VincentWiki:Ephemerides/1 May

From VincentWiki

1636: Louise de Marillac left the first Mother House, at rue de Versailles, and moved to la Chapelle area which became a second Maison-Mere of the Company. On the front of the house turned to a coffee shop a commemorative table was placed to remember the fact.

1646: Conference of Vincent de Paul to Daughters of Charity on indifference. Vincent, who was surprised to see Daughters gathered despite he had sent notice to postpone the conference, said that he had been prepared to talk to three or four sisters who were starting establishement in Mans, but because that the notice did not arrive, he would say something about the indifference that had to be practiced in houses and jobs and on the qualities that should take the Daughters who are sent and means of achieving this.

1648: Conference of Vincent de Paul for Daughters of Charity about proper use of instructions given by superiors at the conferences and beyond. Vincent developed importance of the conferences, which he said, were instituted by the same Jesus Christ, who with his apostles in conferences established his Church.

1649: In Rome, Edmond Jolly, future third Superior General, was ordained a priest. He arrived in the Eternal City a year ago after eighteen months of seminary in Saint Lazare. Vincent de Paul thought that this twenty-six years man would be a good relief for the confreres in Rome.

1649: Margarita Chétif, succeeding Louise de Marillac as superioress general enters the Company of Daughters of Charity. She was daughter of Louis and Mary Lavoisne from the parish of Saint Sulpice in Paris. She was baptized on September 8, 1621. In 1653 she was proposed for mission in Poland, but war stopped her in Rouen. She became first sister servant of the house in Arras (1656-1660). From 1667 to 1670 she was Directoress of the Seminary, and then she was sent to serve in hospital in Angers. In 1674 she became Treasurer General and next, in 1677 was appointed Superioress at the hospital of Nom-de-Jésus. At the end of her life she returned to the Maison-mere where she worked on scriptures, visited the poor from St. Laurent parish and helped in the Sacristy. She died in the infirmary on January 9, 1694 at midnight. She kept carefully and gathered all that concerned our Holy Mother and gave these documents to Fr Gobillon to compose the first biography of St. Louise.

1844: The first retreat for Daughters of Charity is preached in the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. It was a project Fr. Jean-Baptiste Étienne prepared and matured for some time. He was glad, that it could happen despite great difficulties. He himself said in the circular dated August 4, that his heart was filled and exceeded his expectations.

1889: Arrival of first Daughters of Charity to Prizren (presently in Kosovo) to establish a school and clinic.They were invited by Bishop Czrew, bishop of Uskub (Turkish name for Skopje).

1927: In church of Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Ning-po, China, Fr André Defebvre CM is ordained bishop. Ceremony is presided by bishop Hou, a Vincentian, who was one of the first six Chinese bishops consecrated in Rome by Pope Pio XI on October 28, 1926. Bishop Faveau, also Vincentian and bishop Simon Tsu, a Jesuit, were other attending prelates. This day was unprecedented, since it was the first time when Chinese bishop provided episcopal consecration.

1954: At 7 o'clock in the evening, whole community of Maison-Mere gathers in the prayer room to officially receive text of Constitutions, renewed and revised according to the Code of Canon Law, from hands of Fr William Slattery, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission. The ceremony follows in the same way as the one held on May 17, 1658 when Vincent de Paul distributed the book of Common Rules to first Priests of the Mission. On this occasion, the Father General was standing before the altar of the prayer room, and each of the priests and brothers who have taken votes, was approaching, in order of vocation, to kneel before the successor of St. Vincent and kissing the book of the Constitutions and his stretched hand . The ceremony ended with singing of the Magnificat.