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July 4, 1996

To the Visitors of the Congregation of the Mission

My very dear Confreres,

May the grace of Our Lord be always with you!

During our meeting in Salamanca, each Visitor received a letter inviting you to send one, two, or three confreres, who serve on the popular missions, to participate in a Vincentian Month on that theme. This meeting would take place in Paris in July 1997.

Since that time, it was suggested that we also invite lay persons and sisters who frequently participate as members of our mission teams. We reflected on this at a recent council meeting and the time seems ripe to us, especially now when we are speaking a lot about collaboration with the laity and with the Vincentian Family. Therefore, I am proposing that you might send to the Vincentian Month, if you judge it appropriate, a lay person or a sister, on condition that they be collaborators, working on the team with our confreres, and regularly participating in the missions which the confreres organize. I believe that their presence will be a great enrichment for this Vincentian Month and could be a stimulus for all the confreres to collaborate more with the laity and the Vincentian Family.

With regard to the participation of the Daughters of Charity, in agreement with their Mother General, I would ask you to speak first to the Visitatrix before inviting a sister.

As in the past, this Vincentian Month must be financed by the participants. Thus, would you please make sure that, like all the other participants, the laity and sisters you might send arrive with their financial contribution. The cost should be about 7000 FF (or US $1400) per participant. We will write you later to be more specific about this.

As with the last Vincentian Month, I would like to suggest that Visitors who are able might offer a scholarship for confreres from poorer provinces, so that no one will be prevented from participating for financial reasons.

Finally, please send the registrations no later than October 15, 1996 to Fr. Emeric Amyot d'Inville, at the General Curia. If there are too many registered, we will have to make a selection, but, in view of the large number of places available at the Motherhouse, we hope to be able to welcome everyone.

It was wonderful seeing you at Salamanca. I hope that this Vincentian Month will be a stimulus for our mission today. Be assured of my prayer.

Your brother in St. Vincent,

Robert P. Maloney, C.M.

Superior General

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