My visit to the Vincentian Family in Ethiopia was a deeply enriching experience, both humanly and spiritually. There, in the heart of a country with centuries-old Christian and Vincentian roots, I found a Vincentian Family that is alive, joyful, welcoming, and deeply grounded in the Gospel. What moved me most was discovering how the different branches of the Vincentian Family — ten in total — strive to walk together in a spirit of collaboration, closeness, and shared witness, facing the most challenging dimensions of poverty, such as human trafficking for labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, and organ trafficking.

Upon arriving in Ethiopia, it is impossible not to notice the overwhelming contrast between the visible splendor of certain areas of the capital and the silent precariousness in which most of its people live. The government, deeply focused on beautifying the city and constructing presidential palaces, invests generously in large avenues, monumental buildings, and dazzling public lighting in tourist areas. However, beyond that image of modernity and power, many remain deprived of basic services such as universal access to electricity or clean water. This contrast, as painful as it is evident, challenges the Christian conscience: for whom is progress and development if it fails to dignify the lives of all, especially the poorest?

In the midst of this challenging context, my visit to the Vincentian Family in Ethiopia gave me real signs of Gospel hope, as the branches present, despite their many difficulties, are striving to build a common path through collaboration, closeness, and shared witness: the Brothers of Charity, the Daughters of Charity, the Vincentian Marian Youth (VMY), the International Association of Charities (AIC), the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SSVP), the Association of the Miraculous Medal, the Congregation of the Mission (CM), the Sisters of Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret, the Religious Daughters of Saint Anne, and the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. All these branches are attempting to walk together in Vincentian synodality, discerning together the steps to take as a concrete expression of their faith and mission, with their eyes and hearts fixed on the heralds who first opened the paths of the Charism in these lands.

Members of the National Council and some branches of FAMVIN in Ethiopia – CM Parish.

During this fraternal visit, we shared moments of formation, a meeting with the leadership of each branch, visits to various services dedicated to the poor, as well as community celebrations full of life, music, prayer, and fraternal spirit. Everything unfolded in an atmosphere of generous hospitality, openness, joy, and deep reception of the common message that unites us as a spiritual family.

One aspect that particularly impressed me was Ethiopian religious art. The images, so distinctive and profoundly symbolic, portray figures with large, open eyes while the mouth is small and closed. This style beautifully reflects a trait of Ethiopian culture: its capacity for observation, attentive listening, deep perception, and discretion. It is a spirituality that “sees everything” and, at the same time, “keeps things in the heart,” as is said of Mary’s contemplative heart in the Gospel. This cultural sensitivity harmonizes wonderfully with the spirit of the Vincentian charism, with eyes always open and fixed on those who planted here the deepest dimensions of our heritage: Saint Justin de Jacobis and Blessed Ghebre Michael, two companions always on the move, sowing the spiritual, missionary, prophetic, and martyrial legacy of the charism.

Blessed Ghebre Michael, Saint Vincent, and Saint Justin de Jacobis. Painting in the chapel of the CM Provincial House.

Perhaps one of the most central aspects I have perceived in the living of the Catholic faith in Ethiopia is what we might call religious minority as a path of discipleship. This expression captures a way of being Church through humility, service, simplicity, and smallness — not from power or prominence, but from humble following of Christ the Servant, poor among the poor. This minority is embodied here in a Vincentian key: a missionary spirituality that is close to the people, incarnate, concrete, compassionate, and in communion with the Catholic Church, whose cardinal is a member of the Congregation of the Mission, Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, CM.

From the charism of Saint Vincent de Paul, this way of being disciples today, in places where we are not the majority, calls us to be visible “signs” of the Kingdom: signs of hope, fraternity, solidarity, and of God present among the poor. The value of being a sign is essential today: our witness must speak louder than our words and must be shown in simple, everyday, and consistent gestures.

Here a central value of the Gospel takes on special strength: the value of what is small and of poor means. In the face of the temptation of the spectacular, the grandiose, or the artificial, the Ethiopian Vincentian experience chooses the centrality of the poor, the silent power of what is hidden, simple, and humble. This is one of the greatest contributions that Africa can offer to the rest of the Vincentian world: a way of being Church that is closer to the heart of Jesus.

Ethiopian Religious Art in the Chapel of the Daughters of Charity: Large Eyes, Small Mouth.

A concrete sign of maturity along this path was the establishment of the National Council of the Vincentian Family of Ethiopia, which showed itself willing and open to join a possible continental organization of FamVin in Africa and Madagascar. This initiative, born precisely during this tour, opens new paths of communion, organization, and collaboration among the Vincentian branches present in more than twenty countries of this vibrant, fertile, and life-filled continent. Africa offers us a spirituality deeply rooted in God, in the land, in community, and in shared history.

I sincerely thank the FamVin of Ethiopia, and in particular the leaders of each branch, for having so carefully organized the schedule of the visit, for their generous witness, and for their fraternal welcome. I carry with me the fruits of this experience lived with joy and faith, in communion with the spirit of the Second Convocation of Rome 2024, which encourages us to continue deepening our common identity and shared mission. Thank you for making the Gospel visible in the everyday, in the small, and in the poor. Thank you for being a sign of the Kingdom.

Fr. Memo Campuzano, CM

Visit to the ALEMACHEN Project of the CM, which helps children excluded due to severe physical disabilities, especially in their feet and legs. Here, many lives have been and continue to be transformed.

Formation Meeting for FAMVIN Leaders at the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity.

Sisters of Saint Jeanne Antide in Addis Ababa.

Care for the Elderly in Extreme Poverty, Work of the Brothers of Charity in Addis Ababa.