SSVP Brazil’s New National President

The swearing-in ceremony, held in Rio de Janeiro, was attended by a large number of Vincentians

The SSVP Brazil’s new National President, brother Márcio José da Silva, and the new board members took office for a four-year term on January 9th, 2022. The event took place at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian (Catedral São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro). 

Complying with Covid-19 health and safety protocols, the swearing-in ceremony was conducted by the brother Julio Cesar Marques de Lima, CGI’s Territorial Vice President for America 3 (South America), and brought together a great number of Vincentians. Prior to the ceremony, a mass was celebrated by the auxiliary Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro, Paulo Romão. 

Proclaiming the inauguration of the new National President, the CGI’s Territorial Vice President for America 3 thanked the outgoing National President, brother Cristian Reis da Luz, for the close collaboration between the SSVP Brazil and the CGI during his term. He also stressed the importance of the SSVP Brazil’s involvement in forthcoming international projects: “The international SSVP movement needs the SSVP Brazil’s active presence and know-how in several fields, while supporting our mission to move forward in the service to the poorest.”, he emphasized.

After taking the oath of office, the new President introduced the new national board members for 2022-2026 and delivered his inaugural address. Brother Marcio thanked the outgoing board, who had led the SSVP Brazil for the last 4 years, and presented the motto for his term: “Being Vincentian, a vocation lived out at the Conferences, with the Poor”. Reinforcing this motto, he said: “We must understand that vocation in the journey of faith is defined as a call from God, a call to love and serve the poorest wherever they are, alleviating their suffering, helping them in their plight and serving them in hope”.

 Currently, the SSVP Brazil is made up of 134,000 members from 15,800 SSVP Conferences. In addition to the work carried out directly with more than 290,000 people assisted by the Conferences, the SSVP Brazil runs 625 Social Works (nursing homes, day-care centers, hospitals, and others).