“God’s Providence has its own ways and its own time; let us abandon ourselves to it and not try to go ahead of it.” Saint Vincent
There are moments in the life of the Church when the Spirit quietly weaves new paths of communion. The First General Assembly of the Vincentian Family of Africa and Madagascar (VIFAM), held at the Subiaco Retreat Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 19–21, 2026, was one of those grace-filled moments.
Representatives from fifteen countries and numerous branches of the Vincentian Family gathered not simply to create a new organizational structure, but to discern together how the Vincentian charism can be lived more faithfully, more collaboratively, and more prophetically in the diverse realities of Africa and Madagascar.
The Assembly was marked by prayer, listening, fraternity, formation, and shared discernment. Different languages, cultures, and ecclesial experiences became gifts that revealed the richness of a charism that flourishes when it is lived together.
One of the most profound experiences was the visit to the Vincentian community of Thigio and the KISIMA School, where the Daughters of Charity, together with the Congregation of the Mission, accompany children, families, and communities living in situations of vulnerability. The delegates rediscovered that every structure and every plan has meaning only if it leads us closer to those who are poor.
After a process of dialogue and communal discernment, the Assembly officially approved the name VIFAM – Vincentian Family of Africa and Madagascar – approved a common logo, established three subregions (East, West, and South), and created an eleven-member Continental Council composed of representatives of the historic branches, subregional coordinators, and rotating representatives from other Vincentian branches.
The newly formed Council elected Fr. Emmanuel Tutuwan, CM, as the first Coordinator of VIFAM. The Council will serve for four years and prepare the first VIFAM Bylaws, which will be presented to the members of the First Assembly for approval through a virtual process.
The delegates also unanimously decided that the Second General Assembly of VIFAM will be held in June 2030 in a country to be determined after consultation throughout the continent.
The birth of VIFAM is not merely an administrative development but a theological sign of communion. It expresses the conviction that the Vincentian charism is larger than any individual branch and that today’s challenges—poverty, migration, violence, ecological degradation, and exclusion—require a shared missionary response.
As participants returned to their countries, they carried more than official resolutions. They carried the hope that the Holy Spirit continues to gather the Vincentian Family into one missionary body, united in charity and justice, so that Christ may be encountered and served in those who are poor. May this new continental journey inspire the entire global Vincentian Family to deepen communion, strengthen collaboration, and continue making charity inventive to infinity. Thanks to the Vincentian Family of Kenya for their wonderful Hospitality!
Memo Campuzano, CM.
Vincentian Family Office
Images courtesy of Barak Omondi, from the Communications Office of the Vice Province of Kenya of the Congregation of the Mission.
Indeed a moment of grace that we hope and engage to make it long lasting and fruitful for the greater glory of God, the greater good of the most underprivileged and our personal sanctification. With immense gratitude to the VFO and all who made that moment possible and unforgettable.