Council General International

On 9 September, fellow member Renato Lima de Oliveira and his team will be celebrating four years in office leading the Council General International. During this period, the International Board, with God’s grace and the Superior Councils’ support, has made significant progress for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul as a whole.

“These have been moments of great joy and learning. Everything that we have achieved is the result of the joint efforts of all Board members, and those belonging to the international structure, as well as the employees at headquarters and especially the member countries of our Confederation. I am proud to be the President General of this wonderful team”, stated President Renato Lima.

A link is provided below to a PDF article Four years in office: serving with transparency. Therein, President Renato recaps the main achievements, highlighting the strategic planning, new aggregations (2,200 Conferences), the Ombudsman General’s office, transparency in management, the new headquarters in Paris, international travels, the SSVP’s expansion (five new countries), global aid, institutional relations and cooperation agreements, spirituality and formation, youth and communication, the legacy of the seven founders, Ozanam’s canonization and many other issues.

“It has been a four-year term of hard work and many achievements, yet with challenges, like the pandemic. First off, I would like to thank my family and God, who has been very kind to us in these four years, giving us the strength to overcome hardships and pitfalls. It is a great privilege and honor, as well as an immense responsibility to serve as President General for all members around the world”, remarked our President.

At the end of the text, fellow member Renato makes three requests to the Vincentians around the world: “Pray for me, serve the poor with true love and preserve unity within the Society of St. Vincent de Paul”. He dedicates the results of his office to the memory of fellow member Amin Abouhamad de Tarrazi, 12th President General, who passed away in January 2019.

Click here to read the Letter 40/2020, summarizing the actions undertaken to date. The Superior Councils are kindly asked to widely disseminate the contents thereof among the members, Councils, special works and the Vincentian Family of each nation.

Link to original article here.