The Lasallian Jubilee Year celebrations finished on Saturday November the 30th, having commenced in November 2018. The Lasallian Jubilee Year was authorised in the Church by Pope Francis, to mark the Tercentenary of St Jean-Baptiste de La Salle’s entrance into eternal life. In the words of Brother Olavo José Dalvit, Visitor of the District of Brazil-Chile, “The motto ‘one heart, one commitment, one life’ has been a motive for us to revisit the spiritual journey of the Founder, who knew how to read the events of his life with the eyes of faith.
“He lived his life’s journey from commitment to commitment, even when he found it hard to see the presence of God.”
Right from the start, the pupils were all in tune with the spirit of Jubilee which coincided with the beginning of the school year. The Rede La Salle reinforced the commitment it has to helping the students to programme their lives, remembering the charism of educational excellence inherited from the generous heart of St. John Baptist de La Salle.
Throughout the year, all Lasallian school communities were invited to have live experiences of the mission and work of St. John Baptist de La Salle through activities inside and outside of the classroom. Many and varied were the celebratory activities organised in the Lasallian establishments of Brazil, Chile and Mozambique, and they matched the programme of activities organised by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, including for example the use of the interactive digital biography of De La Salle and the organising of a De La Salle Week, when they all celebrated a Mass for the Jubilee Year.
Some Lasallians (Brothers, students, colleagues) attended an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican, and they heard the Holy Father speak about De La Salle as
“a brilliant and creative innovator in his vision of the school, of the role
of the teacher and teaching methods”.
The occasion helped people call to mind how De La Salle and the first Brothers left behind them a rich pedagogical and spiritual inheritance.
To conclude the activities, every Lasallian school community was invited to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for the closure of the Lasallian Jubilee Year. On the 30th of November, more than 200 people, including Brothers, colleagues and local Lasallian Communities celebrated the Closure Mass in the chapel of the La Salle University in Canoas-RS. The celebration was marked by the presence of the Leadership Team of the District of Brazil-Chile and was carried out in an atmosphere full of thanksgiving, commitment and unity which are so characteristic of the Lasallian charism of welcome, respect and faith.
During the celebration, Brother Olavo José Dalvit, Visitor, recalled the strength of De La Salle and how it echoes across time and is felt still today in the work of all those linked to his mission.
De La Salle was magnificent, but he had no idea that 300 years later we would be here calling to mind his work. He made a commitment to education, but not just any education. It was to an education which prepares for life by creating autonomous, responsible individuals, and has its view permanently fixed on the goal of providing life for all.
In order to preserve and share the memories of the activities realised during this Jubilee Year, the Rede La Salle has produced a virtual exhibition of photographs and videos of the celebrations.
Click here to access the digital souvenir of the Lasallian Jubilee Year.
Distrito Brasil-Chile (sector Chile)