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 News of the Institute and Lasallian Family
Rome, December 1, 1998
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Congratulations Br. Felipe Ocádiz
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The logo chosen for the forty-third general chapter was designed by Br. Felipe Ocádiz of the delegation
of Japan. Congratulations and thank you. What follows is his explanation of the development of his design.
 Br. Felipe began his design with
the seal of the Institute of the Brothers. At its center is a star, the sign of faith.
 Our Institute moto, Signum Fidei, is Latin for Sign of Faith.
The star has been for us a longtime symbol of the faith that we hold. The star, with its 5 radial axes of symmetry,
was the starting point.
 This beginning reminded him of
the Chinese (Kanji) character which means big, important, very or much. Our General Chapter is for us Brothers
a very important event.
 In
addition, this character is based upon a human figure with arms extended, as if wanting to embrace something big.
Such is the vocation of all humankind. All of us are called by God to reach out to our fellow human beings in love.
We are called by a loving God who wants all of us to be saved.
 These ideas also reminded Br.
Felipe of Leonardo DaVinci's famous sketch dealing with the proportions of the human figure. Combining the ideas
of this Kanji character with Leonardo's work reminds us of the incorporation of the East and the West in our international
congregation.
 This Kanji figure, is made
up of three quick strokes. Br. Felipe gave a special form to this in order to form the logo, for several reasons:
First, he saw the logo having diverse parts yet forming a united symbol, just as our Institute is made up of diverse
Regions with differing needs yet still remains one.
 Second, the logo should remind us
of our call. Just as the prophets of old were called by God and annointed for their ministry of service, so too
we are called to a specific service in the church. The symbol of the horn was incorporated into the logo as a reminder
of this.
 Third, our vocation is essentially
a Christian vocation. We are called in our own ways to take up the cross of Christ and to follow Him. The symbol
of the cross was incorporated, applying to it the basic design elements already mentioned.
 Fourth, Br. Felipe wanted to incorporate
some of the essential elements of a chapter. A chapter is a gathering in which dialogue is essential. This element
reminded him of a Mesoamerican symbol which is used to signify the spoken word. In this, you can see words coming
from the mouth of the Aztec. Br. Felipe modified the form of the "word" to look like a water drop, thus
incorporating the Biblical Word and the saving waters of Baptism.
 Fifth, he curved the arms of
the figure a bit, as if to embrace the call which has been spoken to each of us. All of these elements when combined
resulted in the logo which was chosen for our 43rd General Chapter.
 Congratulations to Br. Felipe and
thank you to all who participated in our logo contest. As the winner of the logo contest, Br. Felipe will be invited
to Rome during the 43rd General Chapter. |
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