Message of Pope Francis for the 400th Anniversary of the Congregation of the Mission

20
Jan

I pray that this significant anniversary will be an occasion of great joy and renewed fidelity to the vision of missionary discipleship, grounded in the imitation of Christ’s preferential love for the poor

RENEWING FIDELITY TO THE MISSIONARY VISION

This remarkable expansion testifies to the religious and missionary fruitfulness of Saint Vincent’s priestly zeal and his lifelong thirst to convert hearts and minds to Christ.

IMITATING CHRIST’S PREFERENTIAL LOVE FOR THE POOR

In his outreach to the poor, Vincent quickly realized that works of charity need to be well organized on the local level. Women were the first to rise to this challenge. In 1633, he and Saint Louise de Marillac
co-founded a revolutionary type of women’s community, the “Daughters of Charity”.

“Come, let us devote ourselves with renewed love to serve persons who are poor, and even to seek out those who are the poorest and most abandoned. Let us acknowledge before God that they are our lords
and masters, and that we are unworthy of rendering them our little services” (Saint Vincent de Paul)

THE IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE TO THE MOST NEEDY

On this anniversary, it is fitting to reflect on the legacy of spirituality, apostolic zeal, and pastoral care that Saint Vincent de Paul bequeathed to the universal Church. More than 100 branches of priests, brothers, sisters, laywomen, and men now constitute the Vincentian family.

INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD

The Congregation of the Mission is presently experiencing new signs of growth. Its younger provinces, especially in Asia and Africa, where vocations to the Congregation are flourishing, have responded to the call to begin missions in other countries

“I pray that, inspired by the vision of their Founder, they may continue to shape their lives and work in accordance with the exhortation to humility and zeal in the apostolate that he addressed to the first members of the Congregation”.

MISSION AND FORMATION OF THE CLERGY

“Distressed by the lack of pastoral care in the French countryside, he determined at the beginning of 1617 to organize missions aimed at providing basic catechetical instruction and encouraging a return to the sacraments. Beginning in 1628, in response to an appeal from the Bishop of Beauvais, the Congregation of the Mission also began to assist in the formation of the clergy”.

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