Saturday, 25 January 2020, the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul and the Foundation of the Congregation of the Mission, marked the beginning of the pilgrimage of Saint Vincent’s relics to the countries of Slovenia, Serbia, Northern Macedonia, and Croatia. This pilgrimage began in the Vincentian Fathers’ Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, where the Vincentian Family gathered to receive, in a great spirit of faith and joy, the Saint of Charity’s relics. The Eucharistic celebration, in which the relics were received, was presided over by Archbishop Anton Stres, CM, Archbishop Emeritus of Ljubljana, together with several priests of the Congregation of the Mission.
In the homily, Archbishop Anton Stres presented the “coincidences” between Saint Paul’s evangelizing mission and Saint Vincent’s life and work, his dedication to the poor and neediest.
On the first Sunday of February, the memorial of the venerable Servant of God, Bishop Janez Frančišek Gnidovec, CM, was celebrated. He died on 3 February 1939 and, since his exhumation, his mortal remains rest in this Church. Priests, deacons, seminarians, and parishioners, who feel affinity with this candidate for beatification, attended the celebration. The Eucharist was presided over by Maksimilian File, Abbot of the Cistercian Abbey in Slovenia, founded in 1136 at the time of its founder Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
The relics visited several communities of the Daughters of Charity in Ljubljana and the Saint Catherine Labouré Nursing Home in Menges, where the elderly and sick Sisters also reside. They also visited the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity and Saint James Apostle Parish, which the missionaries of the Congregation of the Mission serve. This week the relics are in Mirenski Grad at the Shrine of the Sorrowful Virgin very close to the border with Italy. They will remain there for a week.
A special program has been prepared everywhere to meet the relics and to make Saint Vincent better known. In addition, this pilgrimage was used to present three examples of holiness in the Vincentian charism of our milieu: Mother Leopoldine Brandis, Daughter of Charity; Bishop Janez Frančišek Gnidovec, CM, (Bishop of Skopje-Prizren in Northern Macedonia); and the martyr, Janez Strašek, CM. In all three cases, the beatification processes are underway and are at different stages.
The relics will tour the regions of Slovenia, where the Vincentian Family is present, and, on 22 March, they will leave for Northern Macedonia and Serbia to finish their journey in Croatia before their return to Naples, Italy at the end of April 2020.
The reception of the relics is for us a moment of reflection and happiness. We feel the closeness of Saint Vincent. His example helps us to continue living the charism that he began more than 400 years ago. It should be noted that the fervent desire of the Congregation, the Daughters of Charity, and the entire Vincentian Family is to continue living the legacy of the Founders and to continue on this path with an option for the neediest.
We ask our Father in heaven, through Saint Vincent’s intercession, to send workers into his harvest to respond to so many needs.
Pavle Novak, CM
Province of Slovenia
