On this most beautiful day, we, members of the Company of the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission, together with members from the many different branches of the Vincentian Family, celebrate the opening of the sesquicentennial celebration of our arrival to this blessed land of Ecuador.
From the very depth of our hearts, we lift up our voices and say: Thank you Lord for so many gifts and blessings that we have received since July 18, 1870 when we arrived in Ecuador … a day like today when we arrived in Guayaquil.
First, we want to thank each one of you for your presence here, esteemed bishops, priests, Daughters of Charity, men and women religious, members of the Vincentian Family and collaborators in our many different ministries. You have traveled here from many parts of Ecuador and your presence here makes this a very special celebration.
The sesquicentennial celebration of our arrival in Ecuador is, for each one of us, a privileged time of grace and blessing. This celebration is a milestone in our history, and we hope that this will be a source for a new impulse of the Holy Spirit. In this way we pray that we will be able to walk in fidelity to the spirit of Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac. Indeed, the work that our Founders began is the work of God. God inspired it, God sustains it … therefore, let us place ourselves in God’s merciful hands.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, during his visit to our homeland, invited us to look at our roots. Therefore, today we give thanks to our Founders, Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac, for having been docile to the inspirations of God. We also give thanks to Father Étienne, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity, for having been the one who sent the missionaries to this country of Ecuador.
We thank the first Daughters of Charity and the first members of the Congregation of the Mission for their spirit of obedience, for their apostolic zeal. It was they who opened the Vincentian path in this country.
We give thanks to each of the Daughters of Charity and each of the Missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission who preceded us and who, from their place in heaven, join us in our celebration.
We also thank God for the thousands of lay men and women with whom we share the charism of Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Luisa de Marillac … may we continue to collaborate with one another as we serve and evangelize the people of God, especially those persons who are most poor and needy.
Dear Daughters of Charity and Members of the Congregation of the Mission, now more than ever before, we are called to surrender our lives and to serve and evangelize those who are most poor. May we be ever mindful of the fact that we have been called to engage in this wonderful work of God. Saint Vincent always affirmed that Jesus Christ is the founder of this Little Company.
To celebrate 150 years of presence in Ecuador is to open our hearts and to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with life-giving strength. Be instruments of God’s mercy! Allow yourselves to be loved by the Lord so that you, in turn, might love the Lord in the person of those men and women who are poor.
May our Blessed Mother, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, protect us from every evil and help us to be faithful disciples and missionaries of her Son!
May Saint Vincent de Paul and Saint Louise de Marillac bless us today and always!
Message from
Father Max Reyes Sánchez, CM
Visitor, Province of Ecuador
Guayaquil, July 18, 2019
Translated:
Charles T. Plock, CM
Eastern Province, USA
