“An historic encounter:” that’s what it was called by Joe Agostino C.M. (the Vincentian Family Office Coordinator) and Aidan Rooney CM (Coordinator of .famvin, the web and social media services of the Family), the two organizers of the meeting. And it was “in fact the first time that the four committees met” to promote mutual understanding, coordination and to value each other.

It is just finishing up today at Casa Maria Immacolata in Rome, Italy.

The four commissions or entities are:

• .famvin (web and social media services)
• The Commission for the Promotion of Systemic Change
• the Commission for the Vincentian Family Haiti Initiative
• The Vincentian Collaboration Commission

Some thirty people, divided into five working groups, addressed the issues on the agenda. The tasks were introduced by a report of P. Tomaž Mavrič, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity and presiding officer of the Vincentian Family Executive Committee.

In his speech he began by noting the importance of mutual understanding and cooperation within the Family. Then he unveiled four major initiatives that the family has committed to achieving this year (2017) on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the birth of our charism. More to come on that soon!

Subsequently, work groups took up and deepened some aspects common to the commissions, especially around the ideas of inter-communication and information sharing. They also considered a draft document that helped describe the relationships among commissions, the Executive Committee and the Vincentian Family Office.

In the afternoon the various committees presented aspects of their own work and plans, explaining their work, their members and their current and future initiatives.

The meeting of the commissions ended Saturday. The individual, committees continue to meet separately, to carry out their initiatives and see how to value internally what emerged from two days of work.

Attentive to the input they are receiving