ITALY - ROME – The Logo for the 44th General Chapter is unveiled. It has been designed by Brother Felipe de Jesús Ocádiz Luna from
Cristóbal Colón School, Mexico City, Mexico
District of South Mexico. Congratulations!

Explanation of the Logo

• The lines that form the star are of varying degrees of thickness to signify the diversity of identities within the Lasallian Family: Brothers, Sisters, members of the Signum Fidei Fraternity, Catechists, teachers, partners, volunteers, students, former students, parents, affiliated members, benefactors, all those associated with us in various ways...The thicknesses are different, but all the lines are white, all the lines converge, they are all united by the same charism to build God's Kingdom together.
  
  
• The star that is formed is not a perfect one. It is true that God has chosen us as a Lasallian Family to carry out one mission. In fact, the plan, the "template" for this mission does form one, perfect star and we are trying to reach that star despite our faults. It is up to each of us (whom Capitulants will represent and then from the horizons and guidelines coming from the Chapter itself) to adjust, re-direct, and adapt our commitment to achieve that perfect star...The logo, therefore, is not finished, it is in process just as we are in our fulfilling the mission entrusted to us by the Church.
  
  
• The meaning of the four colors in the background: green stands for Ordinary Time, the time of the Spirit, a time of hope, we go forward together in and with hope. The blue color stands for the sea, the wide-ranging sea in which we exercise the Lasallian mission. In this sea we raise sails, the logo itself is a bit curved to give the idea of a boat's sail filled by the wind, and we launch ourselves out to sea, from commitment to commitment.
  
  
• The two green colors and the two blue colors show that the Capitulants come from the four cardinal points around the world.
  
  
• Above the sail propelled by the wind of the Spirit is the Lasallian star which also recalls Stella Maris...Mary always present in life and in the progress of the Lasallian vessel.

Associated to build the Kingdom of God, journeying together in hope.

^{(Brother Felipe de Jesús Ocádiz Luna)}

ITALY – ROME - The Generalate says farewell to four of its community members: On Saturday, June 24, Br. Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, Superior General, said good-by to four members of the Central Community who will soon be leaving Rome. Br. Aidan Kilty, Secretary for Formation, Br. Thomas Cooney, Office of Statistics and Registry, Br. Donald Johanson, Director of Technology, and Mr. Mario Diaz, volunteer in technology were thanked for their service to the Institute at a “farewell luncheon” in the Casa Generalizia.

Br. Aidan Kilty has been Secretary for Formation for 10 years. From the District of Great Britain, Br. Aidan will be returning to his District where he will discern his next assignment in the Institute. Br. Superior noted his invaluable service in the field of Formation as he has traveled the world and has advised the Superior and his General Council on matters of Lasallian Formation since coming to Rome in 1996.

Br. Thomas Cooney has been Director of the Office of Statistics and Registry for 9 years. Also from the District of Great Britain, Br. Thomas will return to his District and work on a number of projects that he has wanted to research. Br. Superior noted how important and effective Br. Thomas has been in the computerization of his office. He is a “stickler” for details and the General Council is always up to date on statistical matters regarding the Brother personnel of the Institute. His dedication to this task since 1997 is well known throughout the Institute.

Mr. Mario Diaz came to the Generalate one year ago as a Lasallian volunteer, giving crucial support to the Brothers and lay personnel who work here. Mario comes from the District of South Mexico to which he will return following the Lasallian Youth Symposium this July. Mario is a credit to the volunteer program which continues here in Rome. We are greatly indebted to Mario for his generous service and are thankful for his warm and cheerful presence with us in our community.

As for myself, Br. Donald Johanson, as I leave Rome after 8 years at the Generalate, and return to my District of San Francisco, I would like to thank all of you who have been so supportive of our efforts with our International website. Over these years, many of you have contributed significantly to the success of the website. To all who have written articles and sent me pictures I wish to say how much I appreciate what you have done. I also want to thank the many Brothers and others who have spent so much time translating those items which have been posted on the site. You have done a terrific job for us and I am most appreciative of your work. Oftentimes, individuals send me suggestions for the site and I have tried to incorporate as many of your ideas as possible. Thank you for your help. Please continue to give support to the “new man” who will take over my job on July 1st. Br. Roch Dufresne is also from the District of San Francisco and will continue to develop our website which started in 1998.
^{(Br. Donald Johanson)}

AUSTRALIA - BANKSTOWN - LaSallian Youth Leaders ‘making a difference’: Darren Perrett, Youth Minister at LaSalle College, Bankstown provides this encouraging report: The Lasallian Youth Leaders (LYLs) are in their fifth successful year at LaSalle and are continuing to ‘make a difference’ in the lives of others.

The LYLs work in accordance with the three Lasallian ideals: Faith, Service and Community, and find the time to volunteer for all sorts of service projects.

At Bankstown, they seem to be in everything. They run prayer every Friday in the Brothers’ Chapel, have a meeting every Friday lunchtime, work in the community and local primary schools doing specific activities and always show a great deal of enthusiasm in doing so.
They have also brought the LaSalle Catholic College community closer by bridging the gap between Year 7 and Years 11 and 12. The LYLs ran a class on ‘Change’ in the beginning of Term 1, and keep up their relationship with Year 7 as often as they can. Some are involved in the peer support program, when they go into a Year 7 homeroom and run it for that day.
LYLs also help out on the Lasallian ConneXion nights, which have been a huge success. They ran games and activities for students from Holy Spirit Lakemba, De La Salle Ashfield, and LaSalle Bankstown.

Another project has been a local primary schools’ activity day, with the same sorts of activities and games for the younger grades. The LYLs are planning now on going away for a community building and planning weekend, and are also going to start feeding the homeless in the city.

LaSallian Youth Leaders at Bankstown are working hard to ‘make a difference’ in the lives of the poor and marginalised. More on this: Darren.perrett@lasalle.bankstown.syd.catholic.edu.au
^{(Darren Perrett)}

ITALY - ROME - Rejuvenation - Restoration of the statue of the Founder at the entrance to the Mother House: The statue, of Carrara marble, was sculpted for the altar of the relics of the Founder in the main chapel of the Mother House. It is an exact copy, but in greatly reduced dimensions, of that made by the sculptor Cesare Aureli (Rome 1844-1923) in 1904 for St.Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

In 1980, on the occasion of the 3rd Centenary of the Institute, when the altar area was transformed to make it conform to the new liturgical norms and the relics of the Founder were put in the apse, the statue was set up in the open, in the entry garden of the Mother House.

The restoration was judged necessary because of the damage caused by weathering, atmospheric pollution and smog.
^{(Brother Rodolfo Meoli)}

PEROU - LIMA - Alumni of Lima launch their web pages: After much effort, the alumni of Colegio La Salle in Lima, Peru have sent their voice into cyberspace. Thanks to the help of the College and the efforts of the Board of Management, they now have a new platform for fraternity, service and information for the more than 6,000 students who have passed through the classrooms in Lima.

By means of this new communication tool, the former students will be able to receive news concerning the college and association, find out about the activities which are being carried out, register and keep their data up to date and have access to the photo album which carries photos dating back to 1933.

Alumni Freddy Linares and Roger Stechman deserve special mention. Thanks to them, the web pages and the association computer teams are fully operational. (WEB SITE)
^{(Juan Román)}

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