The session for the new Visitors was held from October 1st-14th. There were 48 of us taking part from all corners of the Lasallian world. Twenty English-speaking, 16 Spanish-speaking and 12 French-speaking. This means there was the nuisance of simultaneous translation. Most of our meetings took place in the CIL lecture hall.

The great benefit of this session lay in the informal exchanges of views and a certain consensus of feelings and aims it succeeded in bringing about in the short time at our disposal.

The material treated in each session was very dense and abundant, and so it was difficult to take advantage of it immediately. But the General Council wanted us, as a group, to look at all the important topics arising naturally from the last General Chapter, given the responsibilities each and everyone of us would have for the next three or four years. We considered the following areas: personal and community life of Visitors, District animation structures, accompaniment of Brothers, promotion of vocations, formation of formators, young Brothers, continuing formation in community, participatory and formation structures for partners and associates, the running and renewal of schools in 2001, justice and the rights of children, conversion to the poor, new forms and schemes to help the poor, youth ministry, proclamation of the faith, inter-religious dialogue, interdependence and solidarity.

In fidelity to their origins and to their mission today, the participants committed themselves to bring about among their Brothers the renewal that is called for and, in the world of 2001, to rekindle burning zeal for the apostolate.