Dear brothers, sisters and friends:

On Christmas 1833, the first Christmas after the founding of the Charity Conference, “President Bailly gathered that evening those who were able to go to recite matins and also to go to midnight mass. That meeting was moving, and so the Christian character was deepening daily in the group. Another meeting of friends was held and very joyful in the evening on New Year’s Eve; we gave each other the embrace of Christian fraternity and promised each other perseverance and also promised not to lose sight of each other, whether we were near or far”.

Frederic Ozanam alludes to that midnight mass in a letter to his mother: “It is already here, my good mother, that great and beautiful feast […] We had a clandestine midnight mass in a community chapel. There were at least 20 young people of our acquaintance. Many of them received communion.

The Christian character of our founders was deepening every day, giving meaning to the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, who is born to redeem us from physical and spiritual death.

On behalf of the Council General International, I wish you that the light of the Child Jesus may illuminate your life and that of your loved ones on the path of Truth. May divine grace accompany you and may you find peace in the greatest gift of all: the unconditional Love of God.

May this Christmas, for us Vincentians, be a reminder of the importance of forgiving and loving, and of sharing our greatest gift, which is the Love of God with those brothers and sisters who need it most.

Let us continue in community to persevere even more in this Christmas season in friendship, in faith and in joy, so that, with our embrace of those in need, we may know that with the help of God who has just been born for all, we can renew the world.

Wishing you, your family and friends, a New Year 2025 full of blessings!

Juan Manuel B. Gomez
XVII President General,
Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
Source: https://www.ssvpglobal.org/