Guatemala is hosting major back to back meetings of the worldwide Vincentian Family. March 16-22 the Vincentian Family in all of Latin America is sending representatives to Guatemala City for a week of formation, sharing of experiences and planning for the future. The AIC (International Association of Charities) will gather in that same city for their International Assembly.

The Vincentian Family in Latin America has chosen as it theme “Vincentian Missionaries: Witnesses of Faith and Charity.” Among many sub-themes, it will treat “ongoing efforts at systemic change,” and “collaboration within and without the Vincentian family.” There will be cultural presentations from some of the delegations, and of course prayer and Masses. As noted in another post on FamVin you can learn how to follow on Twitter and Facebook in Spanish, and Instagram directly. Or to make it easy, you can follow all three streams at social.famvin.org.

Some 140 volunteers or members of the AIC will gather in Guatemala City from 23^rd to 27^th March 2015 to participate in the next AIC International Assembly. They will represent the 53 AIC national associations. 

The AIC is steeped in the tradition that goes back to August 1617 when Vincent convened what was then called the “Charities”. In many ways that event could be called the beginning of the age of the laity in ministry.

(Review their 400 year journey to today in this brief video.)