make him a participant in all the graces and fruits of holiness that the Congregation of the Mission had produced or could produce in the Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit. We assure him of his participation in our prayer so that the Lord might grant him to continue growing in his priestly fidelity to Christ, whom he and we see, like Saint Vincent, as the Evangelizer of the Poor.

J.S. Finally, on this very day, we have seen the community of the Curia enjoying the company of various Superiors General, all of them, like us, from Societies of Apostolic Life. What was the reason for this meeting?

S.G. Today’s meeting was a preparation for the meeting of all the Superiors General, which we will have in the Fraterna Domus, a retreat house of Rome, from the 23rd to the 25th, at which I will be present, along with Father Gérard Du, Assistant General. In fact, today’s is a homogenous group of Communities, which we represent in the Church. We have closely related charisms and we can have similar points of view from the fidelity to our own charism.