“It is a joy to welcome each of you who have been entrusted with the sacred responsibility of accompanying along the path of discernment and growth our candidates and young Brothers, and more so today than in the past, our Lasallian Partners.” With these words, Brother Armin Luistro, Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, initiated the virtual meeting in which it was presented the 2026 Formation Pathway for formators and those responsible for pastoral ministry of vocations in the Institute.
More than 80 Brother formators and pastoral ministers from different Districts and Regions of the Institute, as well as some Brother Visitors and Brothers from the General Council, participated in the virtual meeting that took place on Friday, 19 September.
“Formation is never the work of one person alone”, nor “a responsibility carried on the shoulders of hermits trodding along solitary pathways”, Brother Armin reminded us, highlighting that “all members of the Lasallian community are co-responsible“, since “each of us brings our own gifts“.
International Formation Community
“That is why I am so pleased that today we are inaugurating our global virtual meeting as an international formation community”, continued Brother Armin. “This is a concrete sign that we are truly walking together as a convoy of pilgrims accompanying those sent to us by the Lord so they may mature in their vocation as apostles of Christ and Brothers of the poor”.
For his part, Brother Carlos Gómez, Vicar General of the Institute, in introducing the 2026 Formation Pathway, stated that “the moment we are living, amid restless searching and signs of hope, invites us to rediscover the heart of the Lasallian vocation: a life consecrated to the service of the Kingdom, forged in encounter with the poor and sustained by a missionary fraternity“. In this sense, “we are not called to repeat inherited forms, but to renew the path of formation from within, so that it may increasingly become a space for the Gospel, for profound discernment and for community conversion”.
Constructing a common matrix
Following Jesus, shared life in community, and educational passion for the least, the poor, and the vulnerable are “three realities inseparable from the vocation of the Brother”, said Brother Carlos, pointing out that “the formation pathway offers to make together a common matrix that does not seek to standardise practices, but to inspire living, contextualised processes, sustained by the Spirit, under a founding conviction: vocation is discovered and matures to the rhythm of the cry of the poor and the cries of the Earth”.
To begin this journey of discernment of a common matrix of formation, Brother Martín Digilio, General Councillor, shared a reflection inspired by Letter to the Hebrews. “We chose the Letter to the Hebrews because it is, in itself, a pathway of animation and renewal. It was written for Christians who were challenged, tempted to abandon the faith, confused by suffering and the delay of promises”. Therefore, Brother Martín added, “it is a text for complex times: it teaches us to read our trials as divine education that leads to maturity, not to retreat, to encourage one another, to persevere”.
Thus, in light of the Letter to the Hebrews, Brother Martín pointed out five keys that inspire the 2026 formation pathway: formation paths as a lifelong journey (synodal pilgrimage); Christ at the centre; hope as an anchor; radical availability to God and compassion; and living in the presence of God.
Fidelity, creativity and joyful service
“At the heart of this shared pilgrimage is one central question: Who is the Brother? What are we forming, and for whom are we forming?” proposed Brother Armin, stating that “the Brother is not simply a professional educator or social worker. He is a consecrated man whose life is a living parable of God’s love, whose community is a sign of fraternity in a divided world, and whose mission is to make God known to those who are most in need“. Consequently, “formation must help candidates integrate human development, spiritual initiation, solid studies, and lived ministry, so that they grow into Brothers capable of fidelity, creativity and joyful service”.
“May we walk this journey faithfully, knowing that the Spirit of God is the only true formator, and that we are but privileged companions on the way. Brothers, let us continue this work together – joyfully, humbly, and always, together and by association“, concluded the Superior General.