Historic Lasallian Treasure Given to the Superior General: During a recent visit to the North Belgium District by Br. Rodolfo Meoli, Postulator General, Brother Jan De Cat, Visitor of North Belgium, asked that a faience (tin-glazed earthenware) plate made in 1888 be taken to Rome and presented to the Superior General. The Plate was made at the famous factory of Antoine Montagnon of Nevers. Nevers is one of the principal art centers of the Burgundy region of France.

The plate was made as a souvenir of the 1888 Beatification of John Baptist de La Salle and was presented to the then Superior General Brother Joseph on the occasion of his birthday. At that time, the Generalate of the Brothers was in Paris. Following the expulsion of the Brothers from France in 1904, the plate was taken to the new Generalate in Belgium, Lembecq-lez-Hal. When the Generalate was moved to Rome in 1936, the plate was left behind in Belgium where it remained.

The plate has a center portrait of John Baptist de La Salle and the border includes pictures of Pope Leo XIII, who beatified the Founder, and of the then Superior General Br. Joseph. On the reverse of the plate is inscribed, in French, “Souvenir of the Beatification of the Venerable J-B. de la Salle, Founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, offered by the Brothers of Nevers to the Very Honorable Brother Joseph Superior General on the occasion of his birthday. March 19, 1888.” It has been added to the collection of the Lasallian Museum at the Generalate in Rome.
^{(Br. Donald Johanson)}

Young Lasallians Get Moving in Singapore: Lasallian Youth activities have been going on for many years in Singapore, although they tended to be ad hoc and school-based or be the work of a small number of people. But 2004 saw the establishment of the Singapore Lasallian Youth Commission (SLYC), whose mission is to consolidate Lasallian Youth activities so as to be more effective and at the same time provide the opportunity for the various Lasallian schools and volunteers to work “together and by association”.

SLYC is now responsible for the formation of student leaders from all our Lasallian schools. In March, SLYC organised Camp La Salle, which trained student leaders from our four Lasallian primary schools: St Michael’s School, St. Anthony’s Primary School, De La Salle School and St. Stephen’s School. In June, 120 student leaders from our two secondary schools attended the Lasallian Leadership Training Camp, which challenged them to “Be the Difference”. A result of our combined formation programme is we are now seeing more joint activities between our two Lasallian secondary schools: St Patrick’s School and St Joseph’s Institution.

Former students who want to continue contributing to the Lasallian Mission have banded together in an informal group called the Lasallian Youth Network (LYNK) serving at our leadership camps as volunteers, as well as continuing their service work with a variety of different organisations. Much of the inspiration for this came from those who attended last year’s 7th Asia-Pacific Lasallian Youth Congress (APLYC7) in Hong Kong.

SLYC also serves to support and coordinate the community service work that our ‘LYNKsters’ are involved in. They in turn act as the link between current students and the wider community.

There is still much to do, especially in the lead-up to APLYC8, which will be held in Singapore in 2007, but we are looking forward to the challenge!
^{(Kenny Wong, SLYC)}

Bulletin on Association added to the Publications section: The latest Bulletin of the Institute has gone to the printers and is available online in our Publications section. Written partly in preparation for the International Assembly of 2006, this document is an excellent overview of our being “Associated for the Lasallian Educational Mission.” It is in full color and is presented in 5 parts in PDF format.
^{(Br. Donald Johanson)}

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