130 years of SSVDP in Brazil
The International site of the SSVDP reports on the celebration of130 years of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paulo in Brazil
August started with events of the anniversary of the SSVP in Brazil.
On August 2 was celebrated with a solemn section in the auditory of the Monastery of São Bento do Rio de Janeiro. The meeting, organized by the National Council of Brazil, began with a video that showed the day by day of a family mother who seeks and sells paper to sustain her two children – example of lots of families that the SSVP has been promoting in those 130 years. Following, Sister Marlene, President of the Metropolitan Council of Rio de Janeiro, made an initial prayer.
Priest Eli, CM, the first to speak, spoke about the importance of the program Globalization of the Charity: Fight against Hunger and he stood out that in spite of the vincentians work for the same purpose, this project had been giving the chance of the members of the Society getting even more united.
Among the presents, there was the teacher Ignácio Benedito Otoni, who especially went to tell how his brother, Fernando, at 2 years of age, suffering of pneumonia and without more any hope on the part of two doctors, was cured by Frederic Ozanam. The teacher, touched, explained that was his grandfather who said to his father that Ozanam had cured his son of the illness.
Otoni said that this testimony was passed from generation to generation and after a long time it was proven the miracle so that Ozanam could be beatified, then. Fernando was, in fact, the miracle used to the beatification of Frederic Ozanam, celebrated on August 22nd 1997.
The former-minister of the economy, Marcílio Marques Moreira, was invited to talk about what is the globalization and to explain how this integration process acts in the politics, in the economy and consequently in the relationships between people and nations.
One of the great surprises was a cd with a message of Priest Maloney recorded exclusively for this celebration. Maloney congratulated the Society in Brazil and with a speech replete of the word “creativity” he spoke about the importance of the Project Fight against Hunger.
The confrere Carlos Henrique David, President of the National Council of Brazil, presented the history of the Society, also talked about the great presence of young people in the Society and the great benefit of the Project Globalization of the Charity that has been accomplished since 2001.
The meeting was concluded with the final prayers of the Rule of the SSVP, led by Father Eli Chaves, CM, leading the participants to a cocktail.
In the morning of August 4th, the SSVP gathered in a huge party for the celebration of a mass organized by the Metropolitan Council of Rio de Janeiro, at the Sanctuary of the Miraculous Medal, in Tijuca.
Source: Ozanam Desk Team
130 years of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paulo in Brazil