The Council General to hold its annual plenary meeting in June in Paris

Events will be broadcasted live on Ozanam TV

From June 13-17, the Council General International will hold its annual plenary meeting at the Centre Chevilly-Larue in Paris, in accordance with the Rule, Statutes of the Confederation and French law. The Centre belongs to the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritan Fathers), and is close to the Orly airport.

The plenary session will be hybrid, which means that participants who cannot attend in person will have the opportunity to follow the sessions online. All Vincentians around the world will also be able to watch the gathering, which will be broadcasted on Ozanam TV, enhancing the transparency and good governance of the Council General.

On June 13th, the program includes the Annual Meeting of the Territorial Vice-presidents. On the 14th and 15th, the Permanent Section and the International Executive Committee (made up of 20 countries) will hold their meetings. On the 16th, there will be a pilgrimage to Paris to the places where St. Vincent de Paul and Ozanam live as well as a visit to the new headquarters of the Council General. On the 17th, the attendees will return to their countries of origin.

During the event, 16 resolutions will be examined to approve the management reports (of the President General, the Secretary General and the Treasurer General), the financial accounts of the Council General for the year 2021, the minutes of the last plenary session (Madrid 2021), the extension of mandates of some Superior Councils due to the constraints of the pandemic, as well as the allocation of resources for specific purposes (such as the canonization of Ozanam and events for the youth).

During the plenary session, the “Charity in Hope” Medal will be awarded to the NGO “Fraternity without Borders”. A cooperation agreement will be signed with this social organization, which is present in eight countries and carries out exceptional humanitarian work through community and educational projects focused on children in need. There will also be two special presentations, one on the actions of the SSVP in Ukraine, and the other on the “Governance Framework “, which will be approved during the event.

There will also be a debate on the universal logo of the Confederation, the launching of the document “How to found a Conference in seven weeks”, a contest on education will be launched by the International Vice-Presidency of Youth, among other initiatives. 

“We are organizing everything with great care and dedication, so that this year’s plenary meeting will be a success. We pray God that the decisions made by the collegium will be the best possible. The venue chosen is excellent for spiritual events with a chapel and all the appropriate structure,” stressed Marie-Françoise Salesiani-Payet, Secretary General. 

We ask for everyone’s prayers for the success of the event, and for the participants to have a good trip as the pandemic, thank God, is receding.