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CONGREGAZIONE DELLA MISSIONE 
CURIA GENERALIZIA

Via dei Capasso, 30

00164 Roma –   Italia

Tel (39) 06 661 30 61

Fax (39) 06 666 38 31

e-mail: cmcuria@tin.it

Rome, September 23, 2005

Letter to the Visitatrixes and Visitors of the Company of the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and always!

Dear sisters and brothers:

It is my pleasure to present to you the Final Document of the 2nd VMY General Assembly – Paris 2005.I wish that this document shall reach the hands of the sisters and co-brothers of all the Provinces and not only to those who carry-out the service of advisorship of the movement. In this manner, everyone will have the chance to value the course of the Vincentian Marian Youth from its last Assembly in Rome 2000.

It is a challenge for all of us to succeed in transmitting to the young people our charism. Thus, I ask all the members of the provinces, under the encouragement of their respective Visitors and Visitatrixes, to accompany these young people in the living-out of the Vincentian Spirituality and to respond with depth their many needs in relation to their human, spiritual and apostolic formation.

For this, I invite you to know better the richness of VMY, its history, its leaders and its documents particularly the one entitled “Formation Processes and Endways in JMV” that is available in different languages and can be found at the VMY International Secretariat. www.secretariadojmv.org

I would like to emphasize some aspects of the documents that particularly concern you:

*The urgent need of qualified accompaniment and genuine interest for the young members of VMY. They assert, “We affirm the urgent need to offer accompaniment to the young people (…) Integral formation of the Advisors and Animators of the groups will promote growth and perseverance of the members of the members of the Association.” (Formation. Convictions, 2.1.3; 2.1.4.) I invite you to keep alive the interest of the young people for their on-going formation.

*The knowledge about VMY and our role in the Association, from the initial formation programs of the Daughters of Charity and the Vincentian Priests (Formation.Commitments, 2.3.5). It is a beautiful suggestion. To realize it will be the responsibility of the Visitratixes and Visitors, their Provincial Councils and formation teams. I would like to remind you that this is not an option. Rather it should be an integral part of our programs of formation in the light of our respective Constitutions.

*The openness to incorporate the members of VMY in our projects of serviceto the poor; these will help them foster “missionary communities” within the local Church and be open to all types of mission. (Service and Mission, Commitments, 3.3.4). With the participation of the young people, we will succeed in giving renewed witnessing of our own local communities. The young people have the desire to bring closer the bonds of collaboration with us. They consider us as elder brothers and sisters. Those who have been converted as adults within the Association wish to share in the spirit of co-responsibility the task of Advisorship of VMY, which is being done by our Sisters and Priests at present. (Vincentian Family. Convictions, 4.1.2)

*One of the most important aspects of the Assembly was the topic of auto-financing. This issue has been one of the constant difficulties for VMY. For this, they had excellently drafted the last article in the Final Document. “Economic problems must not prevent the participation of the young people in programmed activities. (Towards Auto-financing. Challenges, 5.2.3). In likewise manner that the young people ask for generous contributions or dues from their members as their share in the international coordination, they also would like to avoid at all costs, financial dependency which not one of the Vincentian Family branches is encouraging. Let us place at the disposition of VMY the methods that we have in order to help them lookfor new forms of auto-financing. In this manner, we will help them move forward, financially speaking.

Finally, I would like to quote the lines of the Document, “On the 175th anniversary of the Apparitions, and remembering that the Virgin Mary entrusted to St. Catherine Laboure the mission to go to the young people, we are convinced that even today Mary continues to inspire our mission. (Service and Mission.Convictions, 3.1.1).

I wish that the Congregation of the Mission and the Company of the Daughters of Charityin the whole world unite with VMY in this conviction.

May we together give glory and honor to Jesus Christ, Evangelizer and Servant of the Poor, through the intercession of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

Your brother in St. Vincent,

G. Gregory Gay, C.M.