From the very beginnings of the Congregation of the Mission, Saint Vincent de Paul made it clear that Marian devotion was not merely a sentimental adornment, but a structural pillar of the charism. In fact, the founding papal bull itself establishes that the missionaries would promote a “special devotion to the Most Holy Trinity, the sacred mystery of the Incarnation, and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God” (Bull Salvatoris nostri, 1633).
The founder’s love for the Virgin Mary was deeply reverent and practical. Saint Vincent urged his followers to offer a daily tribute to “this most worthy Mother of God and our Mother” (Common Rules of the Congregation of the Mission, Chapter X, Article 4) and to imitate her virtues, “especially her humility and purity” (Common Rules of the Congregation of the Mission, Chapter X, Article 4). His conviction was so strong that, in order to celebrate the feasts of the Queen of Heaven with due dignity, he would customarily fast on the eve of the feast together with his entire community and solemnly celebrate the liturgical services the following day.
The Assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven is the definitive demonstration of God’s mercy, which exalts the humble and brings down the proud. In the liturgy of this solemnity, the Magnificat resounds as an authentic “song of freedom for the poor” and for those marginalized by society. Mary embodies the little ones who place their full trust in God, acknowledging their own weakness so that the Lord may work wonders.
Saint Vincent de Paul understood this compassionate dimension of the Mother of God perfectly. He saw her as the supreme intercessor for the vulnerable, invoking her with profound tenderness: “Most Holy Virgin, humble servant of the poor, you who speak for those who have no tongue and cannot speak” (Collected Works of Saint Vincent de Paul, IX, 733). Her glorification in the Assumption reminds all Vincentians that service to those who are excluded and effective love have a sure destiny of eternity and victory.
The Gospel proclaimed for the Solemnity of the Assumption also recounts the episode of the Visitation, showing us a swift and determined Mary who sets out for the hill country “without delay” to serve her cousin Elizabeth. Saint Vincent used precisely this dynamic Marian mystery to teach the Daughters of Charity and the missionaries how they should approach those in need, explaining that the visit: “It must be made with God alone in mind and as the Blessed Virgin made hers when she went to visit Saint Elizabeth, that is, with all gentleness, love, and charity” (Collected Works of Saint Vincent de Paul, IX, 246).
Today, on our missionary journey, this dynamism of the Virgin Mary is our greatest impulse to go toward the peripheries. Pope Leo XIV, reflecting on the encounter of service between Mary and Elizabeth, reminds us that those who serve the poor and oppressed today “are the joy of the Church, they are her permanent fruitfulness,” and he urges us to look to these figures as “Paschal women, apostles of the resurrection. Let us allow ourselves to be converted by their testimonies!” (Homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Leo XIV, August 15, 2025).
Celebrating the Assumption of Mary means renewing our Vincentian identity. May her Assumption into heaven inspire us to be missionaries with open eyes and hearts, ready to evangelize the poor and to bring the healing compassion of Jesus Christ to the most needy corners of our world.
