For more information about the celebration of 170 years of the Vincentians in Germantown, visit www.MiraculousMedal.org/170years.
At the time of his death in 1963, it was estimated that 75,000,000 Miraculous Medals and 40,000,000 booklets about the Blessed Mother had been mailed by CAMM. Fr. Skelly corresponded with people as far away as the Philippines, and countless visitors came to the Shrine and his CAMM office, yet he refused to be called a founder. In his typical humor, he preferred to be called “a letter writer.”
in Colon, one of the poorest cities in the western world (second only to Port Au Prince, Haiti). Fr. Carroll explains that there are so many poor there that in many ways, Colon is an abandoned city. “It’s one of the toughest places where our Province works,” he says, “and our confreres are admirable in the wonderful work they accomplish.”
and the confrere went to the hospital to administer the sacraments to his attacker. During the influenza pandemic of 1918, the Vincentians responded heroically to the sick and dying, knowing that their own lives were in danger of contracting the life-threatening flu infiltrating the city.
Although the first Vincentians arrived in China in 1699, the Superior General Through the Vincentian houses and of the Vincentians was asked by Rome to parishes—as well as the works of the send missionaries to China. The Eastern Vincentians, the Society of St. Vincent de Province enthusiastically volunteered, Paul, and the Daughters of Charity—the and a group of priests and students from Vincentians and their founder slowly St. Vincent’s Seminary journeyed from became more recognized throughout Philadelphia to the Jiangxi Province the United States. And with that in July of 1921. In Historical Survey, recognition came additional requests Fr. John Rybolt, CM, wrote: “American and opportunities for the Germantown Vincentians remained in [Jiangxi] until Vincentians to serve the poor. Once again, expelled by the Communist government. they were well-situated to respond to these For about 30 years, they had suffered appeals courageously. from nearly constant wars and unrest: The bishop of Mobile, Alabama, also nationalist insurgents, the Japanese during invited the Vincentians to his diocese. At Requests to build parishes and missions World War II, and then the Communist its earliest stages, they encountered many abounded and soon the Eastern Province revolution. In 1952, almost immediately difficulties, not the least of which was one confreres were invited by the bishop of after their expulsion, two Priests with Priest being attacked as he was on his way missionary experience journeyed to Panama to serve the Americans who to minister to the sick. Later, one of his Taiwan, where they began to minister to were building the Panama Canal. The Vincentians continue to work in Panama— assailants, a Catholic, was struck by a train, mainland Chinese Catholics who had fled
GERMANTOWN AND BEYOND
1911
1914
The bishop of Panama invited confreres from the Eastern Province to serve the Americans who are building the Panama Canal.
Beginning of the Eastern Province Vincentians’ permanent presence in the country.
St. Mary’s Church in the Panama Missions is established.
In 1915, the archbishop of Philadelphia, Edmund Prendergast, wanted to establish missions in the Slate Belt area of Pennsylvania for the Italian immigrants, who worked in the quarries. He approached the Eastern Province to open two new parishes—Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Roseto, and St. Vincent (now Our Lady of Good Counsel), Bangor—to serve the Italian community (read the article on page 32 to learn how Vincentian Priests continue to work in this area).
1915
1927
1930
1932
1939
Central Association of the Miraculous Medal, a society devoted to Marian interests, is founded with Fr. Skelly as its 1st director.
Miraculous Medal Shrine is built in the Immaculate Conception Chapel by extending the west transept where the St. Vincent altar is.
The Perpetual Novena begins as an outgrowth of the four Novenas conducted annually for the four major feasts of Our Lady.
This same Novena devotion begins to branch out from the Shrine to other churches and chapels.
The Vincentians set up a new mission at St. Mary’s parish in Greensboro, North Carolina, the poorest section of the city. SPRING 2019 | 17
