In 1617 Madame de Gondi asked Monsieur Vincent to preach in her properties on general confession. The Feast of Conversion of Saint Paul, January 25 was the opportunity to preach such a sermon in the village of Folleville in northern France. Response was incredible. In next days Vincent de Paul and his associates preached in nearby churches and crowds of peasant parishioners lined up for confessions. They even asked Jesus from Amiens to come and help them.
This first mission sermon, as he called it, St. Vincent regarded as the beginning of the Company of the Priests of the Mission. However there was no formal institution founded until April 17, 1625 when the legal contract was signed to found the Congregation of the Mission.
These two dates, 1617 and 1625 are the principal milestones in the history of the Little Company as St. Vincent used to call it.
In 2025 we will celebrate 400 anniversary of the foundation of the Congregation of the Mission. Preparations began last year. This year we are moving to another step of the pre-celebration of the Jubilee which theme is: “Put on the Spirit of Jesu Christ”
If you want to learn more about preparations and the Jubilee itself we encourage you to visit specially dedicated website:
https://bit.ly/IUBILAEUM400CM
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