The Vincentian Studies Institute of the United States (VSI) is an American Catholic research outfit at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. It promotes research on the Vincentian Family.
The Institute, founded in 1979, is sponsored by the ten provinces of the Congregation of the Mission (the Lazarists or Vincentians) and the Company of the Daughters of Charity in the United States. The Institute's mission is to promote a living interest in the historical, spiritual and charitable heritage of the Vincentian family in following Jesus Christ, the Evangelizer of the Poor and the source and model of all charity, under the patronage of Saint Vincent de Paul, (1581–1660) and Saint Louise de Marillac, (1591–1660). The Institute is now sponsored by DePaul University and is part of the university’s Office of Mission and Values.
The Institute publishes a bi-annual academic journal entitled Vincentian Heritage, a scholarly monograph series, and a wide variety of translations and original works in the Vincentian tradition.
The organization periodically offers continuing education opportunities and symposia, and also collaborates with a variety of other programs intended to promote a greater understanding of the Vincentian history and tradition.
Origins
The origin of the Vincentian Studies Institute can be found in the Second Vatican Council's mandate that religious communities renew themselves in light of the "signs of the times." The council suggested that this renewal take place within the context of a careful self-reflection on the charism by each community.
A more remote origin of the Institute can be found in the work done by a variety of French Vincentian historians beginning in the mid-nineteenth century after the Congregation of the Mission's post-revolutionary restoration. The fourteenth superior general, Jean-Baptiste Étienne (1801–1874), had a lively concern for the preservation of the "primitive spirit" of the Vincentians and Daughters of Charity. He and his successors commissioned a variety of materials including the Annales de la Congrégation de la Mission, editions of selected letters of Vincent de Paul, editions of community documents, and a multi-volume history of the Congregation of the Mission. Confreres such as Gabriel Perboyre, Jean-Baptiste Pémartin, Félix Contassot, Jean Parrang, Fernand Combaluzier, Pierre Coste, and André Dodin are representatives of this French school of Vincentian historiography. Their labors established the foundation for all contemporary work in Vincentian studies.
In the early 1970s there was an attempt to found an organization similar to what would become the Vincentian Studies Institute. The inspiration for this idea was the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome and the Academy of American Franciscan History then located in Bethesda, Maryland. The idea was that the American Vincentians should have a similar organization. The Provincial and Vice-Provincials of the western region of the United States initially accepted this proposal but, for reasons that are not entirely clear, nothing came of it at that time.
In 1973, the Very Reverend James Richardson, C.M., the superior general of the Congregation of the Mission and the Company of the Daughters of Charity, met with the Visitors (provincial superiors) of the United States provinces. He requested that they undertake a new translation into modern American English of the correspondence, conferences and documents of Saint Vincent de Paul. This meant of course the translation of Pierre Coste's monumental fourteen volume French edition originally published from 1920-1926. This new edition would also include those materials discovered since the Coste translation.
After the 1974 General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission Reverend Richardson established the Group International d'Etudes Vincentiennes (G.I.E.V.). Two American confreres, including John Carven, C.M. (USA East) and Stafford Poole, C.M. (USA West), were involved in this effort. The objectives of this organization were: (1) to promote scientific Vincentian studies and assure their dissemination; (2) to make known Vincentian thought and spirituality; and (3) to help the members of the Vincentian Community learn more about their heritage.
The organization proved unsatisfactory, in part because of a lack of clarity about its purpose and functioning and the infrequency of its meetings. Because of displeasure with it, a revised organization was proposed and approved by the General Assembly of the Congregation of the Mission in 1980. It was known as the Secrétariat International d'Etudes Vincentiennes (S.I.E.V.), and is still in existence.
Foundation, growth and membership In 1978, at an annual G.I.E.V. meeting held at Niagara University, New York, a number of representatives of the North American Provinces attended, including Reverends John Carven, C.M. (USA East), Stafford Poole, C.M. (USA West), James King, C.M. (USA East), Frederick Easterly, C.M. (USA East), William Eigel, C.M. (USA Midwest), John Rybolt, C.M. (USA Midwest) and Douglas Slawson, C.M. (USA West). These confreres had the idea of forming a national organization for the study of Vincentian history and spirituality. They felt that a national version of the international organization would be better able to serve the needs of the United States provinces. There was also discussion of a possible role in the organization for the Daughters of Charity.
A preliminary proposal was drawn up and submitted to the Vincentian Conference (composed of the five United States Visitors) in October 1978. The response was favorable, and the organizers were authorized to have two meetings in which to draft a constitution, bylaws, and prepare a preliminary budget. The two organizational meetings were held at Kenrick Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri (November 1978), and Mater Dei Provincial House, Evansville, Indiana (March 1979). Out of these meetings came the Constitution and Bylaws approved by the Vincentian Conference in October 1979. The following March the organization began its work with a meeting held at Saint John's Seminary College, Camarillo, California.
The first election for a presiding officer resulted in a tie. Since the newly adopted constitution did not provide for this eventuality, the choice was decided by a flip of the coin. The late Reverend Frederick Easterly, C.M. (USA East) thus became the first presiding officer of the Vincentian Studies Institute. During the mid-1980s and early 1990s, Reverend John Rybolt, C.M. (USA Midwest) served three terms as Presiding Officer. In 1993, Reverend Edward Udovic, C.M., succeeded him as Presiding Officer.
At the beginning of the Institute each of the five Vincentian provinces appointed members and provided annual funding. In 1982, the Visitatrixes of the United States provinces of the Daughters of Charity agreed to appoint sisters representing their provinces to the group without, however, accepting a formal role in sponsorship or funding. This arrangement would last for the next ten years. The organization has since met twice annually, in fall and spring, in various locations across the country. Until 1995, the headquarters of the Vincentian Studies Institute was located at Saint Mary's of the Barrens in Perryville, Missouri.
A major change in the Institute's governance took place in 1992 when the five United States provinces of the Daughters of Charity agreed to join the five Vincentian provinces as the organization's corporate sponsors. Corporately becoming the Institute's "Governing Body" the ten provincial superiors approved a new set of constitutions and bylaws in 1994. The Governing Body meets annually to review the work of the Institute, its performance, strategic plan, and to approve its budget.
At the same time the organization created a category of at-large membership to allow for members in addition to those appointed by the respective provincial superiors as representatives of the ten provinces. The terms for all members are five years and are renewable. In the fall of 2000 the Institute welcomed its first at-large member from outside the Congregation of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity: Sister Regina Bechtle, S.C., of the Sisters of Charity of New York. In 2002, Dr. Simone Zurawski of the Department of Art and Art History at DePaul University joined the Institute as its first lay at-large member.
Over the years the Institute's work has been made possible by a succession of members representing the various provinces. Several of these former members have died including, Reverends Frederick Easterly, C.M. (USA East), William Eigel, C.M. (USA Midwest), James King, C.M. (USA East), Warren Dicharry, C.M. (USA South), Frederic Braakhuis, C.M. (USA Midwest); Sisters Mary Basil Roarke, D.C. (USA Northeast), Hilda McGinnis, D.C. (USA West), Jacqueline Kilar, D.C. (USA Southeast), and Virginia Kingsbury, D.C. (USA East Central).
Move to Chicago
In 1995, the headquarters of the Vincentian Studies Institute relocated to the John T. Richardson Library of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The library was dedicated in September of 1992. The university donates office, storage and inventory space, and provides support and technology services. The V.S.I. organizational archives are now also housed at the university's archives. In 1997, with the retirement of the Executive Secretary Gerry Hartel and the editor Reverend Stafford Poole, C.M., the Institute hired Mr. Nathaniel Michaud to serve as Publications Editor and Executive Director.
Collaboration with DePaul University
Also in 1995, with the closing of the Midwest Province's Saint Thomas Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado, the Vincentian history and spirituality sections of the seminary library were donated to the Vincentian Studies Institute. In 2001, the remaining Vincentian volumes from the seminary library collection at Saint Mary's of the Barrens in Perryville, Missouri, were transferred to the V.S.I. library at DePaul. The Richardson Library at the university maintains this non-circulating research collection. The Institute continues to add newly published Vincentian titles.
For its part DePaul University has the institutional goal of becoming the premier international site for Vincentian Studies. The mission synergies afforded both to the university and the Institute by its presence at DePaul are wide-ranging. The library's Special Collections division has established a collection of rare and out-of-print Vincentian volumes to complement the V.S.I. Library. As a part of this collection is a section called "Vincent's reading list." These works are those specifically mentioned by Vincent in his extant correspondence or conferences. There is also a Vincentiana Collection dedicated to material items that reflect Vincentian culture and experience over the centuries as experienced on a day-to-day basis. Also in 2001, the Midwest Province of the Congregation of the Mission relocated its DeAndreis-Rosati Memorial Archives to the university as part of this Vincentian research center.
The Vincentian Heritage Journal
The mission adopted by the Vincentian Studies Institute was to "promote a living interest in the Vincentian Heritage." The organization began its work with the publication of a journal entitled Vincentian Heritage. From 1979-1982 the Institute published one issue per year. Beginning in 1983 it began appearing bi-annually. The first editor was Reverend John Carven, C.M. (USA East). Reverend Stafford Poole, C.M. (USA West) succeeded him in 1986. In 1997, the Institute hired its first lay editor, Mr. Michaud.