The International Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul hosted a four-day International Vincentian Youth Study Days (IVYSD) in Salamanca, Spain from June 4 – 8.

This was to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Society of St Vincent de Paul worldwide. It was my pleasure and privilege to journey to Spain to experience the first international youth gathering since Frederic Ozanam and his foundation members met in Paris, France in 1833 to form the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

Preparations for this meeting started in February this year, when Br Rudolph Boneo our National President informed me of the meeting and forwarded the official invitation letter to me requesting that I represent Trinidad at this historic gathering.

My first reaction was – Spain! I know a little Spanish, but Spain! This first email was a clear indication that I would have to brush up on my Spanish or purchase a Spanish dictionary.

And so I did. Seventy-eight different countries were expected to participate and in my mind’s eyes there would be at least five different languages to contend with. Instead of attempting to learn any other language I opted to ensure that I knew at least some conversational Spanish.

During the weeks preceding the meeting I built an online relationship with the youth coordinator and organiser Annika Wolfe who made all my travel and accommodation arrangements. A blog was also set up to assist me with preparation work for the topics to be discussed at the study days.

David Williams (in green sweater) who assisted in composing and putting together the Rules and Statutes of the International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul with the English-speaking listening to the Salamanca tour guide

Nathalie Millington next to a statue at one of the universities in Salamanca. Salamanca is well known for its universities

Nathalie at the dining table with Fr Gregory Gay, Superior of the Congregation of Vincentian Fathers for the International General Council. He is also Spiritual Director of the SVP International.

The journey to Spain took me one day with a stop at JFK, NY for the connecting seven-hour flight to Madrid. Upon arrival at the Barajas International Airport in Madrid the pilot in his welcome remarks instructed us to change the time on our watches to six hours ahead to local time in Spain.

By this time I was really filled with excitement in anticipation of what was to take place during the next few days. Could just being a member of the SVP have provided such an opportunity for me?

It was around 9:30 a.m. Spanish time when I saw the large SVP sign and a welcoming contingent waiting to greet me. Soon enough, my thoughts about getting rest vanished from my mind; within half an hour, over a simple breakfast, I was making friends with persons from around the world - Ireland, Sudan, Sri Lanka, the US, Nigeria, Spain, Holland, New Zealand and Antigua.

After breakfast we proceeded to the bus that took us to Salamanca. The drive to Salamanca was quite long - three and a half hours to be exact. After getting my fill with sight seeing of this beautiful country, I resorted to a nap until I felt the bus stop. We were finally at the House of the Vincentian Spiritual Fathers in Salamanca.

It was here I finally met Annika in person. As she welcomed us she handed us the keys to the rooms we were to call our home for the next four days. The balance of the day was spent socialising over lunch and later on, dinner.

The first official day of the meeting was June 4. The day started with Mass at the chapel with Fr Yvon Laroche, a Vincentian priest and spiritual advisor.

Fr Laroche in his homily, challenged us to be open to what God wanted from us at this Youth Gathering and encouraged us to approach the meeting in a spirit of humility and fear of the Lord, the same spirit which inspired the founders of the Society of St Vincent de Paul many years ago.

After Mass, we proceeded to breakfast and at 9:15 the official opening of the Congress took place. There was a welcome by the SVP President of Salamanca, followed by a message from the President Superior Council and opening remarks from the President General of SVP International, José Ramon Diaz Torremocha.

The President General asked us to reflect on the theme chosen for the gathering – Hope and Service and indicated that the hope of the organisers for the Youth Gathering was that a more dynamic social perspective would be brought from a global level in terms of what the Society of St Vincent de Paul truly means. He challenged us to ensure that we were present to replace our seniors and so be the guarantee for the Society’s future.

Translators were present to assist us with communication in Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese, through the use of remote controls and headphones, which provided translation of the various languages represented.

Our first presentation/talk was entitled: “Foundation of the Society” by a French historian and university professor Mathieu Brejon Delavergnee. Mathieu has contributed tremendously towards research through his work in the study of the Society and also offers support at Council level to the Paris office.

In his presentation, we learnt about the seven foundation members of the Society – Frederic Ozanam, Emmanuel Bailly, Paul Lamache, Auguste Le Taillander, François Lallier, Jules Devaux, and Felix Clave.

We were also reminded of the philosophy of the Society of St Vincent de Paul in terms of Christianity and how it relates to serving the poor through visitation and bringing the word of God to them.

New forms of suffering

We were then broken up into workshop groups, according to language. There were two English-speaking groups, two Spanish-speaking groups and a French/Portuguese group.

We were expected to appoint a chairperson and secretary who had a joint responsibility of presenting the notes and conclusions to the President General at the end of the meeting.

At the end of our first workshop session we had evaluated our experiences based on Theme A: The Role of Young people in identifying new forms of poverty.

Each era has and creates specific forms of poverty throughout the world and the session focused on our vocation as Vincentian youths to our duty at Conference level to be alert to the appearance of new forms of human suffering in order to help those in need to overcome them.

We concluded that although we lived in different parts of the world we all have some level of poverty to address at our Conferences and we need to have a collaborative relationship with Senior Conferences to fight against all forms of identified poverty.

Our day ended with a barbecue dinner in the gardens of the home of the Vincentian Fathers.

Evangelisation is necessary

The second day followed a similar format. Once again we started off with Holy Mass with Fr Laroche. The talk for day two was entitled “The Rule of the Society” and was presented by David Williams, an SVP member for over 30 years who contributed towards the writing of the Rules and Statutes of the International Confederation of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

This document governs the operations of the Society, gives guidelines on the origins of the Society, Vincentian Spirituality and Vocation, formation, aggregation and dissolution of members, twinning, International, regional and National executive committees, just to name a few.

There are three dimensions to the Rule of the Society which distinctly identifies our spirituality, and the basic requirements as it relates to our international status.

These dimensions are firstly, circular, which reflects a communal aspect, secondly, a horizontal dimension, which reflects our work with the poor and thirdly, the vertical dimension which covers the spiritual ethos of the Society.

Our second workshop session took place according to Theme B which placed focus on Young Vincentians in the Conferences and their representation in the Holy Church.

As we shared, it was concluded that just like senior members of the Society, young members are also called upon to meet with the poor in person.

So too, evangelisation is also necessary because we all know that overcoming poverty and achieving fulfilment of each individual in human terms is reached through togetherness with Christ. It was important to note that according to St Augustine, our mission as young Vincentians was to “Preach the good news at all times and when necessary by our actions”.

Midway through our discussions group members felt that although the programme was set to discuss and identify specific topics, we were still challenged by the question – “What does God want from us?  At this point the young people “turned the meeting around”.

Discussions were held on what were some of the practical issues and challenges we wanted to raise at an international level, as well as some solutions and recommendations which we had for the International General Council of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

Some of the issues highlighted were the view that the Society must grow in the area of awareness and visibility throughout not only our countries, but around the world as well.

We need to increase our profile by lobbying within our governments and by branding the Society with a logo that is easily explained, and a symbol that can easily be recognised all around the world to represent our work with the Society.

Another suggestion we proposed was to revitalise the SVDP website with better translations for the information that is presented, a summarised version of the International Rule for a more use friendly approach, especially among the younger groups and that an International Youth Committee be set up to deal specifically with recruitment, ongoing formation and training as well as communication at an international level for the youth.

Our study day ended a bit earlier in order to accommodate a visit to the city of Salamanca where we were given a tour as well as shopping opportunities.

Vincentian way of life

On our third and final working day the main talk was entitled “The Commitment of a Vincentian Life”. Three members shared testimonies about their lives as Vincentians.

Renato Lima de Oliveira, National President of Brazil, Eduardo Marques and International Vice President, Michael Thio all testified to joining the SVP as youth and remaining committed to the work in service to the poor for over 35 years.

They shared how even their family became Vincentians since being a Vincentian is indeed a way of life, and also how their suffering and struggles in life were all part of their “communion with the suffering and struggles of the poor”.

We were then given the opportunity to ask questions about coping skills, as well as find practical solutions to the many challenges we faced at Conference level in the different countries.

Our workshop session (Theme C) focused on Young Vincentians in the ‘ongoing Foundation’ of each Conference. In a letter dated June 30, 2007 the President General wrote about the need to experience the ongoing foundation of each Conference by experiencing the values and intimate ways that existed at the time of our foundation.

As young Vincentians we are expected to live within the Christian community of each Conference with openness to what the Holy Spirit desires of us and to be ready to listen and follow His advice.

We had the opportunity to review the letters and journals written by the foundation members who themselves created a sense of community among themselves and we were charged with the responsibility of ensuring that a sense of community existed among our youth groups.

However, we have to be, as young people, Vincentians of the world, not only of our particular community, and this is what the international youth gathering was essentially about.

The session ended with presentations from the various groups/languages as well as the election of the International Youth Committee, which would be steered by Eduardo Marques.

Sharing what I have learnt

The closing ceremony then followed with a talk from the Superior of the Congregation, Fr Gregory Gay. He reminded us of the simplicity and holiness with which we must approach our work in service to the poor.

Fr Gregory also inspired us to be the light to the future of the Society, not being afraid to speak out on the hope the Society could be shaped for the future.

He asked us to follow in Christ’s footsteps through the Holy Spirit and a personal relationship with God. We then proceeded to Alba de Tormes, a village in the outskirts of Salamanca for the closing Mass.

Upon return, the closing dinner took place and this was followed by a concert hosted by a Spanish group who entertained with song, music and dance.

I wish to extend heartfelt gratitude to the National Executive, specifically our National President Bro Rudolph Boneo and Sr Yvette Woodruffe for the opportunity afforded me and the preparation and guidance I got for the trip to Spain.

The President General will be producing a magazine on the Youth Gathering where the findings, conclusions and recommendations will be highlighted.

My intention is to address, firstly the Youth Secretariat, followed by visits to youth conferences to share what I have learnt in the hope of increasing youth membership in Trinidad and Tobago.

Remember, we can stay in contact with what is happening internationally through the SVP website www.ozanet.com.
Once again I wish to say thank you and thanks be to God.