Honoring Exemplars Who Set Hearts on Fire at Annual Vincentian Convocation

At St. John’s University’s Vincentian Convocation on September 25, individuals and organizations were honored who echo, in word and deed, this year’s Founder’s Week theme: “Be Vincentian: Set Your Heart on Fire.”

The Convocation, held in St. Thomas More Church on the Queens, NY, campus, is the capstone celebration for Founder’s Week. It is a meaningful time at St. John’s as the University community focuses on the life and legacy of St. Vincent de Paul, the founder of the Congregation of the Mission, offering the entire community a host of opportunities to know him better through lectures, campus tours, and direct service opportunities.

In his welcoming remarks, Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P., President of St. John’s, told the gathering, “In every era and culture, there have been supremely admirable persons who show us the upper reaches of human capability, and in doing so, inspire us to expect more from ourselves. I’m calling these people exemplars.”

He added, “This is why we canonize saints and hold people up as exemplars—to be admired, respected, and inspired by them, so that we, in our own lives, will aspire to do more than we think that we can.”

Fr. Shanley explained that lifting these individuals and organizations shows them respect, honor, and gratitude. “We do it for ourselves. We do it for inspiration. We do it for aspiration,” he explained. “My hope and prayer for us this day is that it lifts us all up as we see the examples that will be paraded in front of us of how to concretely, in different ways, embody the example of St. Vincent.”

Rev. Patrick J. Griffin, C.M. ’13HON, Executive Director, Vincentian Center for Church and Society, noted the theme of Founder’s Week—which is also the theme of the University’s groundbreaking, $400-million, comprehensive fundraising effort—emerges from a quotation from St. Vincent who said, “So, our vocation is to go, not just to one parish, not just to one diocese, but all over the world, and do what? To set people’s hearts on fire, to do what the Son of God did.”

He added, “Those who we honor today have also responded to that same type of fire that spurs them, in words, into action. The persons and the programs that we will hear about today all put hearts on fire in a different way. These awardees model and encourage action for all of us.”

The following awards were presented:

Vincentian Mission Award
Manouchkathe Cassagnol, Pharm.D.
Clinical Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice

College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 
and Executive Director, Academic Center for Equity and Inclusion 
St. John’s University

Caritas Medal
Habitat for Humanity, New York City and Westchester County 
Accepted by Sabrina Lippman
Chief Executive Officer, Habitat for Humanity, New York City and Westchester County

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Medal
MaryAnn Dantuono, Esq. ’83L 
Ladies of Charity AIC-USA
International Association of Charities at the United Nations

St. Vincent de Paul Medal
Ralph McCloud
Senior Fellow
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice

Frédéric Ozanam Award
Adhikaar for Social Justice and Human Rights
Accepted by Meenu Gorkhali
Co-Executive Director, Adhikaar for Social Justice and Human Rights 

International Medal
Congregation of the Mission Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) at the United Nations 
Accepted by James Claffey 
Former NGO Representative, Congregation of the Mission Nongovernmental Organization at the United Nations 

During the Convocation, Mr. Claffey delivered the annual Vincentian Chair of Social Justice lecture, “Getting in the Way at the UN.”

The United Nations (UN) turned 80 in 2025. “I wonder how many of you think it has outlived its usefulness. Born out of war to keep the peace, the relevance of the UN today is often questioned,” Mr. Claffey offered.

He added, “Resolutions about global peace and security are often blocked by one of the five nations that gave themselves individual veto power at the very foundation of the institution. On other issues, there are no enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure that nations fulfill their pledges.”

Mr. Claffey admitted the UN is a “flawed institution” whose goals remain aspirational. However, he said, “its significant contributions to humanity are undeniable.”

The UN has offered “heroic” humanitarian aid, he stressed. “No other institution in the world does more to promote human rights and concern for women and girls. If the UN did not exist, we would have to invent something like it, a space where 193 member states can come together in an organized fashion to debate the great issues of the day.”

Mr. Claffey observed that the UN is ultimately about people. “The first three words of the UN charter are, ‘We the people,’ not, ‘We the nations,’ or ‘We the ambassadors.’ The people of the world. So the UN offers humanity a path forward to a healthier and safer world.”

He continued, “I believe the Congregation of the Mission should be present and active at the UN. Like all branches of the family, Vincentian priests and brothers have a story to tell: a powerful story about the struggles of real people in the 102 countries where they minister to people considered, and treated, as the last and the least among us.”

Together with other like-minded nongovernmental organizations, the Vincentian family at the UN advocates in two ways, Mr. Claffey explained. “First, we get in the way by organizing events and presenting position papers to influence official proceedings concerning the common good, and attending meetings with ambassadors and staff to emphasize the needs of people in poverty. However, we also get out of the way by helping grassroots communities to speak for themselves.” 

Addressing the students in the audience, Mr. Claffey said, “I hope when you graduate you take with you not just a diploma and great memories of St. John’s, but also something of the great Vincent de Paul—if not his commitment to the Church, then pieces of his humanity.”