Vincentian Studies Institute - "Double Family" To The "Vincentian Family"

"Double Family" To The "Vincentian Family"

From the time of its first continuing education efforts, the Institute noticed a growing awareness of a network of relationships within the charism in the United States that Vincentians, Daughters of Charity and others have now come to very familiarly call the "Vincentian Family." For the last ten years the Vincentian Studies Institute has sought to expand its mission from the narrower concept of serving the "Double Family," to the much broader national and international reality encompassed by the concept of serving the "Vincentian Family." It would not be inappropriate to say that the Institute has been a leader in this movement.

In the summer of 2003 the Institute sponsored its first Vincentian Family Heritage Tour to sites associated with Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac in Paris and throughout France. The thirty-five participants represented many branches of the Vincentian family in the United States. The success of this first effort has led to successive tour offerings.

Within the last several years the Institute made a commitment to foster collaborative ties with the Ladies of Charity, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian tradition. Sister Sheila O'Friel, D.C. (USA Northeast), has concentrated on the Ladies of Charity and the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, while Sister Betty Ann McNeil, D.C. (USA Emmitsburg Province), has worked with the Sisters of Charity Federation in the Vincentian-Setonian tradition. The Presiding Officer also attends the annual meeting of the heads of the Vincentian Family in the United States.