On February 1, 2018, the Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, Father Tomaž Mavrič, CM, 25th Successor of Saint Vincent de Paul, sent a letter to the Superiors and Leaders of the Vincentian branches, as well as to the national councils and regional leaders of the Vincentian Family.

In it, Fr. Mavrič reflects on the recently concluded celebration of the 400th anniversary of the charism:

One of the many lessons we have learned through the celebration of this past Jubilee Year is that we are truly blessed by the gift of one another. The Holy Spirit has poured out an abundance of blessings upon each of us, upon our Branches, and thus upon our entire Vincentian Family Movement.

These gifts are not given for us to squander on ourselves – they are given for the building up of the Body of Christ, the Church. Moreover, they are given to us Vincentians so that those who are most special in the eyes of God – those living in poverty, on the peripheries, abandoned and alone – may be well served.

In the spirit of collaboration and common work that unites the Vincentian Family, Fr. Mavrič invites everyone to deepen and promote this collaboration:

To this end, I, along with the other members of the Vincentian Family Executive Committee, ask that every country in which the Vincentian Family exists form a National Council (a coordinating body) to facilitate the growth of the work of the Vincentian Family internationally.

We have directed the Vincentian Family Office to assist in this process. Where a Council already exists, please help to further strengthen its collaboration. Where none exists, the Office has been asked to assist in its formation.

For, as Fr Mavrič says, “doing nothing is not the correct response. Without a concrete way for the Family to work together, and without a viable mechanism to facilitate such collaboration, those whom we serve will be deprived of the fruits of our best efforts. And we would not be able to say that we have made the maximum use of the gifts that God has given us.”

The letter concludes recalling that “all that you can do to encourage these Councils will bear much fruit in the lives of the poor, as well as in those who minister to and with them.”