Rome – Italy – Toward the 44th General Chapter – Document Number 4 – The Report of the 2006 International Assembly: As stated on page 10 of Circular 453, "The Announcement of the 44th General Chapter," we are happy to present to you this month, January 2007, the Report of the 2006 International Assembly, which was entitled "Associated for the Lasallian Educational Mission."

After an opening letter and recalling the objectives and the history of the Assembly, the Report presents the following six sections: 1. Guidelines that were given to the participants at the beginning of the Assembly; 2. A report on how experiences in Lasallian Association were shared among the Regions of the Institute; 3. The type of discernment process that was embraced; 4. Drawing up a Plan of Action; 5. The fifth section deals with the final conclusions that the Assembly reached; 6. Final reflections.

At the present time, this Document will be available only on this web site. A printed copy will be sent to all Districts soon and it will be accompanied by a DVD which will contain videos, visual presentations, photos, and documents from the Assembly.

May the reflection questions that are included in each section of the document help us to deepen our understanding of and to truly achieve what it means to be New wine in new wineskins as it was expressed in Brother Superior's concluding remarks.
^{(Brother Lorenzo González Kipper, Secretary General)}

Cordoba – Argentina - First profession: Four second-year novices made their first profession last December 8 in our novitiate in Cordoba for the District of Argentina-Paraguay. From Argentina were Alejandro Bruni and Cristian Tolaba and from Paraguay were Claudio Ramos and Juan Ignacio Allende. They all began their novitiate in February 2005 after a postulancy program of six and four years, respectively.

The celebration was attended by family members as well as by many teachers from the educational ministries in which they had worked as postulants and novices. Also in attendance were many Brothers and the eight postulants from our District. The liturgical assembly was presided by Father Antonio Santillán, who is the president of the Archdiocesan Board of Men and Women Religious and he also serves as the novitiate chaplain. The celebration was very moving and deeply evangelical in its overall participation and in the way it expressed the vital commitment of these four young Brothers.

Many educational ministries and the participants themselves offered materials to be used by the newly professed this summer at a camp for impoverished children where they had worked during their novitiate.
^{(Brother Santiago Rodríguez Mancini – Director)}

Monterrey – Mexico - First National Lasallian Congress: The First National Lasallian Congress was a perfect ending to the centennial celebrations of Lasallian presence in Mexico. More than 56 institutions and a total of 593 persons from the Districts of North and South Mexico were in attendance, among them 8 former Visitors and representatives from the Guadalupanas Sisters of De La Salle.

Keynote speakers included Brother Leon Lauraire, from the District of France, and Mr. Gery Short, from the District of San Francisco, USA.

There was widespread participation on the part of lay persons and Brothers who represented 98% of all the ministries in the Districts of Mexico. We should also mention the presence of the Brother Scholastics from both Districts.

Conference delegates enjoyed the deeply moving opening and closing ceremonies. The Visitors of both Districts offered inspirational words during these events. In the hearts and minds of those Lasallians in attendance, there was sense of a singular spiritual-educational identity.

In addition to the keynote addresses, there was ample time for discussion which gave participants an understanding of what it means to be a Lasallian in Mexico and how this relates to the world of education. In turn, we discovered the main challenges and strengths that will help us guide our future projects. The object was to outline challenges and commitments for the coming years as regards Lasallian projects in Mexico. There are now twenty different innovative programs by which our institutions have responded to social and educational challenges in the local scene. These were shared during the presentations.

Moving from one place to another, the break periods and the opening and closing meals were all occasions for encounter, socializing and celebration where fraternity and human warmth, Mexican Lasallian traits, were made manifest.

The Eucharist was celebrated in celebratory fashion and it was during this time that we thanked the Lord for the gifts we have received through our students and so many Brothers and lay persons associated in the same mission, as we gathered in the beautiful Our Lady of the Oak Basilica.
^{(Brother José Ramón Cubillas Romero, Congress Coordinator)}

San Francisco – USA - Deepening Vocations: Roles and Movements in the Lasallian Educational Mission focused this year’s Huether Lasallian Conference held November 30, 2006 through December 2, 2006 at the Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel. Over three hundred members of the Lasallian family came together to listen, learn, pray and share. Two keynote speakers, a panel of four delegates to the recent Lasallian Assembly in Rome and various breakout sessions allowed participants to examine issues, challenges and best practices that are current and emerging throughout the US/Toronto Region. The conference came to a close with a vibrant closing Mass followed by a banquet honoring each district’s Distinguished Lasallian Educator hosted by the San Francisco District’s Sacred Heath Cathedral Preparatory.

Keynote speakers, panelists, prayer services and workshops provided a story with Lasallian perspective, a look at the Lasallian Mission within the greater Church, a report on the emerging roles in the Lasallian Mission of Brothers and Lay Associates as examined by the assembly in Rome and topics pertinent across the panoply of apostolates in the Region. The prayer services focused the event and ranged from scripture readings to a student performed play honoring the life of Brother James Miller. The topics for breakouts reached out to all of our diverse ministries from childcare agencies to elementary schools to high schools to colleges and universities.

The closing Mass and banquet brought the conference to a prayerful and joyous conclusion. The beautiful Mass held at Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep was led in song by the schools’ Jubilee Choir, celebrated by Fr. John Savard, SJ and provided with spiritual artistry by the school’s liturgical dancers. After mass the assembly moved downstairs for a social before dinner. The highlight of the evening then began. Bro. Armand Alcazar, Midwest District, emceed the banquet as we honored each District’s Distinguished Lasallian Educator. This year the Huether Conference took time to honor those educators selected by their districts who devoted themselves to the mission of education. The six outstanding educators celebrated and thanked for their years of dedicated service to the Lasallian Educational Mission were Brother Paul Joslin, Baltimore District, Brother Edward Shields, Long Island – New England District, Fred Freres, Midwest District, Brother Thomas Ward, New Orleans – Santa Fe, Margaret Maroney, New York District and Thomas English, San Francisco District. Honoring this select group truly allowed all in attendance to recall at the closing of the conference to truly understanding the meaning of the presence of God.
^{(News - De La Salle Christian Brothers—Baltimore District.)}

Rome – Italy - Lasallian Charism for Brothers in Midlife: We Brothers arrived on Saturday, November 18, and on Sunday, November 19, 2006, from different Districts, Regions, and corners of the world to begin the final CIL session to be held before the 44th General Chapter. The topic for this CIL session is "Lasallian Charism for Brothers in Midlife."

The session began at 5:30 PM on Sunday, November 19, under the capable leadership of the CIL Staff: Brother Michael French, Director, Brother Jean-François Morlier, Brother Alfonso Novillo, and Brother John D'Cruz. The session will end on March 30, 2007.

All together, there are 30 Brothers in the CIL session. One, from the Congo, has not yet arrived and at this point it is not known if he will arrive. We hope that he will be able to come. The breakdown for the group is as follows:

Nearly the entire first week of the session was devoted to getting to know the house, the neighborhood, city transportation in Rome, where parishes are located, markets and places of possible interest for everyone.

Each CIL participant introduced himself as did each of the CIL staff members. The overall CIL program was looked at, as was the internal organization of CIL. We drew up our CAP document and then there was a presentation on the upcoming Lasallian pilgrimage.

Another important element was the work of the translators, especially at the very beginning. We hope that with time and effort we will be able to dispense with translation on certain occasions. There is a pleasant, relaxed, and fraternal atmosphere of cooperation among the participants.
^{(From CIL)}

Barcelona - Spain - La Salle Innovation Park: As a result of the Landing program organized by the UPC (Polytechnic University of Catalonia), La Salle Innovation Park and the 22@bcn project of Barcelona, an agreement has been signed with the Caohejing Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai (China), which twins Chinese institutions with those of this country in an effort to attract Chinese companies to the “innovation district” of the Catalonian capital.

The technological enclave of Barcelona and its Chinese counterpart will exchange resources and work together on global ventures related to new technologies such as the media and energy. The Shanghai Caohejing Hi-Tech Park is the technological business park of the Shanghai Municipal Government and some 1,200 companies have settled in its 14.3 km industrial development area. WEBSITE.
^{(News - La Salle Barcelona - International Relations Office)}

Miami - USA - Foundation: In 1988, a small group of former students from De La Salle Academy in Havana, Cuba, exiled in Miami and wanting to help Brother Enrique Pizarro, FSC, who had been the last Director in Havana and who was at that time the Director of the Children's Guadalupana Boarding School in Mexico City, began to collect modest funds which they sent to him. When the Director of the Lasallian Publication "1905" found out about this he was not only encouraged but he also proposed the creation of the Lasallian Foundation of Miami, whose purpose was to help other establishments of the Brothers in America.

The Foundation has had notable success and has distributed more than three-hundred thousand dollars up to the present time, and its goal is to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of its founding by reaching the sum of one-half million dollars.
^{(Manuel R. de Bustamente, Editor of "1905," a Lasallian Publication)}

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