The European Conference of Visitors meets every two years. It is a forum for discussion and for joint decision making. It is composed of five Regions of the Institute: REBIM (Great Britain, Ireland and Malta), France (France, Switzerland and Greece), RELEC (North Belgium South Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia), ARLEP (Spain and Portugal) and Italy. I hope the picture at the top is "worth a thousand words."

This year the conference was held in Strebersdorf (Vienna) and was attended by the European Visitors, Auxiliary Visitors and a number of guests. There were in all 45 Brothers from 13 countries. The Provincialate for Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia) is in Strebersdorf, near Vienna, and Br. Klemens Ladner, Provincial, did a marvelous job as host and Master of Ceremonies. Br. Aad Van Bentem, the Regional Coordinator for RELEC and president of the European Conference of Visitors, moderated the general meetings.

The Conference has four commissions that are forums for discussion and the sharing of experiences at the local level: CLEE (European Commission for Lasallian Education), CLEP (European Commission for Lasallian Pastoral Mission), CLEM (European Commission for Lasallian Missions) and CEFL, sometimes called CELAS (European Commission for Lasallian Formation). This last commission recently held a colloquium in Rome to discuss Lasallian Association. Next year, CLEP will be organizing a colloquium on the family.

During their meetings, each of the Commissions exchanged ideas and planned for the future. The following is a brief summary of the results or their meetings:

CLEE: The Commission for Lasallian Education will participate in the creation of a network of Brothers and laypeople whose aim will be to circulate information and research concerning the rights of the child (see Proposition 15 of the General Chapter) and to study the theme "Administrative Supervision and Association".

CLEM: The Commission for Lasallian Mission will contribute to developing missionary awareness in educational communities of youth and lay people. It will play a role in the drafting of a missionary policy of the Institute in Europe and it will organise a meeting of youth who have taken part in summer workshops.

CLEP: The Commission for Lasallian Pastoral Mission will stimulate reflection amongst school pastoral care workers (see Propositions 13 and 16 of the General Chapter) and will prepare the meeting about the pastoral ministry of vocations for the year 2003 (see Proposition 26 of the General Chapter).

CEFL: will follow up its work of deepening aspects of Association: sharing about experiments undertaken, link between Association and Shared Mission, role of the Brother and role of the layperson.

On Saturday afternoon, the group went on an outing to Burgenland on the Hungarian border. In Eisenstadt, we visited the Esterhazy Palace where Franz Joseph Haydn lived for many years. The Palace is still used for various social events and the Haydnhall is a spectacular auditorium with superb acoustics. Br. Patxi Ezkiaga Lasa of Donostia took the opportunity to play his harmonica for the group so we could have a demonstration of the acoustics of the room. He is the only Brother that I am aware of who has performed in the Haydnhall, doing so to a very receptive, although intimate, audience. Following Br. Patxi's superb performance, we proceeded a short distance to visit the chapel where Haydn is buried, and toured the crypt of the church where there is a series of life-size statues portraying the "Way of the Cross."

The evening concluded with dinner served in a local winery restaurant. A group of Croatian singers and dancers, in traditional attire, entertained us before dinner with music played on their mandolins. The Croatians have been in this area for over 400 years and are very proud of their Croatian traditions, trying to keep them alive through ethnic song and dance.

On Sunday morning, Br. Claude Reinhardt and Br. Juan Pablo Martín Dueñas, Councillors for Europe, addressed the assembly.

Over the last several months, the Superior and General Council have been considering the recommendations and propositions of the General Chapter and seeking ways to accompany the Districts in carrying out the will of the Chapter. The structures that they are putting in place to deal with this include the creation of six Commissions. At this time, a Circular is being prepared that will include in detail the organizational structures and goals of the Central Government, including descriptions and objectives of the six commissions.

Recognizing that the details of the work of these Commissions is still being organized, Br. Claude spoke first and listed the Commissions, giving a general idea their responsibilities. (1) The Associated for the Educational Service of the Poor Commission will assist in the accompaniment of the various sectors of the Institute as they continue to work with the theme of "Association." Br. Miguel Campos and Br. Victor Franco are the General Council members of this commission. (2) The Communications Commission will be responsible for coordinating and fostering communication between the Center of the Institute and its various audiences. Br. Yemanu Jehar and Br. Marc Hofer are the General Council members of this commission. (3) The Formation Commission will work with Br. Superior in the animation of the Formation of the Brothers and Partners of the Institute. The Council members of this commission are Br. Juan Pablo Martín Dueñas and Br. Yemanu Jehar. (4) The Government Commission will be concerned with the implementation of the propositions of the 43rd General Chapter which deal specifically with governance and with other governmental matters of the Institute. The Council members of this commission are Br. Victor Franco and Br. Claude Reinhardt. (5) The Lasallian Educational Mission Commission will be responsible for animating the educational mission of the Institute, and for setting up the Standing Committee for the Lasallian Educational Mission which was called for by the 43rd General Chapter. The Council members of this commission are Br. Claude Reinhardt and Br. Miguel Campos. (6) The last commission, the Management and Solidarity Commission will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the propositions and recommendations of the 43rd General Chapter which concern the policies and practices of management and solidarity in the Institute. It will also be concerned with the administration and financial oversight of the Generalate House and its related services. The Council members of this commission are Br. Marc Hofer and Br. Juan Pablo Martín Dueñas.

Br. Juan Pablo spoke next, describing the work that they will be doing in Europe over the next seven years. He spoke to the group about eight areas that he and Br. Claude will be concentrating on: (1) the strengthening of our communities, (2) the strengthening of relationships among the young Brothers within the Region, (3) supporting communities of lay Lasallians, (4) offering encouragement for the pastoral ministry of the young, (5) helping in the discernment for the management of the Lasallian school network, (6) promoting discussions on the structuring of Regions in Europe and encourage converging policies among Districts as a way to remedy isolation and to spare personnel, (7) attending to the specific needs of senior Brothers, and (8) examining finances.

The methodology for accomplishing all of this will involve (1) visits to Districts, (2) discussions on information received through District Councils, Meetings of Regional committees, and District magazines and other publications, (3) joint attendance at European meetings, especially those of the Brother Visitors, (4) joint attendance at Regional Assemblies, and (5) joint meetings with the Secretaries of the different leadership areas in the Institute, including joint evaluation, discussion on common guidelines and the coordination of their travel plans.

Following the presentations of Br. Claude and Br. Juan Pablo, the Superior addressed the assembly. He spoke of many "signs of hope" and of discovering the Lord's presence in them. He said the Brother is, above all, "a man who is consecrated to God in community for the educational service of the poor and, starting from the poor, he is involved in the education of young people." This definition brought him to several reflections, among them:

• we need to respond creatively to the new forms of dehumanization and poverty in the world
• we should look for a suitable policy by which the educational service of abandoned youth might become an effective priority
• we should, in each District, provide for the existence of one or more communities and ministries that would be considered "islands of creativity," pilot experiences that may open paths for the future
• we must favor a global world in which a central policy based on the principle of interdependence allows for greater dialogue between Regions
• we should open ourselves to the reality of an ever more multi-cultural Institute and foster the development of our leaders of the future
• the topic of Association should be a priority, and we should look for ways to support various possibilities of living out the Lasallian charism
• he challenged us with the question, "To what extent is our religious life an experience of God?"

Br. Alvaro concluded his remarks by encouraging each of us to be signs of hope. "If we make Gospel values visible, if we offer alternatives and meaning to young people and responses for the new forms of poverty, no doubt our life will create questions and...young people willing to follow in our footsteps."

Following Br. Alvaro's talk, a dinner was served in honor of his visit to Vienna. Several Brothers from the area attended and greeted the Superior. Br. Klemens Ladner, Provincial, again was a gracious host and provided us with a wonderful experience of hospitality and fraternity. The meal was of course topped off with a Sacher torte, a famous chocolate desert made famous at the Hotel Sacher in downtown Vienna.

The conference concluded Sunday afternoon with meetings of the Visitors, finalizing their agenda, and looking forward to their next assembly two years from now.

My own special thanks to Br. Johann Gassner who was a most gracious host.