Christmas Greetings 2025

A Christmas Blessing
Christmas brings remembrance of family and friends,
And the importance of our sharing
A love without end.
Our blessings are too numerous,
Our hearts are filled with joy,
Yet our eyes have often drifted
Away from our Lord!
The Christmas season brings forth
The best in most souls,
To help those less fortunate
And lighten their load.
No greater gift was ever given
Than Jesus Christ himself who come down from heaven.
Let thankful hearts rejoice in praise,
On this most holy day of days!


To my fellow Sister and Brother Vincentians, the Christmas Blessing above reminds us that as Vincentians we go out “to seek and find the forgotten” and at Christmas time, the Blessing asks us that at the “Christmas season, we are to help those less fortunate and lighten their load”. Last weekend at my home Parish of “Annunciation of Our Lord” in Hamilton, with the help of members of our congregation, students and friends, our Conference packed and delivered sixty (60) hampers, each of which was either 4 or 5 boxes dependent on the size of the family. As we all continue to serve Christ in the poor with Love, Respect, Justice and Joy, our above reach out to the 300 people that benefitted from receiving those hampers was a “JOY”. My congratulations to each Conference that holds a similar event across the province of Ontario. I would like to extend Christmas greetings to our Vincentian family here in Ontario and wish you a Happy New Year 2026 which brings with it a Celebration of 180 years of our Society being founded in Canada. I encourage each Council and Conference to arrange some sort of celebration of our 180 Vincentian Canadian years. Our Regional Council is planning a Gala which will include Dinner and a Silent Auction to be held on Friday, September 18th at the Oakville Convention Centre. Please visit our website www.ssvp.on.ca for the latest updates.

A follow-up to my request that each and every Conference and Council include the reading of the Vision, Mission and Values at each and every meeting of the group. We are all part of an entity called the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and as part of belonging to the Society, we should know the “basic” foundation on which the Society is based and that is knowing and reciting the Vision, Mission and Value statements until it becomes a part of us. This addition to your meeting agenda takes less than a minute to complete. If your group has not started this exercise, please welcome 2026 by ensuring it is included.

As part of all organizations, there is a “Financial Management” category, which also lays out the way the Society is expected to operate. From Section 2.15.1 in our Rule Book, it states that “the main source of funding for Particular, Central, Regional, National and International Councils is from the conferences and councils who have a duty to support higher councils”. Conferences and Councils in Ontario have been asked to presently pass up a “due” (fee) in the amount of $300 to Regional as well as another $300 to National. These dues are called Regional and National Support Fees. (RSF & NSF). They should be forwarded to our treasurer as early as possible in the new year. The form is available on our website. While on the topic of monies, we are encouraging all Conferences and Councils to pass-up dedicated amounts as they can afford to the “North of 60” and the “Ozanam Education Fund” programs. Whenever your Conference or Council have excess monetary balances, passing up dedicated amounts to any of the afore mentioned is encouraged. We say “THANK YOU” on their behalf. We also advise you to remain diligent when “strangers” ask you for money. The “scammers” are persistent, so please be aware of their different approaches.

On the subject of the “Annual Reports”, the “Members Portal” by which all Conferences and Councils were asked to use in 2025 to report their monetary status and activities for 2024, we, achieved an excellent response. Our Vice-President, Omar Ellis, will be contacting all PC Presidents and dealing with their treasurers to get this completed. Again, please visit our website www.ssvp.on.ca for updates.

Our Board of Directors has been handling, reviewing and in most cases resolving problems as they come to the fore. Also, in June our Regional Council hosted the Annual National Formation at McMaster University in Hamilton. This event was very successful and there were outstanding speakers and workshops that all help as we continue to return to our Vincentian work in our own Conferences. Our Spring Assembly held in Sarnia and our Fall Assembly held in Newmarket were both educational and enjoyable as our members from areas of Ontario came together for some Vincentian fellowship. We thank our hosts in Sarnia and Newmarket for the great welcome that was enjoyed by all. Our Board members attended a prayerful and bonding retreat in London in November. All these events help us to improve our teamwork as we continue to work on improvements throughout the region.

I have chosen this powerful story of the Christmas Nativity image of the Holy Family with the spotlight on God’s Gift to all mankind. Let us join with the Angels in singing His praise. Let our “thankful hearts” join in the “Hosanna” chorus and pay homage to Our King, who is called Emmanuel. Let there be “Joy to the World” as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

Wishing you a Joyous and Blessed Christmas on behalf of our ONRC board of Directors. In Vincent and Ozanam.

Guido Kelly,
President, SSVP Ontario Regional Council.