Historic meeting of 22 Vincentian Bishops

John Freund, CM
June 24, 2015

Historic meeting of 22 Vincentian Bishops

by | Jun 24, 2015 | News | 2 comments

Nuntia bishops groupFor the first time ever all of the Vincentian Bishops were invited to meet in Rome.

From June 23-25 twenty-two of the thirty-two bishops are participating in this gathering. They come from Lebanon, Italy, Poland, Colombia, Brazil, Mozambique, India, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Albania, the Ukraine, Argentina, Guatemala and Peru.

These Vincentian Bishops gather together in order to facilitate mutual understanding among our brothers who are members of the episcopate and in order to create the possibility for a closer relationship with the Congregation of the Mission … doing all of this in an environment of shared dialogue, reflection, and celebration of the faith.

On the first day three themes were presented for reflection: “The Present Situation of the Congregation in the World” (presented by Father Gregory Gay, CM), “The Roots of the Vincentian Identity in the ‘Being’ and ‘Doing’ of the Missionary” (presented by Javier Álvarez, Vicar General) and the relationship between bishop-Congregation, Congregation-bishop (a dialogue led by Bishop Varghese Thottamkara, Apostolic Vicar of Nekemte, Ethiopia). The Eucharist was presided by Bishop Luca Brandolini (Bishop-Emeritus of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo).

It is planned that during the morning of the second day the bishops will participate in the General Audience of Pope Francis. During the afternoon there will be a dialogue about the particular ministry which these individuals exercise in the Church.

The third day will be a time for a spiritual retreat directed by Bishop Alfonso Cabezas (Bishop-Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Villavicencio, Colombia). The gathering will conclude with the celebration of the Eucharist, presided by Cardinal Franc Rode (Bishop-Emeritus, former Prefect for the Congregation of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life)

On numerous occasions the residents at Casa María Inmaculada (Via Ezio, Rome) have received guests who were to participate in different meetings related to the life of the Congregation of the Mission. This is the first time, however, that they welcome such illustrious guests as our Vincentian Bishops from throughout the world: from Brazil to Papua New Guinea, from Albania to Ethiopia. At a time when preparations are being made for the 2016 General Assembly, the members of the General Curia committed themselves to convoking and organizing this important event.

Translated: Charles T. Plock, CM

2 Comments

  1. marguerite broderick dc

    It would be great to see names with the picture. I could not enlarge the group pix of all of these Vincentian bishops. This is historic. Thanks for letting us know!

  2. John Freund, CM

    I was able to obtain a list of those in the picture….

    Front row – left to right:

    M. Varghese Thottamkara Obispo Vicario Apostólico de Nekemte, Etiopia
    M. Simon Kaipuram, Obispo de Balasore, India
    M. Theo Van Ruijven, Vicario Apostólico de Nekemte, Etiopia (Emérito)
    M. Milan Amantius Sasik, Obispo de Mukachevo, Ucrania.
    M. Alfonso Cabezas Aristizábal, Obispo de Villavicencio, Colombia (Emérito)
    M. Luca Brandolini, Obispo de Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo, Italia (Emérito)
    M. Jorge García Isaza, Obispo Vicario Apostólico de Tierradientro, Colombia (Emérito)
    M. Georges Bou Jaoudé, Arzobispo de Trípoli, Libano (Maronita)
    M. Vicente Bokalic Iglic, Obispo de Santiago del Estero, Argentina
    M. Pawel Socha, Obispo Auxiliar de Zielona Góra-Gorzow, Polonia. (Emérito)
    P. Javier Alvárez, CM, Vicario General de la Congregación de la Misión
    M. Tadeusz Goclowski, Arzobispo de Gdansk, Polonia (Emérito)
    M. Thomas Thiruthalil, Obispo de Balasore, India (Emérito)
    M. José Carlos Chacorowski Obispo de Caraguatatuba, Brasil.

    Second row from left to right:

    M. Rolando Serafín Santos Crisostomo, Obispo de Alatau Sideia, Papúa Nueva Guinea
    M. Mario Enrique Ríos Mont, Obispo Auxiliar de Guatemala; Administrador Apostólico de Izabal, Guatemala (Emérito)
    P. G. Gregory Gay, CM, Superior General de la Congregación de la Misión
    Card. Franc Rodé, Prefecto de la Congregación para los Institutos de Vida Consagrada y Sociedades de Vida Apostólica (Emérito)
    M. Markos Gebremedhin, Vicario Apostólico de Jimma Bonga, Etiopia
    M. Raimundo Revoredo Ruiz, Prelado de Juli, Perú, (Emérito)
    M. Cristoforo Palmieri, Obispo de Prëshen, Albania

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