KINSHASA – DEM. REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO – VISIT OF SUPERIOR-GENERAL TO THE DISTRICT OF CONGO-KINSHASA: The Br.Superior-General Alvaro Rodriguez visited the District of Congo-Kinshasa from Thursday April 10th to Tuesday April 15th 2008. The welcoming ceremony took place at the Provincial House where words of welcome were extended by the Director of the community and by the Provincial Visitor. In his reply, the Superior-General stressed that for this mandate Africa was one of his priorities.

On Friday April 11th 2008 Br.Superior-General met successively the Br.Visitor, the District Council, and the Directors and Sub-Directors of Communities. The day ended with a meal with the Brothers at the Lasallian Centre in Kinshasa.

Saturday April 12th was a special day. In the morning after a meeting with the Brothers with temporary vows, Br.Superior took part in a cultural meeting at Collège Frère Alingbwa. This was animated by the Lasallian schools of Kinshasa. In the afternoon, Br.Superior was taken to the ceremony in memory of Br.Bernard Kips (1924-2006). This consisted in the ‘baptising’ of the book entitled “An Apostle at the heart of a multi-cultural Congo” (Articles in memory of Br.Bernard Kips) and the ‘unbaptising’ of the Functions Room of the Kinshasa Lasallian Centre which will henceforth be known as the Brother Bernard Kips Room.

On Sunday morning April 13th , Br.Superior met the Student Brothers. In the afternoon it was the turn of the members of the Lasallian Family of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
On Monday morning April 14th, Br.Superior went to pay his respects to the Archbishop of Kinshasa, His Excellency Mgr. Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya. In the evening he was the guest of all the Brothers of the Christian Schools present in Kinshasa.

On Tuesday April 15th he visited the FrèreVeron Ignace Postulancy Community and he left Kinshasa that evening on board an Air France flight for Ougadougou via Paris.
In his different talks, Br.Superior referred to Circular 455 “Being Brothers Today: with eyes open and hearts burning”. Br. General Councilor Gabriel Somé accompanied Br. Superior during his visit, which, in view of its brevity, was limited to Kinshasa.
^{(Brother Alexis BODO NGUVULU)}

MEDELLIN – COLOMBIA - PERPETUAL AND ANNUAL VOWS: Three of our Brothers consecrated themselves to God for life, as they professed their perpetual vows at the end of Holy Week after the Brothers‛ District Retreat. They are Brothers Juan Carlos Bolaños, Luis Bernardo Bolivar, and Wilson Javier Vargas.

At the same time, 10 young Brothers renewed their annual vows, faithful to the call the Lord constantly makes to them. They are Brothers Hugo Edgar Campaña, Leandro Emanuel Vellejo, Jairo José Jaraba, Iván Mauricio Castañeda. Yilmer Alfredo Posso, Juan Carlos Muñoz, Iván José Oviedo, Wilmer Alexis Oliveros, Alexander Zapata, and Federmán Salgado. They are hopeful signs of the future vitality of our District.

We also would like to share the news of the silver anniversary of the perpetual profession of Brother Ramón Eduardo Botero. We give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings and for keeping hope alive as we continue his work following the example of our founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle.
^{(Brother Alexander Zapata)}

LOS ANGELES – USA - LASALLIANS MEET THE PEOPLE AT ANNUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE: Thousands of members of the Catholic educational community from throughout the United States heard the message of Lasallian education recently at the Anaheim Convention Center in California.

The occasion was the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, an annual gathering that is the largest of its kind in the world. The four-day-long event brought together some 15,000 students for its “Youth Day” kick-off and more than 25,000 religious educators for 72 hours of workshops, lectures, liturgies, and networking.  The District of San Francisco, the western province of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, was one of only 225 invited exhibitors at the Congress.

Brother George Van Grieken, FSC, the District’s Director of Vocation Ministry, who organized the exhibit and spent four days at the Congress
^{(www.delasalle.org)}

CARACAS – VENEZUELA - ACTIVITIES OF THE LASALLIAN EDUCATIONAL MISSION: Forty-three administrators from all Lasallian institutions met in Caracas from April 17 to 19 for the purpose of studying the new Lasallian Educational Proposal for Venezuela (2007).

The meeting/workshop took a broad look at the proposal and there was also some time for reflection on certain aspects of the proposal that had to do with various writings of Saint John Baptist de La Salle.

There was a healthy representation from two institutions in particular, the La Salle Foundation of Natural Sciences and the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. This was the first meeting of its kind in Venezuela and all the participants saw this as very positive.

The workshop saw great participation within a friendly atmosphere. Brother Gerard Castillo, Visitor, offered some words of encouragement and congratulations to participants.

The primary objective for these workshops is to prepare some members within each leadership team so that they can act as facilitators when they return home. The MEL Council is in charge of preparing these workshops as well as following up their implementation. This workshop will be followed by other workshops for Level Coordinators (May 8, 9, 10) and for Guidance personnel (June 5, 6, 7).

VENERABLE BROTHER ALPERT MOTSCH: "Brother of the young, of the poor, and of immigrants," is the common definition of the apostle of Christian education and formation in favor of the young, especially those in need.

Saturday, April 12th was a glorious day for him, as it marked the 10th anniversary, on April 18th, 1998, of the transfer of his mortal remains to the parish of Saint Joseph the Worker in Paris. That event was joyfully commemorated and in doing so, the parish, a place of worship, prayer, and of Christian formation, was enriched.

On that day it even served as a place of pilgrimage, primarily for the friends of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The 10th anniversary of that event was celebrated in a very special way, with the participation of the Archbishop of Paris, His Eminence Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, who presided at the Eucharistic celebration and the pilgrimage to the tomb of the Venerable. In his homily, the Cardinal highlighted the wonderful work of Brother Albert, when the area where he is buried and the church now stands were under construction, and where many of the workers were immigrants, the majority of them Alsatians, just as he was. Brother Claude Reinhardt and Rodolfo Meoli, General Councillor and Postulator General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools respectively, who had both traveled from Rome, took part in the ceremony.

Also in attendance were Brother Nicolas Capelle, Visitor of France, ten other Brothers from the different areas in Paris, and some members of the Motsch family, relatives of the Venerable, as well as many parishioners. After Mass, there was a video presentation on the current work of the Brothers and Lasallians in favor of Gypsies, young people who are academically challenged, and immigrants. A reception, prepared by Brother Emmanuel Grandin, Vice-Postulator for the Causes of Venerable Brothers Alpert Motsch and Exupérien Mas, concluded the evening.
^{(Brother Rodolfo Meoli, Postulator General)}

ROME - ITALY - MEETING OF FORMER BORDIGHERA NOVICES: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the First Vows of the Scared Heart Group and in response to an invitation from Gilberto Acosta and Manuel Paz , eleven former members of the Novitiate in Bordighera met at the Mother House in Rome. Several others sent their regrets because of the dates and their various commitments.

Those who participated were: Bros. Alvaro Rodriguez Echeverría (Costa Rica), José Maria Pérez (Spain), Lorenzo Kipper (Mexico), Angel Ibarguren Aguiire (Sp.- Mex.), Henri Hélou (Palestine) and Juan Bosco Morales Pérez (Mex.) as well as Messrs. Edwin Maradiaga (Nicaragua), Gilberto Acosta Quintero (Col.-Argentina), Manuel Paz Crespo (Argentina) and Mario Napoleoni (Italy). On the second last day they were joined by Br.Filippo Lagati (Italy).
During the meeting the participants prayed together and celebrated the Eucharist. They also shared the details of their lives and the way in which ”God who conducts all things with wisdom and gentleness, and who does not force the inclinations of men, wishing to commit them….did so in an imperceptible manner and over a long period of time, in such a way that one commitment led to another without it having been foreseen from the beginning” (CL 10, p.106).

In fact during the long exchange sessions, the participants remembered ‘their beginnings’. They remembered their formators, the houses of formation, their studies and games, in an atmosphere of joy and thankfulness to God. They talked about their journeys through life, their studies, their apostolates, their joys and conflicts, achievements and projects. In the evaluation they emphasized that they felt like brothers who had met after many years and that they had rejoiced together over all the good things which the Lord had given them and which he had spread by their means.

There was in particular a morning of reflection with the Br. Superior of the Institute on his life and his present plans. The central theme was the Lasallian Family, the Shared Mission and Association for the Mission. They profited from rest periods to visit the Mother House and to get to know better the functioning of the new international Secretariats and Services of the Centre of the Institute.

They also gave themselves time to visit the city of Rome with its antiquities, basilicas, squares and shops. Much appreciated also were the meals and leisure periods during which they told old stories, showed each other old photos and remembered anecdotes of he houses of formation: stories about M. du Gas, de Glaye, about Br. Constantin and the Chaplain, Don Antonio… and they enjoyed many other memories which cropped up during the fraternal conversation. Looking to the future, they planned to have their next international meeting in Rome in the summer of 2011…God willing. And from today they invite all the ex- Bordighera confreres to this event.
^{(Brother Lorenzo Kipper )}

AUSTRALIA - INTERNATIONAL LASALLIAN YOUTH GATHERING AND WORLD YOUTH DAY: Br. Adrian Watson has done a magnificent job in arranging ILYG08 for Melbourne. Currently 551 participants are anticipated and flight arrangements (30 countries) for all but three groups have been finalized.

By Continent the anticipated numbers are:

Africa (44)
Asia (75)
Europe (5)
Latin America (63)
Middle East (21)
North America (115)
Oceania (228)

The participants will arrive in Melbourne by 35 different flights between 7-9 July. An Additional 30 from France and 30 from Rotorua (N.Z.) will join the group for the WYD08 in Sydney the following week. Home stay arrangements have not worked out so that all but about seventy will be accommodated in backpacker hostels, with 252 of them at the Urban Central Backpackers.

Key note speakers are:

Mr. Michael Carr-Gregg,
Brother Thomas Johnson, Vicar General
Brother Michael Broughton, Singapore
Archibishop Elias Chacour, Melkite Archbishop of Galilee
Jesse Manibusen, yoputh evangelist, song-writer from the USA

Bankstown Sports Club is the venue for a Welcoming Mass and Concert, Tuesday 14 July.
^{(www.ilyg08.org.au)}

SPAIN - BROTHER JUAN ANTONIO OJEDA, GOLD MASTER AWARD FROM THE UPPER ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL: The Upper Administrative Council Forum is an organization that was created in 1982, under the honorary Presidency of King Juan Carlos.

Its Gold Master Award is given to recognize those persons in the public sphere who have distinguished themselves in the areas of economics, business, culture, and politics and who have opened new sectors or markets, assisted in the discovery or implementation of new technology, or have contributed to a better structuring of society.The Upper Administrative Council, like other European associations, hopes to enrich city life, culture, democracy, and free enterprise.
^{(Brother Nestor Ferrera - www.lasalle.es)}

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

- To priests and religious people
St Patrick's Cathedral, New York
Saturday, 19 April 2008

- To catholic educators
Conference Hall of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Thursday, 17 April 2008

^{(Communications Service)}

If you have news notes that you would like us to consider publishing, please email us:
lasallew@lasalle.org