The General Assembly gathered this evening to thank Br. John Johnston and the General Council for their years of dedication to the administration of the Intitute. The tribute began with words of appreciation for Br. John Johnston given in each of the three official languages of the Institute.

With a great deal of brilliance and literary flair, Brother Jacques d'Huiteau, Visitor of the District of France, and as spokesman for French-speaking Brothers, made a short speech to Brother John. At the beginning of his address he stated: "I asked the opinion of Brothers from Africa, Vietnam, Canada, Belgium and France, so that what I had to say would come from the lived reality of contact with you in the various Regions."

They consider you as a person "who has been able to master somewhat the subtleties of a language which likes to think of itself as capturing all the nuances of reality, at the risk, according to some, of not being able to get straight to the point". "Your words have never been commonplace or conventional. Your pastoral letters, thanks to their incisive style and their accurate analysis, have had the effect for a certain number of us to bring about a self-questioning or a new beginning".

"You have also known how to offer words of encouragement and even of admiration for what Brothers have done. Thus for example you communicated to the Brothers of the District of French-speaking Canada your enthusiasm for the Haiti mission. You supported the Vietnamese Brothers by showing them how the terrible experience they had gone through could be a source of creativity and of fidelity to our founding vision."
He also referred to the assistance given to Africa for the formation of Brothers, the novitiates and scholasticates, and the foundation of CELAF. "Finally, while giving attention to what was going on, you have shown respect for the autonomy of the Regions". God bless you

Brother José Manuel Agirrezabalaga, Visitor of the District of Central Spain, spoke on behalf of the Brothers from the Spanish-speaking world of RELAL (Latin America) and ARLEP (Spain-Portugal). He acknowledged and thanked Brother John for his 24 years of service to our Institute. "Thanks for your fidelity to the body of the Institute, for your clear and thought-provoking messages, your reading of the Lasallian reality based on what is tangible, your ongoing call for renewal and conversion by means of a creative fidelity in order to overcome the gap between our realities and our inspiring texts". "We valued your ongoing interest in knowing and appreciating the realities of our Districts and sectors..." "Thanks for your closeness to the international and universal reality of the Institute and for your clarifications so that in our Brothers and partners there might be a growing sense of belonging to and association with the international Institute". Thanks to the Lord, giver of all that is good, "for the gift that he has made to the Institute in your person and in your generous service".

Br. Tom Johnson, Regional Coordinator of the United States/Toronto Region, spoke on behalf of the English speaking Brothers of the world. He thanked Br. John for his support and encouragement of local vocations, for his encouragement "to think beyond the confines of our own Districts and Regions." "You have written and spoken with passion of the rights of children and ... have taken us to new horizons to serve the poor of our lands and the world." "You have understood when to challenge and when to comfort." "You have been an energetic sign of unity for our family, a sign of hope and reality, a sign of honesty and encouragement." "We of the English speaking world give you our heartfelt gratitude and we Brothers of the Midwest welcome you home."

Next, Frère Maurice Lapointe, the Chapter Moderator, thanked Br. John for his dedication to the Institute and especially his sensitivity to the children of the world. Br. John has worked very hard during his administration for the rights of children. His pastoral letter of January 1999 was "The Defense of Children, the Reign of God, and the Lasallian Mission." As a tribute to his dedication and care for children, the Br. John Johnston Childrens' Fund has been established to carry on work "In the Defense of Children." Br. John, completely surprised by this tribute, was quite moved. The initial solicitation of money to start this fund has amounted to over $60, 000 (US).

Donations to the fund can be made to:

Br. John Johnston Children's Fund
Casa Generalizia
Via Aurelia, 476
CP 9099 (Aurelio)
00100 ROMA, Italia

Following the presentation, Frère Claude Robbe of the Proche Orient (Near East) Region spoke and thanked the members of the General Council for their years of service.

Hno. Everardo Marquez, Director General of the Casa Generalizia, spoke on behalf of the Brothers and Staff of the Generalate, thanking the Council Members for their dedication to the Institute. He gave a special tribute to Br. Dominic Samne, General Council member from 1993-1998, who died in 1998.

Brother John then addressed the assembly. He spoke of how his early teaching and administrative responsibilities proved to be very helpful, of how important the centrality of association in this Chapter had been, and how pleased he was that the Chapter decided that the defense of children was to be a major focus of the Lasallian Mission. He said he appreciated immensely both the contribution of our partners during the two weeks they were at the Chapter, and the participation of the young Brothers. He concluded with some remarks about his future plans for ministry. Lengthy applause followed his words to us.

The Brothers then went to the chapel for evening prayer, thanking God for the blessing of the years of accompaniment that Br. John and the Council have given the Institute.

The evening concluded with a dinner in honour of Br. John and the General Council. You can see in the photo to the right that some of the Brothers enjoyed the sight of the traditional Italian "porchetta" that was to be served as part of the dinner.

Thank you Br. John Johnston, Br. Alvaro Rodriguez, Br. Martín Corral, Br. Marc Hofer, Br. Pierre Josse, Br. Gerard Rummery and Br. Ray Suplido. Thank you Br. Dominic Samne, may you rest in peace.