Things have been very busy for the last week. Sorry for the delay in getting this next web page out to you; it will be a "catch up" for everyone.

On Friday morning, June 9th, the members of the Chapter attended an audience with Pope John Paul II. Br. Alvaro Rodriguez presented the members and staff of the Chapter to his Holiness, and thanked him for his encouragement on the occasion of the centenary of the canonization of our Founder. Br. Alvaro spoke to the Holy Father of some "lines of action" that the Chapter had taken up including (1) the theme of association, (2) the educational service of the poor and (3) our own identity as persons consecrated to God in community for the educational service of the poor.

Pope John Paul spoke to the members of the Chapter about the partners at the Chapter saying, "The presence of lay persons at your side reflects in an appreciable manner the ever increasingly important place they are called to occupy in the life of the Church... It is your responsibility to give lay people who wish to be associated members, the necessary formation for their spiritual life and apostolic service... I give you most gladly my affectionate apostolic blessing."

The last week has been dedicated almost exclusively to General Assembly meetings in which the final reports of the commissions were reviewed and the recommendations and proposals of the commissions were discussed and voted upon. These reports, recommendations and proposals will form the basis of the upcoming circular in which they will be presented, accompanied by a number of suggested activities for their assimilation and activation.

On June 15th, the final day of the Chapter, the morning began with the General Assembly approving the last propositions that came from the commissions. In the picture at the left, you can see Br. John Blease, who monitored the electronic voting system, recording the final vote of the Chapter. There seemed to be a sigh of relief that went up when the final vote was cast and the work of the Chapter had finished.

The next order of business was the reading of the act of closure of the Chapter and the signing of the book of the Acts of the Chapter. The ceremony was very informal, each member coming forward in alphabetical order to sign his name. Music was playing in the background and it was clear that the mood of the Chapter had moved from that of serious work to a sense of "Graduation Day." It was as if everyone had finished their final exams and was ready to move on. In the photo to the right, Br. Frank Carr, of the Midwest District, takes his turn at the register.

Following this, Br. Maurice Lapointe, the Chapter moderator, thanked those who had worked so hard during the Chapter. Many staff members were in the assembly hall to receive their well earned thanks. For seven weeks, the staff have worked very hard to support the work of the Chapter.

It was amazing, for me, to experience the hard work of the simultaneous translators during the Chapter. In the assembly hall, there are translation booths from which the translators watched, listened to and translated for the members of the Chapter. They worked in teams of two, relieving each other during the long sessions. It appeared to be an exhausting job, and indeed, by the end of the Chapter, several translators I spoke to said they were looking forward to a rest. When commissions were meeting, many of the writing translators were called into action to do oral translation, adding to their workload. All of the working documents, minutes and addresses of the Chapter were translated into the three official languages of the Chapter, French, English and Spanish.

The culminating moment of this final session was the reading of the Message from the Chapter. This began with a period of reflection in which the members of the Chapter listened to The Word is Inside You, a musical composition by Martin Rokeach of St. Mary's College, Moraga California. In his letter to Br. Ronald Gallagher, Secretary General, he said, "Composing this work and dedicating it to the Christian Brothers provided me, as a Jew, the welcome opportunity to express my deep respect for this institution and the Brothers that have been so good to me over the years."

Since their election, the General Council met several times to prepare the Message from the General Chapter. Addressed to both Brothers and partners, it was read by the Superior General, Br. Alvaro Rodriguez, to the assembled Chapter members and staff. The message has been sent to the printers and it will be distributed to the Districts as soon as possible. Following its official release, I will post a copy on the net.

Following the morning session, there was a Liturgy of thanksgiving. At the end of the Liturgy, the members of the Chapter took a candle and said a closing prayer. They were asked to light the candle in their home Districts when they make their own presentations about the Chapter.

The morning concluded with an "apertivo" and lunch for the members of the Chapter and the house staff.

As the Chapter comes to a close, I would like to express my own appreciation to those who have supported my work as a reporter and have helped me keep "the world" informed about the Chapter. Thanks to all of you on the net who have sent emails, encouraging this project. Though the Chapter is finished, the work of the net will continue. I will work with the new administration of the Institute and hope to broaden the content of the Current Events section to include information about significant work being done throughout the Lasallian world. But for now, there will be a significant "slow down" (not shutdown) in the Current Events section. Check back once in a while to see what is happening. For now, I am off for a bit of a vacation and a hair cut.