Vincentians Unite in the Mission of St. Vincent de Paul

New Provincial

Left to Right: Very Reverend Gregory Gay, C.M., Superior General and Very Reverend Perry Henry, C.M., Provincial Superior

Press Release
Congregation of the Mission

Nearly 170 Vincentian priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Mission will gather on January 24, 2010 to celebrate the birth of the new Western Province. Three of the five United States Vincentian Provinces are merging into one new Province. The new Western Province is a merger of the current Midwest Province based in Saint Louis, the Southern Province based in Dallas, and the Province of the West based in Los Angeles.

Superior General, Very Reverend Gregory Gay, C.M., will erect the new Western Province of the Congregation of the Mission and install the new Provincial Superior, Very Reverend Perry Henry, C.M., at 4:30 p.m. Mass on Sunday, January 24, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. A reception will follow.

Vincentians of the Western Province are united in the mission of their founder, St. Vincent de Paul, to follow Jesus Christ evangelizing the poor. The priests and brothers of the Congregation of the Mission will continue serving the spiritual and material needs of the poor in parishes, social service agencies, schools, a seminary and a major university.

The expansive new Province has Vincentians living and serving in several states, including Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, California, Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, as well as Kenya, Cuba, and Trinidad. The Vincentian priests and brothers serve as pastors and associate pastors in nearly two dozen parishes. They evangelize through parish missions, parish ministry, direct service, and education. They form young adults in the charism of St. Vincent de Paul. They educate our youth and future leaders at DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the United States. They lead several not for profit organizations providing services to the poor.

Vincentians have had a strong influence on the Catholic Church, training and forming diocesan priests throughout the United States. In 1818, they established the first seminary west of the Mississippi River, St. Mary’s of the Barrens in Perryville, MO and went on to found many others. Today, Vincentians carry on that tradition of forming and educating the clergy at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, CA, Aquinas Institute in St. Louis, and Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas.

Father Perry Henry made the following comment regarding the new Western Province,
“This is a new chapter in the long, proud history of Vincentian evangelization in the United States. This history began in the early years of the 19th century. Much has changed in our nation since those pioneer Vincentians first set foot on this continent in 1818. But our mission to “evangelize the poor” hasn’t changed and it is needed as much now as it ever was in the past. I am thrilled to a part of this renewed Vincentian mission to announce the good news of salvation to the poor of the Western USA as we journey into the 21st Century."

Father Henry served as Pastor at St. Joseph Church in New Orleans since 1996. In New Orleans he also led a collaborative effort to establish the Rebuild Center, a one-stop, multi-service recovery center for homeless people and the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Father Henry celebrated twenty-six years of priesthood on June 11, 2009.

On January 25, 2010, following the inauguration ceremony, the Western Province will conduct its first Provincial Assembly. At this meeting the members of the Congregation will discuss important issues such as corporate structure, formation, vocation recruitment, and finances. The Provincial leadership, Reverend Perry Henry, C.M., Provincial Superior, along with Reverend Mark Pranaitis, C.M., Assistant Provincial, will gather the information discussed at the assembly and begin articulating the vision for the Vincentians of the Western Province. In addition, a Provincial plan will be formulated which will include the direction and growth for the Vincentian ministries and apostolates in order to more effectively serve the faithful in the manner and spirit of St.Vincent de Paul.