Dear members of the Lasallian family, we send you fraternal greetings from Rome!

The 44th General Chapter is coming to a close and we, the 111 Capitulants gathered here from all parts of the world and ready to return to the different places where we share the Lasallian mission with many of you, want you to know the important place you have had in our hearts, our thoughts, our decisions. Our greeting is also to all who, in the diversity of their religious affiliation and humanistic convictions, find in St. John Baptist de La Salle a light and support in the commitment for a world in solidarity and peace where all can find their most fundamental rights respected, for all are sons and daughters of the same Father.

Our General Chapter focused particularly on what is more specific to our lives as Brothers, for that is the first responsibility of a General Chapter. Also, all the Capitulants of this 44th General Chapter are Brothers, in contrast to the last two General Chapters. However, you were constantly present in our exchanges and in the decisions we made. First of all, the Assemblies held over the past few years in the Districts and Regions led to the International Assembly International 2006 Associated for the Lasallian Mission of Education. During our work at the Chapter three of the principal organizers of the Assembly presented the Report of the Assembly to us and in our discussions we referred often to this Report. And in addition to using the Report as a reference document, the 44th General Chapter accepted the Report for the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and appealed to the Center of the Institute and to all the sectors of the Institute to implement, each according to its own responsibilities, the principal orientations and areas of emphasis in the Report. Also, your prayers and the obvious interest many of you expressed about the Chapter sustained us in our determination to honor your expectations. Finally, and above all, we can testify that the life commitment of many among you is a strong witness to the dignity of the individual and of the individual’s work, and in a special way this is the case for those engaged in the Lasallian mission. This is for the Brothers and for Brothers’ communities an encouragement to live fully our own specific vocation.

In a particular way a biblical icon, that of Moses hearing God calling him by name and sending him to free his oppressed people telling him “I heard their cry – I am sending you” inspired us in our work. We Brothers also must live with a passion for God and for humanity. We must be, according to our specific vocations, disciples of Jesus in our lives as educators and motivators of faith of those confided to our care, especially children and the young whose fundamental rights are violated. As an international network we can do more than we are doing. “The poor are our masters and will be our judges,” wrote Brother Alvaro, Superior General.

The field of our shared mission is vast. In addition to the rights of children and respect for life, we have noted in a special way the problems posed by migratory movements, which affect many families, the need for a true solidarity among nations, people yearning for true hope in our world… We count on you to take up the challenge, each according to your age, state in life, and personal convictions. Do you hear the calls, loud or silent, of those for whom you are directly responsible, with their intellectual, moral, affective, and spiritual needs? We ask you to continue to respond to these calls with us. Lasallian vocations and vocations to the Brothers’ life are indispensable for our common educational mission open to the transcendent; the Young Lasallians spoke of this during their second Symposium held in Rome in July 2006. We can all contribute by prayer and, according to our own circumstances, the cultivation and accompaniment of the vocations needed by the Church.

At the close of the 44th General Chapter we understand better what we must leave behind to raise our eyes to new horizons. And we ask you to continue on the journey with us, supported by the promise given to Moses: “I will be with you” (Exodus 3.12).