06/06/2024
The event consisted of several working meetings: Permanent Section (convened as the Confederation’s Board of Directors, in accordance with article 5.1.2 of the bylaws), Territorial Vice-Presidencies, Executive Committee and General Council Bureau.
The meeting began with a solemn Eucharist at the Church of the Holy Cross in Cavelossim, officiated by the Cardinal Archbishop of Goa and Daman, Mons. Filipe Neri Ferrão, and attended by a large number of members of the Goa Central Council.
PGI Speech
After the prayers and welcome by the National President of India, Jude Mangalraj, the President General’s speech that pointed out : “Here we are making true what Frederick Ozanam wrote from Italy, when he was already mortally wounded: See how they love each other”.
He also emphasized that “the example of faith is what has led the Indian Conferences to a constant growth of more than 75,000 members. He also expressed his emotion as a Spaniard to visit for the first time the tomb of St. Francis Xavier, who, in Goa, deployed an intense evangelizing activity since 1542, commenting that like Ozanam, he studied at the Sorbonne, in Paris, becoming a professor. In 1845, Ozanam wrote a letter to Dominique Meynis, the secretary of the Pontifical Work for the Propagation of the Faith, urging him to publish a manual containing, among other documents, the offices of St. Francis Xavier”.
The President recalled that “the saints are the mirrors in which we look at ourselves. For us, faith, founded on the love of God, is what drives us to do works of charity as a sign of the Love of God among men. Charity understood in its etymological sense and not as assistance: charity comes from the Latin caritas, which means mercy, which means love”.
The President announced the creation of an International Foundation to fulfill the President’s program, which can raise funds to support new projects and help address the new forms of poverty faced by the Conferences and Councils.
In closing, the President General thanked “our brothers in India for inviting us to this international meeting, thank you for your generosity and for being such magnificent hosts. Thank you all in the person of your national president, Jude Mangalraj, who always greets us with the fraternal embrace that changes lives, giving us a smile; he is always attentive and ready to serve, for whatever is needed. Thanks to our sister Asha Maria Vaz, president of the Central Council of Goa, for her many kindnesses, and thanks to all of you who have come from so far away.
Permanent Section Meeting
Convened as the Board of Directors of the Confederation, the agenda was presented various reports of the Secretariat, presented by the executive director in the absence of the secretary our brother Jerome Perrin, due to illness, which highlights that in 2023 153 conferences were added in 13 countries and 10 new councils were instituted, in addition to communicating that the system of aggregations is being digitized; the treasury report presented in detail by our brother Alfons Ten Velde, presenting, among other documents, the external audit of the annual accounts for 2023, without reservations or qualifications, and the budget for 2024.
Other Reports. The Formation report by Luz Maria Ramirez, with the activities to be developed, including the international formation meeting in Spain for November 29, 30 and December 1; the Youth report, presented by Edgardo Fuentes, on behalf of Juliana Rosa, who focused on the initiative to promote exchanges and announced the next meeting of the Vincentian Youth in Rome near the Jubilee of Youth, from July 28, 2025 to August 3, 2025, and also the National Vincentian Youth Forum, to be held in Brazil from September 27 to 29 of this year; the Communication report by Adela Redondo, in which the VPTIs and national presidents are asked to send news and quality photos, in addition to commenting that the Ozanam Network wants to give an alternative, in agreement with the experts in communication, the idea of creating a tool similar to the newsletter, which is integrated into the web; the report on Structure and Special Projects presented by Vice-President Julio Marques de Lima, in which he mainly explained the tasks of the territorial vice-presidents; the report on the canonization of Frederick Ozanam was presented, in which it was commented that some medical reports are still pending. Finally, the report on the International Solidarity Fund and the Aggregations, among others, was presented. After reading the reports at the end of the session, all the reports, proposals and agreements presented were approved.
Meeting of Territorial Vice Presidents. Shortly after, our member Julio César Marques de Lima, International Vice President for Structure and Special Projects, opened the International Territorial Vice Presidents Meeting (ITVM), with two lectures on governance and structure, which addressed the problems and solutions faced by countries not only to address the new forms of poverty, but also governance, leadership and management improvement, ending with group discussions.
FAMVIN 13 Houses Campaign. The President General requests the attendees and especially the Territorial Vice Presidents to send information about their “13 Houses” projects, as the Pope is very interested in this initiative and we will present him a report. Our institution is the main contributor due to its presence in many countries, and the Pope wishes to bless 13 keys of the 13 Houses.
The Campaign focuses on: providing shelter, street care or similar initiatives, such as: day centers, prevention services/training programs, and creating small businesses with homeless people.
Any initiative or project that is already underway to be added to the “13 Houses” Campaign, please contact the Coordinating Committee:
fha.campaign@famvin.org or +33 6 43 20 12 56. FHA has a team available to support you in your initiative.
More information: https://vfhomelessalliance.org/
International Executive Committee Meeting
After the Vincentian prayers, Father Orozco CM’s spiritual reflection was read, which dealt with the international program, “Growing Together in Faith” that aims to enable Vincentians to deepen their faith, live as committed disciples of Jesus Christ and contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God on earth.
The agenda began with the readings and approvals of the PGI 2023 Moral Report, the Report of the General Treasurer who presented the 2023 Audited Accounts and the 2024 Budget, as well as the past management of the previous President, Secretary and Treasurer, during 2023.
International Foundation: A resolution was then voted to mandate the President General to create an International Foundation to raise resources and respond, among other things, to the different projects and new types of poverty faced by the Conferences and Councils.
Bylaws. On the other hand, the Report of the Bylaws Committee was presented, proposing different changes to improve management and transparency in governance.
Safeguarding. Following the reading of the Report of the Working Group on Safeguarding, and at the initiative of Mark Gaetani, President of Australia and Elaine Heyworth, 3rd Vice President General, a commission was created to make recommendations in this regard for the upcoming youth events in which young Vincentians will participate. It was approved that the person in charge of this commission will be our sister Claire Victory from Australia.
CIAD Appeal. An annual appeal was made to all the countries of the International Commission for Aid to Development (CIAD) for emergency funds and economic aid for projects that promote development, together with the Twinning Report, which supported social initiatives in 88 countries, the combined endowment reaching 3 billion (¿million?) euros, and the new Strategy 2025 was also presented.
UN Report. Then an interesting report on the work of our activity at the UN was presented by the commissioner, Brother Renato Lima, where we intend to stimulate the culture of peace, the culture of fraternity and the culture of empathy; he reminded us of the different teams where we are positioned at the UN: We are in Paris, in UNESCO the Group of Education and Culture Initiatives; in Geneva in the Human Rights Council, in the Group of Social Initiatives and in New York, in UNESCO in the Catholic Group, in the Group of the initiatives to support the Homeless in line with FAMVIN, and in the Civil Society Forum. He also commented that he is working to seek an agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Other matters. On the other hand, the Bylaws Committee suggested that the countries send suggestions as there will soon be a new meeting of the group.
The Charity in Hope Medal, at the initiative of the Italian National Council, was awarded to Lions Clubs International.
The next day, the second part of the Executive Committee meeting continued. After the Vincentian prayers recited in community, the meeting moved on to the pending matters on the agenda:
In this second part, several of the members present took the floor, among them:
Interventions.
The President of Brazil, Márcio José da Silva, to present the development and assistance he is carrying out with the National Councils of most of the nearby countries and VPTI Sebastião Ribeiro who also presented the activities in South America.
VPTI Maurice Yeung enthusiastically commented on his recent visit to the Japan Conferences, where he was received by the National Council who were very grateful for the visit.
From Africa several interventions, among them from the VPTI our brother Ilidio Manhique, who commented on the existing problems in several countries; James Lesa the president of Zambia mentioned among other problems the serious problem of drought in Africa due to climate change, and especially in Kenya, a disastrous situation that the national president exposed. Regarding the Middle East, VPTI Tamer Chemaly explained the critical situation in these countries and highlighted the deterioration of social life and the economy, especially in Lebanon.
Osvaldo Hidalgo, president of Paraguay, also spoke, congratulating the attendees for the atmosphere generated at this meeting, and on the growth of the Conferences;
Linda Dollar President of Canada commented on the situation in her country and proposed some suggestions for consideration.
Serge Castillon, President of France, was very satisfied with the development of this meeting and made himself available for any matter where France could be of assistance.
VPTI Frank Brasil of New Zealand also spoke, commenting on new initiatives that can be extended to other areas of the Confederation in terms of modernization and management in the Oceania zone.
Willian Alves, vice-president of Brazil, gave an interesting biography of the soon-to-be saint, Pier Giorgio Frassati, the patron of Vincentian Youth and his membership in the Turin Conferences, as well as other topics related to youth.
Commission for the International Foundation. It was commented by the attendees to resume the initiative of the Foundation and the suitability of leaving created in this Executive Committee a commission for this purpose. After the approval of the International Foundation and the entrustment to PGI for its implementation, a commission was formed among those present to bring the International Foundation to fruition, which will be led by our brother John Berry, President of the USA and is composed of him, plus five members appointed by the Committee itself: Mark Gaetani, President of Australia, Alfons Ten Velde, General Treasurer, Sebastian Gramajo, First Vice-President, Urbanus Kinutia, Third Vice-President and Lucy Cher, Territorial Vice-President.
Edgardo Fuentes, a young Honduran, on behalf of the Young Vincentians, closed the round of interventions by expressing his gratitude to the General Council for its support and expressing the great motivation they have to contribute initiatives and actively participate in all the social events and activities programmed.
Meeting of the General Committee of the General Council
After the Vincentian prayers, the meeting continued with the agenda, which among other matters approved the formation of a Committee to start up the Foundation, the Situation in Ukraine was discussed, since they want to resume the Conferences through contacts presented by the Congregation of the Mission, the situation in Slovenia and the next FAMVIN meeting in Rome, where they want to create a Charity Commission and prepare the Jubilee 2025, where the Pope will bless the 13 keys of the 13 Keys Campaign of the Famvin Homeless Alliance.
International meetings: The next board meeting in Munich, October 4-6, 2024, and the next International Vincentian Day to be held in Australia in the fourth quarter of this year, with the presentation of the Confederation’s consolidated accounts, were also discussed.
Other international meetings are for June 2025, the plenary meeting in South Africa; the next Ibero-American meeting in Panama, not yet scheduled, either for the second semester of 2025 or for 2026; the next celebration of the International Vincentian Day 2025, to be held on November 15 in Brazil; and the next general assembly in June 2026, to be held in Mexico.
At the end of the meeting, the Oceania initiative to modernize all management and digitalization processes in the area was presented for further assessment.
A meeting where friendship, harmony and spirituality reigned, thanks to all the members who did their part to make it possible, showing that we are united in fraternal love and in the Vincentian spirit.
The meeting closed with a folkloric performance by a native group and a fraternal dinner with music.
Visit to the Basilica of the Good Shepherd: The finishing touch was the visit to the Basilica of the Good Shepherd, built in 1600, which houses the tomb of St. Francis Xavier and is one of the most important pilgrimage centers in India. It was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. St. Francis Xavier, the great Spanish saint, patron saint of missionaries, called the Apostle of the Indies, co-founder of the Society of Jesus. An exciting place, which transmits peace and recollection, by the large number of blessings that encloses this unique basilica in its walls.
VISIT TO THE CENTRAL COUNCIL OF TRICHUR-KERALA
The President General, accompanied by the National President of India, the Treasurer General and the Executive Assistant, visited for two days the Central Council of Trichur, in the south of the country: they were warmly welcomed by the President, our confrere Jose Manjaly, accompanied by the members of the Council and more than 2,500 Vincentian confreres.
The President General cut the ribbon of several projects, the first one concerning the “13 Houses Campaign” in Kerala – Trichur, in the presence of Archbishop Andrews Thazhath who gave his blessing. With these 6 new houses the SSVP will give support and help to the poorest families in the area. The Central Council of Trichur has already 75 houses for the needy in its 75 years of existence.
The President General, accompanied by Treasurer General Alfons Ten Velde and Jude Mangalraf, National President of India, then inaugurated the new dialysis project in the capital of Trichur, at St. Vincent de Paul Hospital. Thanks to this initiative, six new dialysis machines will be distributed to different hospitals and thousands of patients will be able to receive treatment and improve their quality of life.
The following day, the President General, together with the Treasurer, the President of India and the Executive Assistant, inaugurated the “Enduring Love” project, in the presence of more than 1,500 Vincentian confreres, which begins its activity with the distribution of kits for dialysis patients. The treatment will be provided free of charge to many patients in vulnerable situations. Among other civil and ecclesiastical personalities and members of the Regional Committee of Kerala, the event was attended by the Archbishop of the Syrian-Malabar Catholic Church, Monsignor Mar Raphael Tattil, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Irinjalakuda, Monsignor Mar Pauly Kannookadan.
The visit to the social closet located in the facilities of the Central Council of Trichur, where the Vincentian women collect, classify and distribute, with love and care, the clothes to assist the most needy people in the area, was the last official act of the visit.
Thanks again for the hospitality, affection and treatment received. A visit that will remain in the memory for a long time.