This fictitious letter is inspired by the life of St. Jeanne Antide Thouret (1765-1826), a French nun, foundress in 1799 of the Sisters of Charity in Besançon, today known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne Antide Thouret. She devoted her life to serving the poor, the sick and the uneducated, deeply influenced by the charism of St. Vincent de Paul. During the French Revolution, she suffered persecution and exile, but returned to France, where she founded schools, hospitals and social services, focusing on education and care for the needy, especially women and children.

Can you imagine what St. Jeanne Antide Thouret would say to us if she were to write a letter to the members of the Vincentian Family today? This is a literary exercise, but perhaps it could be something like this:

Dear sisters and brothers, members of the Vincentian Family,

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be always in your hearts. I write to you out of the deep love I feel for each of you, for your daily efforts to live the Gospel in service to the poorest, the marginalized and the forgotten of the world. It is a great joy for me to address you, not only as a sister in Christ, but as one who shares with you the same thirst for charity, the same urgency to alleviate suffering, the same joy of encountering Christ in the face of the most needy.

I have felt in my heart the call to share with you a reflection, an invitation and a prayer, especially at this moment in our history, when the Vincentian Family summons you to gather in Rome on November 14-17, 2024 for the Second Convocation of the Vincentian Family. This gathering is not just another event on the calendar, but a blessing, a true gift of the Holy Spirit to renew in us the ardor of mission and the strength to move forward.

As you well know, our Vincentian vocation is rooted in the charism that the Holy Spirit instilled in St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, who saw in every human being the face of Christ, especially in the poor and the sick. That same charity has been the driving force of our lives, uniting our spiritual family under the banner of love of God and neighbor.

From my humble beginnings in Sancey-le-Long, France, to the founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity, my life has been marked by service. In times of persecution and misery, when the French Revolution brought so much pain, it was charity that sustained us. Not the charity of mere words, but the charity that translates into concrete gestures of love: feeding the hungry, healing the wounds of the sick, teaching children who have no access to education, offering shelter to the homeless. This is the charity of Christ, which illuminates the lives of the followers of the Vincentian charism and gives us the strength to go forward even in the most difficult trials.

Christian charity is the most sublime expression of our love for God. And in the words of Jesus: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me” (Mt 25:40), we find the very heart of our Vincentian charism. What greater joy can there be than to serve Christ himself in the suffering face of the poor?

My dear sisters and brothers in mission, today’s world needs more than ever courageous witnesses to the love of Christ. You live in times of challenges, of growing poverty, of conflicts that tear at the heart of humanity, of families living in uncertainty and despair. Yet they also live in times of grace, where the Holy Spirit calls them to be instruments of peace, consolation and charity.

The next convocation in Rome is an invitation to rediscover the beauty of our vocation, to renew our commitment to the poorest and to do it together, as one big family united by the love of Christ and the charism of St. Vincent de Paul. This meeting is a unique opportunity to share our experiences, our challenges and our hopes. It is a moment to strengthen the bonds that unite us and to remember that, although our missions are diverse, the call is the same: to be witnesses of God’s love.

Over the centuries, our Vincentian Family has grown in number, in works and in scope, but we must never forget that our strength lies in unity, in fraternal sharing and mutual support. This meeting in Rome will be an occasion for us, as our holy founders did, to look each other in the eye, share our lives and renew our spirit of service.

Let me remind you, with a heart full of gratitude, of the immense responsibility that comes with our vocation. Service to the poorest of the poor is not simply one option among many; it is the very essence of our being Christian. In every face we meet, whether it be that of a hungry child, an anguished mother, or a sick elderly person, Christ is present.

Jesus Christ did not only invite us to give alms or to be charitable in a superficial way. He showed us with his own life what it means to love to the extreme. He taught us that we must kneel in the face of suffering, as he did when he washed the feet of his disciples. Every act of charity we perform is an extension of that humble and loving gesture.

I want, therefore, to encourage you to seek new ways to serve our brothers and sisters in need, especially in the present time, when the world cries out for justice, compassion and solidarity. May we never tire of doing good, even if at times the way is difficult. As our Lord did, we must always be ready to embrace the poor, to listen to the lonely, to comfort the suffering.

The Second Convocation of the Vincentian Family in Rome is a true gift that the Holy Spirit offers us to strengthen our faith and rekindle our commitment. It is not only a meeting to discuss plans or projects, but a space for the Spirit of God to transform us and fill us with new fervor.

In these days of November, sharing the Vincentian charism, you will gather to reflect, pray and walk together. It will be a time to deepen our understanding of synodality, a concept that the Church has promoted with so much emphasis in recent years. What does it mean to walk together? It means, first of all, that we recognize each other as brothers and sisters in faith, that we support each other, that we share our burdens and our joys. It also means that we work together in mission, putting our talents at the service of the Kingdom of God.

I hope that during this time you will be able to feel more clearly the call that God is making to you to be missionaries of charity. And missionaries not only in faraway places, but in our own environment, in our own communities. Each one of us is called to be a light in our own place, to bring the hope of Christ to those who need it most.

To my dear sisters, religious consecrated to the service of the poorest, I would like to address a special tenderness. You have chosen a life that is not easy, a life that involves renunciations, sacrifices and total dedication to God and neighbor. However, we also know that there is no greater happiness than that found in service. There is no greater consolation than to see Christ reflected in the faces of the poor we care for, in the children we educate, in the sick we accompany. In this vocation you follow in the footsteps of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who defined herself as “the handmaid of the Lord.” You too are handmaids, but with a special mission: to be Christ’s hands in the world, to be his feet that walk towards those in need, to be his heart that loves without measure.

In these times in which the world seems irremediably destined to individualism and indifference, we are called to be the face of a Church that goes out, a Church that does not wait, but goes out to meet, that embraces the suffering and bows down to the needy. And you are not alone in this mission. As part of the great Vincentian Family, you have the support of so many brothers and sisters who have given their lives to the service of others.

I want to conclude this letter with a warm invitation. I encourage you to participate in the Second Convocation of the Vincentian Family in Rome. Whether you are able to be physically present or to accompany us in prayer and spirit, this is a crucial moment for us as a family.

May we pray to the Holy Spirit to guide us on this path and, like St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, may we continue to be witnesses of God’s love and mercy in the world. May the example of our dear Virgin Mary, the Mother of Charity, inspire us to always say “yes” to God’s plan in our lives.

United in prayer and service, I accompany you with my prayer and affection in Christ.

Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret

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