News & Events
New International President elected
During recent sessions of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the International Confederation of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. held in Salamanca, the International Confederation elected the new President General of the International Society, Michael Thio from Singapore, who received 87% of the votes. It is the first time that the Society has had a President General from outside of Europe. Mr Thio, a native Singaporean citizen, has held several positions in the Society and, up until now, has chaired its Territorial Technical Commission in charge of extraordinary aids granted to the countries where the Society is present.
Cardinal Paul Josef CORDES, President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum chaired one of the sessions in Salamanca. His Eminence gave a lecture on the origins of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, currently present in 146 countries, whose works help take care of the needs of nearly forty million people across the world. Cardinal Cordes also presented the outgoing President General of the Confederation of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, José Ramón Díaz-Torremocha (Spain), the medal of St Gregory the Great Order awarded to him by the Holy Father in recognition of his services to the Church.
Click play below to watch a video of the election day events unfolding...
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