Dear Young Lasallian,

We, the International Council of Young Lasallians (ICYL), are very pleased to launch the follow-up initiative for the International Lasallian Days for Peace 2009 (ILDP’09)

You might have noticed a slight change in the name of the programme this year.  We are calling it the International Lasallian Days for Peace (ILDP).  At our meeting with Brother Álvaro and the General Council last September we heard a clear message:  Please do not only pray for peace but also follow our Lasallian call to action and ACT in the name of peace!  Therefore, this year we are calling on you to spread the word that starting on September 21, 2009 - the United Nations’ sanctioned International Day of Peace - and ending on October 21st we as Lasallians will be fostering peace in our world through prayer, study and action.

We are building on the very creative model adopted by the Malaysian Lasallian Youth Commission, and also on the many wonderful initiatives over the past three years.   All Young Lasallians (YLs) in your respective Districts and Regions are being called to find ways to participate in this powerful Lasallian peace movement.

Each Region/District/Local Educational Centers will provide its own personal touch to the four weeks of the program.  Some will have programs that span the entire month; others will select certain days to plan their activities.  No matter what your local response may be, we are asking that where possible you organize some activity (either a culminating finale or a single experience) on Wednesday, October 21st so that all Lasallians around the world will be united in prayer/study/action for peace.

We encourage you to forward to us any relevant resources and materials related to the theme of ‘Peace’ you might have and which could be useful to other groups in preparation for this event.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could forward us the contact details of Lasallians in your District who would be interested and willing to participate in or coordinate such an activity within their local educational center or apostolate. 

Shortly we will be updating the YL section of the Institute website dedicated to this particular project. This section will also include programmes coming from the different corners of the Lasallian world.  For this reason we urge you to finalise your programmes as soon as possible and forward them to the ICYL in order to share them with the rest of the YL worldwide.

The initiatives in the different Districts and Regions could take the form of, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Voluntary work experiences both within and outside your own district
  • Commitment to live a simpler, less consumeristic life-style
  • Assembly activities in schools
  • Prayer services
  • Workshops / Campaigns / Art Exhibitions
  • Peaceful marches
  • Sending of letters to local authorities calling for Peace in specific areas of conflict
  • Intercultural or Inter-religious activities
  • Others

For further updates and correspondence regarding this initiative or any other ICYL project, kindly contact us at lasallew@lasalle.org or visit the Institute website at www.lasalle.org and look at the Lasallian Family and Association tab.

"So, when people live in peace with God and one another, the earth truly resembles a "paradise".

Unfortunately, sin ruins ever anew this divine project, causing division and introducing death into the world. Thus, humanity succumbs to the temptations of the Evil One and wages war against itself. Patches of "hell" are consequently also created in this marvellous "garden" which is the world.


Benedict XVI, July 22, 2007,
Lorenzago di Cadore, Italy












Once again I am delighted with the initiative of the International Lasallian Youth Movement for its invitation to all of us who make up this great family to pray for peace in a special way on October 21 and to be men and women of peace, building it day by day in our actions and options. > > >