Vincent de Paul Heritage Week 2023

Vincent was a trailblazer, a true change agent of his day. He was a man who saw hope and possibility despite the challenges of his time. He felt a keen dissatisfaction in the gap between the way the world should be and the way the world was. Throughout his 79 years, Vincent sought to close that divide, asking “what must be done” and acting on the answers he found. Four hundred years later, DePaul University continues to carry forward his legacy by educating the next generation of trailblazers. 

During Vincentian Heritage Week the Division of Mission and Ministry will host the key events below.

 

Sunday Night Mass & BBQ

Sunday, September 24
Mass | 5:00pm | St. Vincent DePaul Parish
BBQ | 6:00pm | St. Vincent DePaul Parish Lawn

Join Catholic Campus Ministry and St. Vincent de Paul Parish for a (free) BBQ on the Parish Lawn (on Webster Ave.) to celebrate the Feast Day, directly following 5pm mass. Whether you go to Mass weekly, occasionally, or have never been to a Catholic Mass, you are welcome here! Come celebrate!

Walk ins are welcome, you may RSVP if you would like here.

 

Loop Mini Vinny Fest

Tuesday, September 26 | 2:00-4:00pm | DePaul Center Concourse

Join Office of Student Involvement and Mission and Ministry for Loop Mini Vinny Fest! Celebrate our namesake’s Feast Day and DePaul University with fun, games, photos, caricatures and more!  This is a DePaul tradition you don’t want to miss!

RSVP here

 

Loop Feast Day Mass & Morning Refreshments

Wednesday, September 27
Mass | 8:30am | Miraculous Medal Chapel (Lewis Center)
Refreshments | 9:30am | 1001 Lewis Center

For those wishing to attend mass celebrating St. Vincent de Paul’s Feast Day, mass will be held in the Miraculous Medal Chapel (Lewis Center – First Floor) with light refreshments after mass. All are welcome!

 

Lincoln Park Feast Day Mass & Lunch

Wednesday, September 27
Mass |12:00pm | St. Louise de Marillac Chapel
Lunch | 12:45pm | CCM Student Center Suite 104

Celebrate our namesake’s Feast Day with a celebratory mass at 12:00pm in the St. Louise de Marillac Chapel. Join us afterwards for lunch across the hall in Catholic Campus Ministry (Student Center – Suite 104). Everyone is welcome!

Walk ins are welcome, you may RSVP if you would like here.

 

St. Vincent DePaul Heritage Week Luncheon

Wednesday, September 27 | 12 – 1:30 pm | Loop DePaul Center, The DePaul Club

Join the DePaul community at our annual St. Vincent de Paul Heritage Luncheon as we look at the timely issue of migration. How is migration presenting urgent needs in our city, how is and can DePaul University respond to these needs and what does our Vincentian mission call us to do? Presenting will be leaders from the DePaul community including Fr. Memo Campuzano, CM, Vice President of Mission and Ministry as well as Sioban Albiol and Shailja Sharma, directors of the DePaul Migration Collaborative. We will also hear from those working directly with new arrivals and from someone who has recently migrated to Chicago to learn about their firsthand experience.

This luncheon will take place at The DePaul Club on the 11th floor of The DePaul Center at the Loop Campus beginning at Noon. We will also be hosting the conversation via Zoom, for those who cannot be with us in person. We hope you will join us!

RSVP here

 

St. Vincent DePaul Prayer Breakfast

Friday, September 29 | 9:00am – 11:00 am | Student Center 120 A & B

Come celebrate our shared Vincentian heritage with delicious food and great community at our annual St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Breakfast! This year, we will welcome as our keynote speaker, Dr. Sulin Ba, the Dean of the Driehaus College of Business who will share how she integrates the mission into her professional and personal life. This will be a great chance to meet Dr. Ba and join together in community, gathered together for the sake of a mission. All are welcome! 

RSVP here

 

Vinny Fest

Friday, September 29 | 2:00pm – 4:00pm | Lincoln Park Quad & St. Vincent’s Circle

Join us for Vinny Fest 2023, a DePaul tradition to honor and celebrate St. Vincent de Paul’s legacy with fun, games, photos with Vincent, free food, and more! Vinny Fest features student organizations, offices, and departments as they host engaging activities to celebrate our mission in action as a DePaul community. Follow @mmatmdepaul to stay up to date.

Vincentian Heritage Week 2022!

Vincent was a trailblazer, a true change agent of his day. He was a man who saw hope and possibility despite the challenges of his time. He felt a keen dissatisfaction in the gap between the way the world should be and the way the world was. Throughout his 79 years, Vincent sought to close that divide, asking “what must be done” and acting on the answers he found. Four hundred years later, DePaul University continues to carry forward his legacy by educating the next generation of trailblazers. 

During Vincentian Heritage Week the Division of Mission and Ministry will host the key events below.

Sunday Night Mass & BBQ
Sunday, September 25, 6pm | St. Vincent de Paul Parish 

Join Catholic Campus Ministry and St. Vincent de Paul Parish for a (free) BBQ on the Parish Lawn (on Webster Ave.) to celebrate the Feast Day at 6pm after 5pm Mass. 

Whether you go to Mass weekly, occasionally, or have never been to a Catholic Mass, you are welcome here! Come celebrate! 

Feast Day Mass 
Tuesday, September 27, 12:00 pm  | Lincoln Park & Loop Campuses 

For those wishing to attend Mass celebrating St. Vincent de Paul’s Feast Day, Masses will be held in the Loop in the Miraculous Medal Chapel (Lewis Center – First Floor), and in Lincoln Park in the St. Louise de Marillac Chapel (Student Center – First Floor). 

Feast Day Lunch 
Tuesday, September 27, 12:45 pm | Lincoln Park & Loop Campuses 

Celebrate our namesake’s Feast Day with a celebratory lunch at 12:45 pm. Everyone is welcome! 

  • In the Loop, join us in the DePaul Club. RSVP here for the Loop lunch.  

  • For the lunch in Lincoln Park, no need to register, just come to Catholic Campus Ministry (Student Center – Suite 104). 

Loop Mini Vinny Fest 
Tuesday, September 27, 2:00-4:00pm | Loop DePaul Plaza 

Join the Office of Student Involvement and Mission and Ministry for our first ever Loop Mini Vinny Fest! Celebrate our namesake’s Feast Day and DePaul University’s 125th anniversary with fun, games, photos, caricatures and more! 

St. Vincent de Paul Heritage Week Luncheon
Wednesday, September 28 (12 – 1:30 pm) | Loop DePaul Center Concourse  

Join the DePaul community for a special luncheon featuring an engaging conversation with Sister Helen Prejean, ardent advocate for restorative justice and activist against the death penalty. Dr. Robert Manuel, DePaul University’s new President, will present Sr. Helen with the St. Vincent de Paul Award in recognition of her continued life’s work. The award is DePaul’s highest honor, with past winners including Dorothy Day, Monsignor John Egan, and Muhammad Yunus. 

The hybrid luncheon will be hosted on the Concourse Level of the DePaul Center, starting at noon. We hope you can join us! We will also be hosting the conversation via Zoom, for those who cannot join us in person. 

St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Breakfast
Friday, September 30 (9:00 – 10:30 am) | Student Center 120 A & B 

Come celebrate our shared Vincentian heritage with delicious food and great community at our annual St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Breakfast! This year, we will welcome new DePaul University President Dr. Robert L. Manuel, who will share his vision of the Vincentian spirit and its impact in these times of complexity and uncertainty.

It should be a great chance to meet the new President, and start DePaul’s 125th year in community, gathered together for the sake of a mission. All our welcome! 

Vinny Fest 
Friday, September 30 (2pm – 4pm) | Lincoln Park Quad & St. Vincent’s Circle 

Join us for Vinny Fest 2022, a DePaul tradition to honor and celebrate St. Vincent de Paul’s legacy with fun, games, photos with Vincent, free food, and more! Vinny Fest features student organizations, offices, and departments as they host engaging activities to celebrate our mission in action as a DePaul community. Follow @mmatmdepaul to stay up to date.  

Vincent de Paul Heritage Week 2021

What Must Be Done to Confront Global Homelessness?
Wednesday, September 22 (11:30 am – 12:45 pm)
Student Center 120 A & B

Launching St. Vincent de Paul Heritage Week, faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend a special luncheon on September 22 discussing the questions: “What must be done to confront global homelessness?” How can we better see the problem and advocate for justice? What concrete steps can we take today as we seek a world where everyone has a stake in their community and a place to call home?

Following opening remarks by Fr. Memo Campuzano, C.M., the panel will feature leading experts from two Vincentian organizations at the forefront of the movement to engage with these questions—FamVin Homeless Alliance and Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness.

  • Mark McGreevy OBE, Group CEO Depaul International and Founder – Institute of Global Homelessness at DePaul University
  • Lydia Stazen, Director, Ruff Institute of Global Homelessness
  • Yasmine Cajuste, Project Development Manager for FamVin Homeless Alliance

A vibrant Q&A will follow the panel. We hope you can join us for this discussion in honor of St. Vincent’s Feast Day as part of the St. Vincent de Paul Heritage Week!

Please register here.

St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Breakfast
Vincent: A Man of Possibility and Hope

Friday, September 24 (8:30 – 10:00 am)
Student Center 120 A & B

The St. Vincent de Paul Prayer Breakfast invites DePaul colleagues, students and friends to pause and reflect on St. Vincent, the namesake of our university and his rich legacy as it is lived out today.

During his lifetime, St. Vincent endured great hardship, and found ways of not only enduring but also overcoming challenges by finding hope and embracing possibility. Even when things seemed insurmountable, he found the strength to move forward. How? What can we learn from his legacy? Is it possible to find moments of goodness, joy, and even gratitude in difficult times?

Come join us for breakfast with keynote speaker Darryl Arrington, Assistant Vice President of DePaul’s Center for Access and Attainment, who will help us explore such questions.

Breakfast will begin at 8:30 am, with the keynote to follow. We hope you can join us!

Register here

Vinny Fest
Friday, September 24 (2pm – 4pm)
Lincoln Park Quad & St. Vincent’s Circle

Students, join us for Vinny Fest 2021, a DePaul tradition to honor and celebrate St. Vincent de Paul’s legacy with fun, games, photos with Vincent, free food, and more! Vinny Fest features student organizations, offices, and departments as they host engaging activities to celebrate our mission in action as a DePaul community. Follow @mmatmdepaul on our socials to stay up to date.

DeHub Link: https://cglink.me/2cC/r14404 | DeHub Partner Registration Link: https://cglink.me/2cC/s1110

Sunday Night Mass & BBQ
Sunday, September 26, 6pm
St. Vincent de Paul Parish

Join Catholic Campus Ministry and St. Vincent de Paul Parish for a (free) BBQ on the Parish Lawn (on Webster Ave.) to celebrate the Feast Day at 6pm, followed by a festive Sunday Night Mass at 8pm.

Whether you go to Mass weekly, once in a while, or have never been to a Catholic Mass, you are welcome here! Come celebrate!

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/902946456973517

Feast Day Mass
Monday, September 27, 12:00 pm
Lincoln Park & Loop Campuses

For those wishing to attend Mass celebrating St. Vincent de Paul’s Feast Day, services will be held in the Loop on the 11th floor gallery, and in Lincoln Park in the St. Louise de Marillac chapel.

Feast Day Lunch
Monday, September 27, 12:45 pm
Lincoln Park & Loop Campuses

Celebrate our namesake’s Feast Day with a celebratory lunch at 12:45 pm. Everyone is welcome!
–In the Loop, join us on the 11th floor terrace in the DePaul Center. RSVP here for the Loop lunch.
–For the lunch in Lincoln Park, no need to register, just come to Catholic Campus Ministry.

Sustained by Deep Roots: Celebrating our Heritage

“Nature makes trees put down deep roots before having them bear fruit, and even this is done gradually.”1

Over the next seven days we celebrate Vincent de Paul Heritage Week. This includes a series of events leading up to Vincent’s church-designated feast day on September 27th. These events are meant to invite the university community into a deeper reflection on our shared mission and heritage, which traces all the way back to seventeenth-century France.

When facing urgent and troubling challenges such as those of our present reality, you may ask why spend our time and energy remembering historical roots going back over 400 years? How do the words and actions of those who have preceded us and lived in such different contexts so long ago speak to us now? How can this focus on history help us to discern a meaningful and relevant mission for today?

Ultimately, whenever we reflect on our sense of mission, whether personal or institutional, we are asking: what is essential to who we are? Thinking about such profound questions may spark a religious, spiritual, or philosophical impulse in us, including a consideration of our origin stories. From where do we come and why were we created? Is there a purpose to our existence? If so, who are we called to be and what are we called to do? Storytelling traditions surrounding the origins of communities of people have been common since the dawn of humanity. These stories often help us to hold and communicate values, meaning, purpose, and a sense of connectedness with one other, as well as to engage present-day circumstances with a deeply formed sense of identity.

We have a storytelling tradition at DePaul University. It is passed on within the history of the Congregation of the Mission and all those in the Vincentian family who live and sustain our shared, foundational mission rooted in the lives of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. Over his many years at DePaul, Vincentian historian, Fr. Edward R. Udovic, C.M., often reminded us that in order for the lessons of history to be meaningfully re-contextualized for today, we must first understand the historical background from which these gifts emerged.

In other words, our efforts today to be rooted in and clarify our common mission as an institution comes with a two-fold responsibility. First, we must continually seek to better understand the historical roots and foundational stories of the Vincentian family, which ultimately gave birth to DePaul University. Second, we must seek to faithfully discern how those roots can be extended creatively and effectively to sustain our lives and work today. This is so even considering that the current challenges and opportunities we face could never have been imagined by Vincent de Paul hundreds of years ago.

The roots that have sustained our Vincentian tradition over time are characterized by a generous and caring spirit, essential to both historical and modern-day Vincentian communities, religious and lay. It is a spirit that focuses its efforts and attention on the service of those in society who are most in need. It asks critical questions about who is being left out or marginalized and seeks to affirm their dignity. It is a spirit that works to change social, economic, and political systems for the better.

When we reflect upon our Vincentian heritage this week, we do so with great humility, a virtue many recognized in Vincent de Paul. We do so with a willingness to acknowledge how far we still must go to live up to the deep, time-tested ideals that urge us forward. We take heart in knowing we are not alone on this journey. In fact, we join the decades and centuries old caravan of those who have also taken the Vincentian spirit to heart and sought to improve the lives of others.

To be Vincentian is to ask, as Madame de Gondi did of Vincent de Paul, “What Must be Done?” It is to get up day-after-day and continue our mission by taking concrete action. In times like these that challenge society and our institution, we are indeed fortunate for the deep roots of our mission.

Reflection Question:

How do the deep roots of our Vincentian mission and story inform your approach to today’s challenges?


1 1796, To Charles Ozenne, Superior, In Warsaw, Paris, 13 November 1654, CCD, 5:219.

 

Reflection by Mark Laboe, Associate VP for Mission and Ministry

 

See all the Vincent de Paul Heritage Week Events