The New Superior General Father G. Gregory Gay, C.M. Vincentian leaders and delegates from around the world convened in Rome for Assembly during the summer of 2004. One of their tasks was to elect a new Superior General for the Vincentians and Daughters of Charity. Father G. Gregory Gay, C.M., was elected the new Superior General. According to the statutes of the Association, he also becomes the Director General of the Association of the Miraculous Medal. Read the text below to learn how Father Gay's connection to the Vincentians began.

“My connection to the Congregation of the Mission began with a great-uncle who was a Vincentian and who worked in the Republic of Panama. When I was young, he used to tell me about his missionary experiences, and that was where my vocation began.” Father Gay has worked in Panama and Central America since 1985 in various positions. He has worked in mission parishes, in seminary formation, and as Provincial Superior of the Central American Province. In a recent letter to the Vincentian Family, Father Gay outlined his goals— “I hope to be able to visit confreres, Daughters of Charity, and the Vincentian Family throughout the world.   I want to spend time with the young people of the different branches of the Vincentian Family.   I hope to see the works that the Family has with the poorest of the poor.   They are our pride and joy, “a treasure hidden in a field,” where we truly come to live more deeply our charism, being faithful in following Jesus Christ, evangelizing the poor. “That same love of God that inspired Saint Vincent to serve the poor has been entrusted to us all.   To live faithfully our charism, we are called to be missionaries, which means we know no frontiers, whether they be geographical, nationalistic, or even family related.”

Our Newly Ordained Kenyan Vincentian Priests

On Saturday, May 28, 2005 four Kenyan Vincentians were ordained to the Priesthood.  These are the first four Vincentian Kenyans to be ordained. They are pioneers. They are the beginning of the Vincentians (officially called the Congregation of the Mission) in that country. They are examples of what mission work is all about. Others go to a new land with the message of the gospel—and of Saint Vincent—and their purpose is to establish the Church there so it can stand on its own. Establishing priests from the country is an essential step on the way.

A Million Orphans in Kenya Father Jim Swift, my provincial superior, was telling me about his last visit to Kenya. He shared with me how he had seen first-hand the incredible poverty of Kenya, especially in the Kibera slums where our Vincentian priests and brothers work as missionaries. The Kibera slum is the largest of five slums in the city. It alone houses an estimated 80,000 orphans and a million people living in poverty! How do you help a million orphans—or even 80,000 orphans? That great number of orphans is just one example of the poverty in Kenya. Even though the Vincentian missionaries work primarily in evangelization and with the clergy, we also pay attention to the poverty literally at our doorstep. We help other members of the Vincentian family, like the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, in their work with the orphans. And they have the answer. You help those orphans in the same way you help anyone in need—one child at a time. Each child you help is better off for your help. One at a time, they get a good meal. One at a time, they get ready for school. One at a time, they discover the love of God as we see in each child the face of Jesus Christ. One child at a time!

Father Gary Mueller, who is pictured to the left with Jackie Mwangi, (a member of the Kibera Saint Vincent de Paul Society) works with the orphans in the Kibera slums. He shared with me how the children at the Saint Vincent de Paul Daycare Center were excited to send their artwork to their friends across the sea.

The children at the Saint Vincent de Paul Daycare Center hope you enjoy their artwork!

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Last Fall, Four of our Native Kenyan Seminarians
Professed Their Vows as Vincentians

One of them, Lennoxie Lusabe, from a family of 23 brothers and sisters, professed his vows on August 15, 2003, the feast of our Lady’s Assumption. He shares his reasons for wanting to be a Vincentian—

Lennoxie is but one example. Today, Vincentian priests and brothers work spreading Christ’s good news to the poor in Kenya, where Lennoxie will be working soon. Some of them are now there, working with the poor and training native Kenyans for the priesthood as Vincentians. Brother Jim, one of our Vincentian brothers, works directly with very poor young Kenyan men, training them as carpenters, so that they have a marketable skill to help them earn a living. A valuable byproduct of this training program is construction of furniture for our novitiate house and for the local Daughters of Charity who are working with the poor in Kenya. “He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.” These words adorn the official seal of the Vincentian priests and brothers. This is the mission Vincent de Paul gave his small band of followers in 1625. And since then Vincentians have been spreading the news of Christ’s love to the poor all over the world.

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Father Kuczak, C.M., a Polish Vincentian priest, recently visited the area of Siberia selected for a new Vincentian mission. Here are some excerpts from his report.

I visited Russian Niznij Tagil in the Urals. Situated on the eastern slopes of the Urals, this is the place where the continents of Asia and Europe meet. And this is a place where it seems people have always been lied to and who therefore have a twisted sense of life. The People Had Been Deluded
Imagine people not only without jobs, and therefore without livelihood, but also for years had been presented with delusions of reality, where materialism is all important and where God is said to be only the creation of sick imagination. This is what the 700,000 inhabitants of Russian Niznij Tagil woke up to when Communism collapsed at the end of the 1980's. Its economic success was a delusion. The Communist vision of material welfare turned into a real tragedy. The people woke up to agony. They Lost Their Jobs
Within one year 45,000 tank factory workers lost their jobs. The end of Communism in the countries neighboring the Soviet Union, the end of the cold war, and the breakup of the country into smaller republics shook the arms industry. This was the end of gigantic orders for weapons. Along with the big tank factory, smaller ones producing tank equipment and parts also went bankrupt. Tens of thousands of people were put out of work. They were without the means to live. An ordinary worker woke up and suddenly found himself in a totally new reality. With no job, he lost his motivation to live. He did not know God, since he had always been taught that God was a dangerous drug. How could he live? And why? There Was No Moral Support
When I was looking at those simple, ordinary people during my stay there, I thought they were like homeless children. They were wandering aimlessly not knowing what awaited them the next day. They drank gallons of beer and vodka. There were countless abortions. These poor people were drowning in moral decay. They lacked moral and spiritual support. Further, the people of the Ural region were constantly abused by those who illegally tried to attain a better standard of living. Here is what the people faced. Sunday is the only day free from work. However, some even have to work on Sundays. The Orthodox Church is weak. It had become part of the national tradition of Communism. The people have become the companions of misery. They are living in poverty and without prospects for a bright future. The theaters, movie houses, discos, and circuses are closed. One or two people die from alcohol poisoning every weekend. This does not surprise any of the residents. These people of Niznij Tagil have been left without hope for a better tomorrow. They have no authority in which to believe. They are like rejected children--bad and tough on the surface, scared and uncertain inside. Hope Can Light the Flame of Good
Sometimes the sincerity, hospitality, and kindness of the people win out over the distortion of their consciences and mutilation of their sense of sin. It is necessary to light this barely smoldering flame of good that is within them. They were, after all, created by God to be like him. Jesus said, "The healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do." (Luke 5:31) For this reason we would like to establish our mission there. We want to ease the pain of the people's awakening after Communism. This suffering has become so much a part of their lives. Please pray for these people and for our mission.

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How Grateful They Are
by Father Robert Wood, C. M.,

Father Wood, C.M., is a Vincentian missionary from the Midwest Province. He is evangelizing the people of Kenya in Africa by training native clergy for the people. This is one of his numerous stories about his experiences in Kenya and expands on an incident mentioned in last February's issue. There was a seminarian who was in the Minor Seminary when I started teaching in Kenya. Here is his story. He was an altar boy before he came to the seminary. He was about 12 years old at the time when he was traveling with one of the Consolata Fathers from the main mission to one of the outstations in the Rief Valley. They were just getting started establishing that outstation. One day the priest and altar servers were traveling down there for Mass when a bunch of bandits attacked them. They killed the priest, killed two of the servers, and they started to kill the young altar server. But one of the raiders recognized him as his distant relative, so they let the boy live. Right then and there that boy decided that he would become a priest to replace the foreign missionary who gave his life to bring the faith to the people. The boy had made that vow to God at such a young age. When it was time for him to graduate from the Minor Seminary, the priests on the faculty spoke to him about the situation. They told him 'you really are not held to the vow that you made to God when you are that young.' The young seminarian whose life had been spared went on to join the Consolata Fathers. He stayed with them for a little while, but he did not continue. The reason he did not go on was that the Consolata Fathers were taking candidates who had finished "form 6" in school, which is two years more than "form 4." "Form 6" students would be equivalent to high school seniors in the United States. This young man, who had just put in four years at a Minor Seminary, was put into this group who had finished six years of schooling. I think it was just too much for him to keep up with them. There was too much difference in their education. But, what is touching is the whole idea that this boy was willing to become a priest to take the place of the one that was killed. What a sacrifice and desire! We don't have that here in the States. We don't see among the young a desire to replace someone.

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The Children Suffer Most

"These are the appalling life stories of little abandoned children. But are their parents the only ones to blame? A grave crisis of the family is obvious here. There are a lot of children who have a second or even third mother or father."

People Need God

"But not all are that way. If you approach a person with attention and love you may discover that deep inside he or she has a responsive heart longing for righteousness, for God." Part 2
Our story continues as we learn how God is coming to the people of Kharkov through your Vincentian missionaries. His letter continues... "Step by step people discover in themselves an intrinsic need for spirituality. But there exists a great danger that this need may be used by the various sects which are abundant here. "Our new parish is very large (it comprises about 1.5 million people). But we have no church, no parish house, or any other place where we could meet people and speak to them about God, where we could invite orphans and let them feel the warmth of the home they lack so much. The only place for our meetings is an old, half-ruined, one-story building without heating, where the window frames are covered with polyethylene film instead of glass, and the ceilings look as if they could collapse at any moment. The temperature inside is about the same as outdoors, and besides there are a lot of mice. To warm the room where our sermons are given we use electric heaters. As a result, only last month we paid an electricity bill of 45,000,000 krb. (US $250). It is a great sum of money when compared with the average salary (5,000,000 krb.) and pension (about 2,000,000 krb.) in the Ukraine. Considering all this, we can hardly expect any financial support from our congregation. So with these words, I appeal to all people of good will, asking for help. "Help us, please, so that we can gather at the table of God's word and Eucharist in a proper place. "Help us, please, so that we, priests, could build a new parish house and be at the disposal of our congregation. "And please, help those poor children by giving us a chance to build a center for them. "Let Ukraine and Kharkov learn that God is love, mercy, and charity."

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Father Maloney, our Vincentian Superior General, continues to ask Vincentians to go to the missions. Last year he worked on opening a new mission in Siberia. Father Maloney shares this story about Father Robert, one of the first Vincentians to go into Siberia after the fall of the Iron Curtain. He was invited to speak at a school. The headmistress said, "Father Robert, come give a talk to our teachers. ...please tell us about God." Father replied "Where do I start?" These are his words.

I talked to them about God in a very simple kind of way, in a manner that I thought might appeal to their background. They received it very well and at the end the headmistress said: "This is fascinating. What a tragedy that we were deprived of hearing about these things." I spoke about the Trinity and then about life after death. Of course, this was almost completely unknown to them, except that they had heard propaganda against it. At the conclusion, the headmistress said, "It's going to be difficult for us to attune our minds to these new possibilities. But all of us think that you should now come and tell our students about God." Within a short time two beautiful groups of the Legion of Mary sprouted up. You should see them. Their story is so incredible that you would have to write a whole chapter about it. The saddest thing for me is not that all their parents are unbelievers, but that many of their parents, for some strange reason (I don't understand why) opposed their coming to us. It was social pressure of some kind. As a result the children got no support at home. At one of the Legion meetings someone asked them, "Isn't it very hard when you get no support, I mean to be the only one in your family coming out on Sunday morning when everyone thinks that you're crazy going to your Legion meeting in the middle of a heavy snowstorm." Three of the answers were beautiful. One girl said, "Yes, it's very difficult but we get great strength from the Mass." That was a lovely answer from a youngster of 13 1/2. The second said, "Well, we're in our Lady's Army, and we feel that she has to give us support because we're working for her." The third said, "Well, we actually get strength from one another when we come together. We give each other mutual encouragement." Father Maloney concludes by writing, "Experiences like that make me excited about our sending missionaries to Nasnij Tagil in Siberia."

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This is a story about Jose Montaño, a very talented musician. Father Maloney reports this story in Jose's own words.

I was born in a mining area, near Potosi. My parents were miners from their youth. They met at the pit and they fell in love. They put their hope in the extraction of metals. In the pit they dreamed of having their own home and enough to feed and educate the children that God would give them. They were miners, but even better musicians. They composed at the rhythm of pit work. The music and words of their songs were the expression of people living in the darkness, even if in other places there was daylight. Through harmony and verses they expressed the wishes of a people whose aspirations were that having daylight would be normal for everyone. Or at least, their sacrifice in the pit would mean a better life for their descendants. They gave free concerts for their co-workers. At the end of a work day they gathered around a pot. During meals and rest time they listened happily and with nostalgia to the miners' laments. But on Saturdays and Sundays well-to-do people applauded them in "camp nº 1" at Potosi. They brought their songs to other regions too but never had any real success. Once, someone took interest in their music and recorded records and cassettes, but they were not very successful. Perhaps these themes only interest those who live them. When I was 6 years old I thought I should no longer burden my family with childish demands so I left home. I started looking for a job to be able to earn some money and help my mother who was constantly complaining of a pain in her right lung. Not long after that she lost it. Nonetheless, she found a job composing music and singing. In this job, she started drinking and it was rare to see her well anymore. It's not necessary to say how she finished. I found a job at a confectioner's shop. At my age, they could not pay much. I started washing dishes, earned food and a few dollars, and I was allowed to go to school. Later, as a waiter, my income was better. When there were some leftovers they gave them to me for my brothers. For two years I always gave some money to my mother. But the confectioner's shop closed and I found myself unemployed and without a place to live. For a while some friends in the street helped me survive. I did not think for a moment of going back home. I do not know if it was out of fear, or because I was used to living alone.
Part 2
Our story continues as Jose meets Sister Stephanie one evening. Sister Stephanie, who gives food to the street children, invited me to go to the "Amanecer" program at Sayaricuy. Though fearful, I accepted, and went to a house for homeless children. Later I was transferred to "St. Vincent's Hotel" for older children. For four years I completely forgot about my family, partly because of the comfort in which I was living and partly for fear of going back home. One day, I was entrusted to the care of Pedro Cuba by Sister Francin, the Sister in charge of the home. Little by little they convinced me I had to go back to my family. Sister Francin and Pedro came with me to see my parents. My mother suggested that I come back home but, seeing the situation there, I decided to remain at St. Vincent's. Even though I did not live at home, I started a new and deeper relationship with my family. When I went to see my family, they were practicing their musical compositions. I was very impressed to hear them play so well. I asked them if it was good to play music, because everybody talked so badly about musicians: "They say they are drunks, live badly, and they only go on sprees." For me, those who played in pubs and cafes had bad reputations. My father told me it was very good to be a musician, and my mother encouraged me to attain what they could not. I was determined to learn folk music. I joined a small group that was starting off. My mother was very happy to learn I played old instruments and had become part of a musical group that was very successful. During my visits I discovered that something was very wrong with my mother. She was constantly in pain. Still, she was happy and liked to sing. A little later I formed my own musical group and was doing very well. My mother was very proud of me. After returning from a concert in Trinidad, my mother's health was failing. Not long after, she became very ill and died.
Part 3
Our story continues just after Jose lost his mother. A week after my mother died I had a concert. I hesitated whether to go or not. But I went and sang with all my heart, as I never did before. I have very deep within me music and folklore, because in them are those whom I love. When my mother died, my family lost interest in music and left it for a while. With my savings I bought my father a guitar and a charango. Now he plays again, and it moves me very deeply when I hear him singing his life and his dreams. He is very sick with terminal cancer. I know he could go soon. He asked me to promise him something. "Son, if you fulfilled your mother's wish, you have to do something for me, too. I want you to put in my tomb the guitar and charango that you gave me. And take your brothers with you to the Amanecer program to learn how to play what our ancestors left us." For music, I go wherever I am asked and with anyone. I have been very lucky not to have learned music where they teach it with electronics and have forgotten our native ways. For me there will never be any other music but ours. I want to conclude by saying what my music means to me.

When I was struck by life, there was always something that helped me to get through. I felt I had something important to do. I do not know the notes or musical rules, but I know how to play and sing what I learned from my people. It is something fascinating for me. In it my ancestors found a sense for their lives. I have a feeling that with the music of the traditional Bolivian instruments, one finds the very special gift of God for the poor.

At 17, Jose Montano waits for opportunities, accompanying and helping with his musical gifts whoever asks him. He plays at Masses, celebrations, and concerts. He waits calmly for the time to fulfill his promise to his father. He hopes to help his brothers to be able to survive. Once his promises are fulfilled he could dedicate himself entirely to his music, the traditional Bolivian music. Without any doubt his ancestors live in his music. In every note and word his songs breathe the spirit of his family and people. The hollows left by poverty in his life are filled by his aspirations to get from music what other members of his family could not. The biggest thing that the houses of the Amanecer program have given him is not food, nor education, but a return to his own family and people, the ability to recover his own identity. The life of Jose Montano makes me reflect on so many emigrant children, from the country to the city. Today, scattered and abandoned to their luck, they walk the principal streets of Bolivia. I hope you do not ask me whether or not I believe it useful to start new Amanecer programs. I only wish to share a question that I cannot answer yet: What would have become of Jose Montano if he had not found the humble support of "Amanecer"?

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(Father Maloney, Superior General of the Vincentians, is also the Superior General of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.)

You have all often heard and read about Ethiopia. You have seen pictures of the children starving there during times of famine. I found my visit an unforgettable trip. It was like entering another world. Let me briefly describe a striking experience that I had there.

How Do Women Live in Ethiopia

From that day on, I have often thought about the life of women in Ethiopia. Much of their day is spent searching for wood and water and carrying it to their homes. Half of the children die before reaching the age of five.

Vincentian Missionaries Focus on Educating Women in Ethiopia

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"One of the most touching incidents in my life occurred just about a year ago at the height of the troubles in Rwanda, when hundreds of thousands of people were being slain."

At that time, I happened to be visiting Zaire and was near the Rwandan border. One day, at about four o'clock in the afternoon, three sisters arrived at my door unexpectedly. They had just come out of Rwanda and had been the last Daughters of Charity remaining there. They wanted to speak with me urgently. They were very upset at having to leave the country. They told me that they had received word from the Mother General in Paris that they should depart immediately. They found this order very difficult to understand. They felt that they were, as foreigners, not in grave danger, although they recognized that there was a certain danger. I reasoned with them, as gently as I could, recalling that more than a half million people had already been killed, among whom were many foreigners. Two of their own postulants had recently been murdered. I also told them that their families were very concerned about them and had been in frequent contact with the Mother General to find out when they would be coming out of Rwanda. They said to me, with a conviction that deeply impressed me, "Father, you have to die somewhere. The poor need us in Rwanda and we're ready to die for them." I encouraged them to return to Paris to get some rest, visit their families, and to speak with the Mother General and the members of her council to explain their position. I said that I hoped that they would soon be able to return to Rwanda to serve the poor. In fact, they are back there now and have been received with open arms by the people. The situation in Rwanda remains grave. Armed groups still enter the houses of the people, terrorizing them, demanding money, stealing, and killing. Please pray for the missionaries and suffering people there.

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The Gospel Comes to Mozambique
by Father Robert P. Maloney, C.M. (former Superior General)

My visit to Mozambique left a deep impression on me. Mozambique is frequently described now as the poorest country in the world. It was ravaged by a 15-year civil war that finally ended in 1992. While peace has reigned rather consistently since then, there are still many signs of the violence that ruined so many of the country's structures. Burnt-out trucks and cars line the highways making you think of those who died under attack in them. Transportation from one part of the country to the other is difficult, since the roads are still very poor, with holes all over them. The schools have broken windows, shattered doors, and no desks and chairs. Students sit on the floor, which is often strewn with dust and garbage. Hospitals are dirty, poorly staffed, and lacking in medicine and sanitary procedures. Ninety-two percent of the population does not know how to read or write. The paradox is that the country actually has rich potential. The land is fertile and there are abundant rivers. Unfortunately, some of the irrigation projects that functioned well in the past have now been completely destroyed, but at least they are a sign of what might be done. I found the people very welcoming. Both the Vincentians and Daughters of Charity who work in Mozambique attest to the hospitality of the people. We had some wonderful liturgical celebrations in the various villages, with lots of dancing and singing in native languages. Among our priests and sisters I found many heroes. They stayed in Mozambique all during the many years of guerrilla warfare and civil war. Many people, for reasons that are understandable, fled from the country at that time. Many were also killed. The Mozambicans deeply appreciate the fidelity of missionaries who stayed and continued to serve, even in the most trying circumstances. Many of the lay people too are heroes, since they witnessed nobly to their faith during the period of the Communist takeover. I was very touched when I visited the hospitals that the Daughters of Charity run. One of these is dedicated almost exclusively to young women who are about to give birth to children. There they receive instruction on prenatal care, medical assistance during the birth of the child, and further instruction and postnatal care. Tragically about 20% of the women who come are HIV positive. They, and their babies will almost certainly die. Many others die from malaria, dysentery, tuberculosis, and other diseases which, in other parts of the world, are easily treated. The Daughters do wonderful work in trying to raise the level of consciousness about infectious diseases.

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Albania
by Father Robert P. Maloney, C.M.
(former Superior General)

Our new mission in Albania began in September, 1993, and has grown very quickly. Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Its economy was wrecked by the former Communist government. One of the first things that you notice in Albania is the bunkers! The former government, which was paranoic about its enemies, built 700,000 of them! They dot the countryside looking like little mushrooms with a small opening for a gun placement. In fact, they were never well staffed and were never used. The government continually warned the people of the danger of enemy invasions. In reality, nobody was thinking of invading Albania. The government was also explicitly atheistic. After 1966, baptizing someone was a crime subject to capital punishment. Consequently very few younger people have been baptized. Our missionaries, upon arriving, took over an abandoned hotel. Little by little they transformed it into a parish center with a large chapel, classrooms, and offices for various parish groups. When I visited this center, a huge number of people came to participate at Mass. Almost none of the young people present had been baptized. The priests have begun a well-attended catechetical program to prepare these young people for the sacraments. I was struck by how many people have quickly returned to the Church even after 50 years of religious persecution!

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A Call for You

It is an opportunity for you to answer Christ's call to "make disciples of all nations." Jesus said to his disciples, "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8) Vincentian missionaries bring the faith to the remotest and poorest places of the earth. And you can help them.
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