The FHA volunteer ambassadors gathered for the first time in July in Paris. They came together for three days of training near the places where St Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac lived and worked. The ambassadors are now back in their countries, ready to spread the word about the Alliance’s work and the 13 Houses Campaign among Vincentians and beyond.

The 14 ambassadors represent the diversity of the Vincentian Family, including people from different ages, backgrounds, continents and branches. They were chosen after an application process and they will remain in their volunteer role for two years.

During the training, the ambassadors had the chance to know more about the Alliance’s work on issues like the UN advocacy and the mapping of the Vincentian work around the world, as well as learn more about specific abilities that can be useful for their roles, such as public speaking and communications. After all the sessions, they have drafted work plans with their goals and expectations for the next two years.

The gathering took place at the Mother House of the Congregation of the Mission, and the ambassadors have the chance to visit other places associated with the Vincentian tradition, such as Saint Lazare, where Vincent de Paul feed the poor of Paris, and the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity, where they could see some of the letters exchanged between Vincent and Louise de Marillac.

With a firm footing in the origins of the Vincentian Family, we look forward to the future work of our ambassadors to bring more Vincentians on board with the FHA and the 13 Houses campaign to end homelessness. Some of them have already started their jobs, presenting the FHA to the Central America Vincentian Family and organising a conference for three countries in Africa in the last weeks.

You can know more about them here.