MELKITE - GREEK
CATHOLIC PATRIARCHATE

The celebrations of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in Damascus on the occasion of the feast of its Intercessor Saint Vincent de Paul and the 150th anniversary of its foundation in Damascus (1863 - 2013)


This celebration consisted of two events:

The first event: at 6 pm on Friday 27 September 2013 - The members of the Society of St Vincent gathered at the Church of our Lady of Damascus, Al Koussor Street, where the President of the Society of Damascus, Riad Sargi, welcomed the Minister of Social Affairs, Dr Kinda Al Shammat, and her companions, his Excellency Apostolic Nuncio to Syria Archbishop Mario Zenari, Charge d'affaires, Bishop Joseph Arnao'ti Patron of The Armenian Catholic Diocese in Damascus, a group of fathers, nuns and benefactors. The ceremony was monitored by the brother lawyer, Antoun Maarawi. He thanked those present for their participation, despite the security situation. Then the General Secretary of the Society, brother Abdou Mousleh, presented an integrated presentation on the history of the Society since its foundation in 1863 to the present day, recalling the successive Presidents of the Society and their achievements, and mentioning in particular, Georgy Bitar, the inventor of the art of mosaic, and one of the first members of the Society; he became its President in the period between 1896 and 1901. Brother Mousleh asked the local church to follow-up the case of his Blessing in the Vatican. His presentation was followed by a documentary film entitled "No time like Now" which summarized the life of Blessed Frederic Ozanam who with his colleagues founded the Society of St Vincent de Paul. It also showed the circumstances that have arisen in the first half of the nineteenth century. The film was followed by the word of brother, Dr. Michael Benni, the Vice President of the Society. He illustrated the activities of the Society and its projects to the attendees. He spoke about the centers of the Society in addition to its services to the refugees in the current crisis. After that, a power point presentation about the Society centers and activities was shown. Then, Father Antoun Mousleh The General Guide of the Society gave his word in which he explained the balance between the material and spiritual work of the Society and focused on the spiritual and psychological dimensions in particular to help and to heal the wounds of people and children in particular suffering from the current crisis in Syria that triggered the killing, displacement, destruction and desecration of everything that is humane. After that, a documentary entitled "Life & Time" was shown; it demonstrated the spread of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in different parts of the world.  Then in her speech, Dr. Kinda Al Shammat, thanked the Society for its over 150 years of tender, valuable, and voluntary activities, remarkable deeds and serious work, and encouraged its members to continue to offer their services to the poor and needy. Dr. Al Shammat left the floor to Mr. Firas Nabhan, Director of the Ministry's services, who read the ministerial decision to grant the Society in Damascus an amount of five hundred thousand Syrian Pounds, as a contribution of the Ministry for supporting the activities of the Society. A lot of photos were taken for the attendants and the Social Affairs Minister, His Excellency Apostolic Nuncio and all the members of the Society. Then everyone went to the church hall where the Minister with His Excellency Apostolic Nuncio opened an exhibition of the photos from the archives of the Society that included valuable photographs of the early part of the last century, other photos went back to fifty years from now "taken during the celebrations of the first Centennial of its establishment in Damascus in the year 1963", and some recent photos of the Society activities and the members of the Society conferences. The exhibition also included one of the manuscripts and a number of books from the archives of the Society. A lot of memorial pictures were taken during the cocktail party offered by the Society on this occasion.



The second event: at 6 pm on Sunday 29 September 2013 all the members of our Society gathered at the Cathedral of our Lady of Dormition –Olive Lane- where a Divine Liturgy was celebrated by His Beatitude Gregory III Laham the Patriarch of Melkite Greek Catholic, assisted by Bishop Joseph Absi, Patriarchal Vicar General and Father Antoun Mousleh the Advisor General of the Society and a number of Fathers. This celebration took place in the presence of the Minister of Social Affairs Dr Kinda Al Sammat, and Mr. George Nakhleh representing the President of Parliament, a number of Nuns and benefactors to the Society. In his speech, The Patriarch has noted the generous assistance and helps of the Society to the poor and the needy for 150 years in Damascus, wishing its continuity of tenderness and love. During the mass, His Beatitude Gregory III awarded silver, gold, and diamond medals to the eligible members of the Society, who also received the Medal certificates from the Minister of Social Affairs. The Advisor General of the Society read out the prayer of the Vincentian family. He asked the new and old members of the Society to repeat the Vincention Promise to renew their commitment toward achieving the Society's goals. The General Secretary of the Society, the Vice President and the President read out prayers to Almighty God for the poor and needy people, the work of the Society, the reverence for the Blessed Frederick Ozanam and for the restoration peace, security and reconciliation in Syria. Then all the attendees congratulated the Medal recipients of the Society members and took memorial photos.