Origin

The Congregation was founded on 20 November 1904 as a Koventha at Thottakom by Fr. Varkey Kattarath with three diocesan priests, with the approval and encouragement of Mar Louis Pazheparampil, the first Vicar Apostolic of Ernakulam. The Koventha was based on the Common Rules of St. Vincent de Paul and on the model of the Congregation of the Mission, founded by him in 1625. However, due to various reasons beyond their control, all of them, including the founder Fr. Kattarath, were forced to disperse by 1915.

Revival

After some years, Rev. Frs. George Mannara, Antony Pauvathil and George Vattamkandathil expressed their desire to lead a religious life to Mar Augustine Kandathil, the then Archbishop of Ernakulam who directed them to revive the religious community once founded at Thottakom. Accordingly they revived it and began the community life at Thottakom on 19 July 1927. Fr. Varkey Kattarath joined them at Thottakom in October 1927. The Koventha at Thottakom was officially called the Vincentian Congregation in 1938.

Spirit and Charism

The spirit of the Congregation is the participation in the spirit of Chirst, ever active in the church, lived and recommended by St. Vincent – an intimate, personal love of the Father, docility to the divine providence and an ardent, compassionate love of the poor. The Congregation draws its spirit and distinctive character from the life and works, and the Common Rules of St. Vincent de Paul who is chosen as the Father and Patron of the Vincentian Congregation. “To preach the Good News to the poor” (Lk.4: 18) is the motto of the Congregation. As visualized by St. Vincent, we strive to give expression to the spirit of Christ, resplendent in the five virtues of simplicity, humility, meekness, mortification and zeal for the salvation of souls. The ardent and compassionate love of the poor inspires the Vincentians to work hard and to do their best to improve the conditions of the poor, and to share their lot by adopting a humble and simple life style. A whole-hearted commitment to the evangelization of the poor and their human and Christian advancement is the identifying mark and charism of the congregation.

Vincentian Ministries

The charism of the Congregation is realized by the preaching of the Word of God, missionary works among non-Christians as well as in the educational, social and charitable apostolate in order to help the poor in their integral development.

1. Popular Mission is the specific form of preaching the Word of God undertaken by the Vincentians. It is a special type of retreat aimed at the thorough renewal of parishes. Such parish retreats are appreciated and welcomed by the bishops, parish priests and faithful. For this retreat, we have two teams of preachers for Kerala, one for Tamil Nadu, one for Andhra Pradesh and another team for the Hindi speaking area. In addition to Popular Missions and as a follow-up for this, the Vincentian priests organize other forms of preaching such as Bible conventions, residential retreats etc. We have 51 prayer and retreat centers, including the well-known Potta-Divine Retreat Center. We are expanding such programs to foreign countries also, including some African countries.

2. In places where the Gospel has not yet been preached or the Church is not yet well established, the Vincentians share the missionary responsibility to preach the message of Christ and to implant the seeds of faith. We engage in two-fold mission work: namely mission ‘ad gentes’ and re-evangelization. The Congregation began its ministries outside Kerala first in Tamil Nadu. Gradually it was extended to most of the other states in India. At present Vincentian Missionaries are active also in Africa and South America. All the three provinces of the Congregation undertake mission work in these places.

3. Upholding the charism of St. Vincent, the Congregation is organizing several programs and institutions for the benefit of the most abandoned. The fundamental principle of our social and charitable activities is the social message of Jesus revealed in the sacred scriptures and following the example of our heavenly patron St. Vincent de Paul. The words of our Lord in the description of the last judgment, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me” (Mt.25:40), inspires each Vincentian in this regard. As part of our social and charitable activities, we run three De Paul care centers to accommodate the poor cancer patients, one center (SSSMILE Village) to rehabilitate the akasaparavakal, another one for the poor and chronically mentally ill, one for the aids patients and several houses for the aged as well as poor children.

4. The educational institutions run by the Congregation maintain a Vincentian touch, making them affordable for the poor and ordinary people. Through this, we are fulfilling the duty of forming worthy children for the church and responsible citizens for the country. Therefore, our educational institutions distinguish themselves by their spiritual, intellectual and cultural excellence. The Congregation is running many schools and educational institutions all over India both in rural as well as urban areas and one in Africa. These institutions give special attention to the character formation of the new generation, by inculcating in them the spirit of love, service and fraternity.

5. Another important ministry that comes from the Vincentian charism is helping the diocesan clergy. This is actualized by conducting renewal programs, ongoing formation for the diocesan clergy as well as by assisting in the parishes where there is shortage of priests. Some of our priests are rendering service in different parishes in India as well as in Europe, Africa, America and Australia.

Fr. George Mannara, Msgr. Thomas Nedumkallel, Fr. Jacob Kallarackal, Fr. George Kammattil, Fr. George Manalel, Fr. Paul Kariamadam, Fr. Antony Plackal, Fr. George Arackal, Fr. Varghese Puthussery, Fr. Varghese Parappuram and Fr. Sebastian Thundathikunnel served as Superiors General of the Congregation for different periods of time. At present the Congregation is led by Fr. John Kandathinkara, elected Superior General on 14 April 2021.

Active in His Service

At present the Congregation has three provinces, three dependent regions and six missions and altogether there are 1 bishop, 572 priests, and 184 professed seminarians.

The three provinces are the following:

1. Marymatha Province, Provincial House, Angamaly, 683573, Kerala
2. St. Joseph Province, Provincial House, Kottayam, 686006, Kerala
3. St. Thomas Province, Provincial House, Ujwa, 110073, New Delhi

The dependent Regions are:

1. Good Shepherd Region, Andhra Pradesh, under Marymatha Province
2. Sacred Heart Region, East Africa, under Marymatha Province
3. St. Xavier’s Region, Tamil Nadu, under St. Joseph Province

The Missions are:

1. St. Paul Mission, Maharashtra, under Marymatha Province
2. Christu Jyothi Mission, Uttar Pradesh, under St. Thomas Province
3. Mother Theresa Mission, Culcutta, under St. Joseph Province
4. Divine Mercy Mission, under St. Thomas Province
5. Jai Yesu Mission, under St. Thomas Province
6. St. Vincent Mission, under Mary Matha Province

The members of the Congregation are serving today in India in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Seemandhara, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, and Uttar Pradesh. The members are active abroad also; Vincentians are working in Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Peru, Scotland, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda and United States of America.