It is the tradition of the International General Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul that the General President of the Society, on the occasion of the Nativity of the Lord, offer a message in which he wishes, to the Vincentians of the whole world, his best wishes for all, to live a holy and happy Christmas, with the blessings of God and child Jesus.

This year, the 16th General President, Renato Lima de Oliveira, focused his Christmas message on the motto adopted by the Vincentian Family for 2017, on the 400th anniversary of the Vincentian charism: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35).