Album of photos

10/13/2008

On the 1st October, the President General traveled from Hong Kong to Manila. He was welcomed by the President of the Superior Council, the Vice-President and by other members of the Council Board. In the hotel where the President General was staying, the Coordinator of Group 2 had also booked a room and then accompanied the President during his stay in Philippines.
At night, the President General had dinner with other members of the Superior Council. During the next day, at 6:00 am, the President General took a plane, accompanied by the National President and by other members of the Board, to Legazpi where the Society of the Philippines participates, alongside the Daughters of Charity, in a vast program of rebuilding houses after natural disasters. The two institutions have built, between them, more than three hundreds new houses for the victims. The President General then attended a Holy Mass celebrated by Father Frank Vargas, C.M. where almost the whole village was in attendance. At Caridad they shared a meal with a group that included some lively young people. The President General took the occasion to address those attending which included the Daughters of Charity, and expressed, in the name of the Society, his gratitude and his praise for the work conducted. Our readers know very well the deep admiration the President General has for the Daughters of Charity, to whom he often referred to throughout his stay. Later, the Brothers and Sisters accompanied the President General to the feet of Mayón Volcano which devastated the area two years ago, after which they returned to the hotel where they were staying.
When the group returned to Manila, they visited the new offices of the Superior Council where several senior officers of the National Council were waiting for the President General together with some other members. After the visit, they went to a room of that same building where the President General had lunch with the Officers of the Council. The President General then attended a presentation on the activities of the Society in the Philippines.
At night, an official dinner took place in the College Santa Isabel where the President General addressed the whole of the Society in the Philippines encouraging them to keep up the wonderful work of relieving poverty in this region of the world, after which the Superior Council thanked him especially for his visit. The President General put special emphasis on the eradication of the causes of poverty through systemic change. He also praised the excellent work carried out by the Daughters of Charity together with that of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul of the Philippines.
Several regional dances made the night even more interesting. Unfortunately, the President General had to leave early in order to get some rest, due to the fact that he was going back to Europe very early on the next morning, where important matters of the Society were awaiting him.
 

10/9/2008

The President General travelled to Hong-Kong from Thailand and was welcomed again by the President of the Central Council, the Territorial Vice-President and by some members of the Central Council Board. They all had dinner together and during the next day, the President General took a ferry to Macau accompanied by the same Brothers and Sisters.
He was received by the President of the Conference of Macau, Maggie Ma, along with various fellow members, who invited him to a welcoming meal.
At the end of the afternoon, the group gathered in the parish church of Saint Joseph, where the young President of the Conference explained to the President General, in detail, the different activities and the current needs. The President General paid careful attention to this Conference, who with few resources strives to relieve the suffering of the poorest people of Macau.
During the next day, the President General visited several Macau churches, before crossing the frontier in order to enter Continental China.
For obvious reasons, we cannot offer any details on the visits carried out throughout an exhausting week by the President General in continental China. We can only let our readers know that there are three Work Groups which act as Conferences who feel spiritually united to our movement without yet being legally bound to the Society (for legal reasons).
Some of these groups could well serve as an example to many of us in the rest of the world. The President General was pleasantly surprised by how the schedule and rules of a Conference were respected during a meeting.
It was particularly thrilling to be able to stand before the Sacrament in places where there had been attempts to destroy the faith.
Back in Hong Kong, the President General attended the celebration of the 145th anniversary of the creation of the first Conference in this city.
On Sunday morning, he visited the Conference of Saint Judas, made up of 20 members, the majority of them young people. This Conference was created one and a half years ago and is a perfect example of Vincentian spirit and efficiency. The President General congratulated the President and all the members for their excellent work and for their dedication to the poorest of the poor.
In the afternoon, the President General attended Holy Mass in the Cathedral of Hong-Kong, which was celebrated by numerous priests and presided over by His Excellency the Cardinal Zen.
After this service, the Central Council of Hong-Kong celebrated their general assembly, in presence of His Excellency the Cardinal Zen and of the President General of the Society, reporting on all activities carried out during 2007.The Cardinal thanked the SSVP in Hong Kong for all the effort they had made and the President General addressed those present in order to share with them his vision of what the global strategy should be during the next few years.
Once the assembly had finished, those present gathered for a special dinner offered by the fellow members.
The President General dedicated Monday 29th September to deal with urgent matters from the international headquarters of Paris and Madrid.
During the next day, the President General visited a day nursery for children of poor families in Hong-Kong. Fellow members accompanied him then on a visit to the new headquarters of Hong-Kong Central Council, inside which the Council had just set itself up after 145 years of service.
In the afternoon, the President General went to greet the papal nuncio of the Holy Seat in Hong-Kong, Monsignor Eugene M. Nugent. After this meeting, a dinner was shared.
 

9/23/2008

On the 16th September, the President General landed at Bangkok airport where he was welcomed by the President of the Superior Council, Peter Suraphol, who was accompanied by some of the members of his Board.
During his first visit, in that same afternoon, he met with His Excellency Cardinal Michael Meechai. His Excellency and the President General exchanged their impressions on the wonderful work carried out by the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. They particularly highlighted SSVP participation, in collaboration with the Diocese, in various residential projects for elderly people in the region of Lamsai. Here, SSVP helps to finance running expenses as well as to provide assistance through social work (through the Conferences themselves). After a few photos were taken with His Excellency, the President General was led to the accommodation that had been foreseen for his stay in Thailand.
On the evening of the 16th September, the President General was invited to have dinner with the President of the Superior Council and his Board, at Saint Louis Hospital where the Society cooperates on various projects.
On the morning of the 17th September, the Brothers and Sisters and the President General went to the province of Lamsai in order to visit the new residence for elderly people which will be inaugurated at the beginning of 2009. The President General and the Brothers and Sisters also visited an old welcoming house, located close by, as well as a health center for people suffering from AIDS.
At lunchtime, the President General was welcomed by the Daughters of Charity in their Provincial House. We all know the affection and the admiration that the President General holds for the Daughters of Charity; and as a consequence of this, he particularly appreciated this visit to the Daughters who carry out excellent projects, as always, helping the poorest of the poor. The occasion included a warm meal and an exchange of information regarding the work carried out in the region and in the country.
In the afternoon, the President General went to the deprived neighborhood of Dindaeng, in order to visit a nursery. Here he stayed and played with the children for a good part of the afternoon after which he traveled back to Bangkok.
On the morning of the 18th, the President General had to take a plane to Krabi, to visit the main zone affected by the Tsunami. When he arrived, Reverend Pornchai, Saint Agnes’ priest, welcomed him and was accompanied by a member of the Board of the Superior Council. The President General was lead to the beach where the destructive wave had covered the ground. In the afternoon, the President General, accompanied by Reverend Pornchai, visited the training center of Saint Agnes, where the Thai Society is involved in the work and is carrying out various projects of construction and training with funds that have been sent from Conferences throughout the world after the natural disaster struck. A video was shown explaining all the activities. Before going back to the airport, the President General visited the houses which were built with the Tsunami funds and said hello to the families of the fishermen who were there.
On the 19th, the President General had to concentrate on personal matters, taking care of the urgent concerns with the Offices of Paris and Madrid and no visits were planned. For dinner, the President General invited the President of the Superior Council as well as the members of his Board. After exchanging various speeches and gifts, the President General returned to his hotel.
After the visit had ended, the President General left Bangkok on the morning of the 20th.
 

The Président General arrived at Kuala Lumpur on the 13th of september. THe President national and his Board were there to welcome the President General at the airport.

In the afternoon, a Holy Mass was celebrated by Fr. Mari Arokiam, in presence of the President General and hundreds of Brothers. Afterwards, all members went to the dining room where a dinner was offered by the national Council in honour of the President General. and where the two Vice-presidents, Bryan Perera and Rajenthiran Narayanan, presented a video about several social works of the Society. Some children proceeding from social works offered a show during the dinner.

On the 14th, the President General was driven to the nortern region and a little bit later to Malacca, to see various social works of the SSVP. In the afternoon, the President General moved to the south, to the state of Johore where the President of the state Council and the Brothers were waiting to have lunch with him.

Late in the afternoon, the President General met the archbishop, monsegnor Murphy Pakiam, President of the Bishop Conference for Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei. The President General took the opportunity to discuss several matters with monsegnor. The archbishop invited all his guests to have a dinner with him.

Finally, on the 16th, the President General offered a working breakfast to the members of the Board of the national Council, where various issues were examined. Then, the President General left Kuala Lumpur to go to the airport.
 

The President General is arrived in Hong Kong, before to visit several asian countries. His stay in this city gave him the opportunity to appreciate the wonderful work done by the Brothers of Hong Kong who are helping the poor in the continental China.