During the last days of August and the first days of September, I had the immense grace of visiting the Vincentian Family in Rwanda and Burundi. It was a profoundly moving journey, where human encounter, lived faith, and shared fraternity intertwined with the harsh realities of poverty, lack of resources, and the silent cry of communities that, from their fragility, continue to shine as a light in the ongoing revitalization of the charism.

In both countries, I met with national and regional leaders, as well as with members of the branches present: 11 in Rwanda and 9 in Burundi. Many of these people carry the weight of lost opportunities, pain, and loss, yet they are sustained by a deep faith that takes shape in service. My visit was marked by attentive listening to the communities—hearing about their greatest challenges and opportunities, and their understanding of the Vincentian Family’s identity and mission as they experience it at the most local level.

One of the most impactful experiences was the visit to the Mahama camp, on the border between Tanzania and Rwanda, which shelters more than 50,000 people. There, six branches of the Vincentian Family are active, formed mostly by the refugees themselves (International Association of Charities, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Vincentian Marian Youth, Miraculous Medal Association, Daughters of Charity, Congregation of the Mission). In the midst of a reality that could seem to rob all hope, I found living, smiling communities, generous in their poverty. There I felt that the Vincentian charism in its most radical form: serving the poor out of one’s own poverty.

The Vincentian Family in the Mahama Refugee Camp, on the border between Rwanda and Tanzania.

As St. Vincent de Paul said: “The poor are our lords and masters.” In Mahama and in every encounter during that trip, this phrase became flesh and truth. The Vincentian Family not only accompanies the poor; it is itself poor … and from that reality arises a transformative strength, a sign, and an unimaginable potential.

I was deeply moved by the smile of those who welcomed me. A smile that was neither superficial nor naïve, but a sincere expression of joy, gratitude, and communion. As I said goodbye, I told them: Thank you for your smile. You use it to say “welcome,” or “thank you,”  or“see you soon.” A smile that says everything, even when one might think there is little reason to smile. And yet, that smile endures. It is the human face of resilient faith, active hope, and love that does not give up. In Nemba, Rwanda, I was able to participate in the final day of the bi-national gathering of the Vincentian Marian Youth. At the Eucharist, many young people made their promise and consecrated themselves within this branch. Their joy in consecration made alive the central action of the Second Rome Convocation document, which calls us to invite and welcome new members, especially youth, into the living out of the charism across all branches and to do this from the perspective of a vocational culture.

But I also witnessed the concrete challenges our communities face: structural poverty that affects everyone’s lives, lack of resources, the inability to access Vincentian formation materials in their local languages, and limited knowledge of essential elements of our spirituality and charism. In many places, there is no ongoing formation; lay people do what they can with great generosity, but without access to formation programs and without concrete ways to design systemic change projects for themselves and for the people they seek to serve—with their hands, their hearts, their visits, their listening, and their lives given in a commitment that does not weaken.

This is where the dimension of communion, participation, mission, and joint formation within our Family becomes urgent (the model of a Synodal Church). There is great potential in the human quality of the members, in their passion, their commitment, their profound desire to live the Vincentian spirituality in its fullness. But we need to accompany them from each branch, building bridges of solidarity and formation, and from the International Office, offering full support for the construction of structural capacity as a family at every level. We need to be present not only with visits, but also with formation resources and contextualized communication—as also expressed in the 2024 Rome document—and with projects that enable them to sustain their works of prophetic missionary service, along with real ways to support their representation in the gatherings we hold at every level.

These communities are very conscious of what St. Vincent teaches us: We must not be content to love God if our neighbor does not also love Him… and they also know that this love of neighbor—of the poor, the refugee, the one living on the periphery—will only be authentic if it is accompanied by a commitment that is organized, formed, and sustained in community.

I made only one promise during my visit: to tell their story. I did not promise immediate solutions or resources. I only said: “I will make your voice heard.” This article is only the beginning of that promise. I hope these lines raise awareness, call forth solidarity, and help other members of the Vincentian Family around the world to look toward Africa with new eyes.

May we see in their smiles a call to conversion. May we hear in their poverty an invitation to live our own commitment more faithfully and may we never forget that, as members of the Vincentian Family, we are called to serve Christ in the poor, wherever that cry comes from.

To them, to all who welcomed me with such dignity, I leave my gratitude, and to you, who read these lines, I invite you to become part of this story, because only together, with the grace of God and the strength of the charism, can we continue sowing hope where there seems to be none.

Fr. Memo Campuzano, CM
Vincentian Family Office.