St. Vincent’s feast will be lost in the shuffle this year. It falls on a Sunday…  and the last day of Pope Francis’ historic visit to the United States. How will you celebrate St. Vincent’s feast?

The following links lead to the pages of Congregation of the Mission sponsored universities. Each of these institutions  actually celebrates some variation of “Founders’ Week”. The creativity of the programs investigating themes dear to the heart of Vincent is enormous.

• DePaul University 
• Niagara University
• St. John’s University

But the question remains…  how will the followers of Vincent and Louise celebrate Vincent’s feast this year.

The following suggests ways that might combine Vincent’s feast with (this Jesuit, Franciscan, Vincentian) Pope’s visit.

1. Listen to the Vincentian themes that no doubt will mark his speeches. (I would rather call them outpourings of his heart!)
2. As you watch TV pay close attention the expressions on his face.
3. Listen with the ears of those on the peripheries … the people we either don’t see or turn away from.
4. Read his words unfiltered by any media interpretations.
5. Choose at least one event of the Pope’s visit to participate in “live” as a family
6. Post pictures of your celebrations to the “Post-to-page” section of famvin’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/famvin).
7. If you’re in Philadelphia, include @famvin in your Tweets and @social.famvin to your Instagram posts.