Congregation of the Mission
From VincentWiki
The Congregation of the Mission is a community of Roman Catholic priests and brothers founded by St. Vincent de Paul in 1625 for the evangelization of the poor and the formation of the clergy.
Vincentian priests and brothers total over 4000 worldwide and serve in 86 countries.
Contents |
Overview
History
St. Vincent de Paul was born in the village of Pouy in 1581. As a boy he lived among the poor and experienced the conditions under which they lived. In 1600 he became a priest. For a time he sought to escape from the poverty of his origins, but with the help of spiritual directors he felt himself called to deeper holiness and, through the events of his life, was finally led by divine providence to a firm determination to dedicate himself to the salvation of the poor. While he was exercising his ministry in Gannes and, on the 25th of January 1617, in Folleville, he saw that the evangelization of the poor was an urgent need. He himself held that this was the origin of his vocation, and of the Congregation of the Mission.
When, in August of the same year in Chatillon-les-Dombes, he founded “La Charite” The Confraternities of Charity to assist the sick who lacked all help, he discovered for himself, and showed others, the close link that exists between evangelization and the service of the poor.
Gradually his religious development led to contemplating and serving Christ in the person of the poor. The vision of Christ, sent by the Father to evangelize the poor, was central to his life and ministry. Hearing the call of people in the world of his own day, learning to listen with an ever more intense love of God and of poor people who were burdened with hardships of all kinds, Vincent felt himself called to alleviate sufferings of every sort.
Among all his commitments he always had a special care for the Mission, and he gathered the first members to join with him in evangelization of the country people; this was set out in a contract dated the 17th of April 1625. They bound themselves to form a Congregation in which, living as a community, they would devote themselves to the salvation of the country poor; this was by an Act of Association which they signed on the 4th of September 1626.
While Vincent and his confreres were giving themselves to the evangelization of the poor, they clearly saw that the effectiveness of their mission to the people could not be sustained unless they also provided for the formation of the clergy. They began this work in 1628 in Beauvais when, at the request of the bishop, they held retreats for those being advanced to orders. In this way they were providing good pastors for the Church.
From the Introduction to the Constitutions and Statutes of the Congregation of the Mission.
Mission
- The purpose of the Congregation of the Mission is to follow Christ evangelizing the poor. This purpose is achieved when, faithful to St. Vincent, the members individually and collectively:
- make every effort to put on the spirit of Christ himself (CR I, 3) in order to acquire a holiness appropriate to their vocation (CR XII, 13);
- work at evangelizing the poor, especially the more abandoned;
- help the clergy and laity in their formation and lead them to a fuller participation in the evangelization of the poor.
- With this purpose in view, the Congregation of the Mission, faithful to the gospel, and always attentive to the signs of the times and the more urgent calls of the Church, should take care to open up new ways and use new means adapted to the circumstances of time and place. Moreover, it should strive to evaluate and plan its works and ministries, and in this way remain in a continual state of renewal.
From the Constitutions and Statutes of the Congregation of the Mission
Foundational Documents
- Constitutions 1984
- Common Rule 1658
- Constitutions and Statutes (1984)
Ministries
Today these priests and brothers serve in
- Missions
- Parish Ministry
- International
- Formation
- Seminaries (Initial Formation)
- Ongoing Formation
- CIF (Center for International Formation) - Paris
- Formation of Lay People
- Schools and Universities
- Assistance to the Daughters of Charity
- Assistance to the Vincentian Family
- Promotion of Social Justice
Publications
'Where the Congregation of the Mission Serves
AFRICA
Algeria Cameroon Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Madagascar Mozambique Nigeria Seychelles South Africa Tanzania Zaire
MIDDLE EAST
Egypt Iran Israel Lebanon Syria
ASIA-PACIFIC
Australia China Fiji Indonesia India Japan Papua-New Guinea Philippines Solomon Islands Taiwan Vietnam
EUROPE, RUSSIA, SCANDINAVIA
Albania, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Croatia, Denmark, England, France Paris, France Toulouse, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy - Rome, Italy - Turin, Italy - Naples, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Siberia, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain - Barcelona, Spain - Madrid, Spain - Salamanca, Spain - Zaragossa, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine
AMERICA, CARIBBEAN
Argentina Brazil - Curatiba, Brazil - Fortaleza, Brazil - Rio de Janeiro, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Congregation of the Mission USA United States - East, United States - Midwest, United States - New England, United States - South, United States - West, Uruguay, Venezuela
Organization
Superior General
- The current Superior General, or international leader, of the Congregation of the Mission is G. Gregory Gay, CM.
Father G. Gregory Gay III,C.M. a Baltimore native, was elected as the worldwide superior general of the Congregation of the Mission, known as the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers, and the Daughters of Charity during the community's general assembly (June 5 - 29, 2004)in Rome in 2004.
Father Gay, a graduate of John Carroll High School in Bel Air, Maryland oversees almost 4,000 Vincentian priests and brothers and more than 23,000 Daughters of Charity in 84 countries. He himself entered USA Vincentian Eastern Province in 1973 and was ordained priest in 1980.
Born in 1953 priest is the 23rd successor of St. Vincent de Paul, who founded the Congregation in 1625, and the second Baltimorean to hold the position of Superior General.
In an interview he gave August 8, 2005, while visiting his home parish of St. Stephen, Father Gay said his election was a "big surprise." Since 2000, he has been provincial leader of the Central American province in Guatemala.
He had previously spent 25 years working as a missionary in Panama, traveling on horseback, and for several years was a teacher and executive director of the justice and peace council at Vincentian-run Niagara University in New York.
Presentations and Articles
General Curia
Regional Conferences
- Asia Pacific Visitors Conference APVC
- USA Provinces
- National Conference of Visitors NCV - USA
- COVIAM
Provinces of the Congregation of the Mission
Notable Members
- Armand David (1826-1900)
- Marco Antonio Durando (1801-1880)
- Vincent Lebbe (l877-l940)
- John LeVacher (1619-1683)
- John Baptist Manzella (l855-l937)
- Salvatore Micalizzi (l856-1937)
- Ferdinand Portal (1855-1926)
- William Pouget (l847-1933)
- Antonio Ferreira Vicosa (l787-1875)
- Thomas Judge (1868-1933)
- Janez Francisek Gnidovec (1873-1938)
- Emilio Lisson Chavez (l872-l961)
- Felix de Andreis(1778-1820)
Current Events
For the time being use this link
As information specific to the Congregation becomes available it will be posted here.
Further Resources
Lazarists Wikipedia article
[http://www.famvin.org/cm/dictionary/chapter%2016.htm St. Vincent's Conferences to the Missioners] Briefly Annotated List of His Conferences to Members of the Congregation
