Revitalizing the Vincentian Identity in the Context of Mission Ad Gentes

Abstract

Evangelization of the poor was the primary concern of Vincent de Paul and his companions. The Second Vatican Council recaptured the missionary spirit of the early Church and stated that the pilgrim Church is “missionary by its very nature”. The Church is born out of the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit sent by the Father. From the very beginning of the Congregation of the Mission, St. Vincent de Paul and his companions were simply called “Fathers of the Mission.” That means, as our Superior General Fr. Tomaž Mavrič pointed out, from the very beginning there was “a sense of dynamism, movement, going to the peripheries, not being caught in a state of stagnation” in our DNA. During the 43rd General Assembly, the members of the Congregation of the Mission committed themselves to support the Mission ad Gentes effort and reiterated the resolved to set apart at least one percent of confreres to this mission every year and strengthened their commitment to bring the Gospel to all people. Mission and evangelisation in this sense is one of the fundamental qualities of the Congregation of the Mission. Without recapturing this original spirit of “being sent to the nations,” we cannot attain a complete and meaningful revitalisation of our Vincentian identity.