{"id":127938,"date":"2026-11-13T09:49:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T07:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/?p=127938"},"modified":"2026-11-13T10:15:23","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:15:23","slug":"our-roots-a-lasallian-initiative-in-partnership-with-the-vatican-combining-youth-art-culture-and-evangelisation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/our-roots-a-lasallian-initiative-in-partnership-with-the-vatican-combining-youth-art-culture-and-evangelisation\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Our Roots\u2019: A Lasallian initiative, in partnership with the Vatican, combining youth art, culture and evangelisation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"\u201cNuestras ra\u00edces<\/span><\/i><\/a> (our roots) is an initiative that originated as a proposal from the <\/span>Instituto Fe y Vida,<\/span><\/i> the De La Salle Brothers, and the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), and has been taken up by the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) with the support of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the involvement of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, amongst many other Church organisations\u201d. This is how Dr Emilce Cuda, Secretary of the PCAL, explains it, emphasising that <\/span>the Gathering \u201cis aimed at young people, so that they may express themselves through forms of expression linked to art, culture and aesthetics, to \u2018disarm the words\u2019<\/b>, as Pope Leo XIV asks us to do, and so that they may say how we can change the world, based on their dreams and needs, to make it a fairer, more fraternal and hopeful place\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thus, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, hosted the first in a series of meetings from 3 to 6 November, <\/span>bringing together dozens of young people from Latin America and the Caribbean to share their stories and memories of hope <\/b>through cultural and artistic expressions inspired by the Church\u2019s Social Doctrine.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Art to connect hearts<\/b><\/h2><\/div>

\"\"\u201cArt amongst young people has served as a bridge to connect their hearts and dreams with those of other young people and, above all, with the Church,\u201d says Juan Escafuller, Executive Director of the <\/span>Instituto Fe y Vida<\/span><\/i>. In this regard, \u201cat the <\/span>Instituto Fe y Vida<\/span><\/i>, a Lasallian ministry, <\/span>we want to invite young people to discover their talents and creatively express who they are <\/b>and what their roots are, drawing on their own stories,\u201d adds Elisabeth Rom\u00e1n, Director of Communications and Outreach at the <\/span>Instituto Fe y Vida<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of young people who are the children of Hispanic migrants, \u201cwhenever we ask them where they come from, they tell us about their origins, their families and their cultural roots, even if they were born in the United States,\u201d says the Executive Director of the <\/span>Instituto Fe y Vida<\/span><\/i>. That is why <\/span>\u201cthis project aims to reach out to the margins and respond to the cries of young people <\/b>who feel abandoned and isolated \u2013 those to whom we want to give a voice through art and culture\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

\u201cNo one is saved alone\u201d<\/b><\/h2><\/div>

The Rio Gathering featured artistic spaces for collective creation and cultural exhibitions under the motto \u201cno one is saved alone\u201d, evoking the legacy of Pope Francis in his encyclical letter <\/span>*Fratelli Tutti<\/span><\/i>*. Furthermore, throughout the event, <\/span>three round-table discussions on interdisciplinary dialogue <\/b>were held, <\/span>inspired by the teachings of Pope Leo XIV: \u2018human beings and technology\u2019, \u2018limits and fragility\u2019, and \u2018power and data\u2019.<\/b><\/p>\n

Through this \u201ccultural corridor\u201d, the aim is to recognise <\/span>art not only as a form of expression, but also as a practice that enables us to share experiences, bring realities to light <\/b>and explore collective responses to life\u2019s challenges, whilst the Church\u2019s Social Doctrine provides a framework for addressing these issues from a perspective centred on the person and on the communal dimension of life. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

\u201cOur roots give us our identity\u201d<\/b><\/h2><\/div>

\u201cRoots give us our identity: they remind us of where we come from, the history we have inherited, the people who came before us and the values that have been passed down to us\u201d, said the Brazilian Gleison de Paula Souza, Secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, during the opening ceremony, emphasising that \u201croots exist so that the tree can grow \u2014 not to remain anchored to the past \u2014, and perhaps this is precisely <\/span>one of the great tasks facing the youth of Latin America and the Caribbean: to gain a deep understanding of their roots so that they may build, with freedom and creativity, a new future<\/b>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence the importance of art \u2014 continued the Brazilian layman \u2014 for <\/span>\u201cart has the capacity to reach dimensions of the person that we often cannot reach through concepts or discourse alone<\/b>. A song, a painting, a dance, a photograph, a film or a literary work can express the pain of a people, the beauty of a culture, the memory of a community and also the hope for a different world\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Evangelising through art<\/b><\/h2><\/div>

\"\"For Elisabeth Rom\u00e1n, \u201cour roots are linked to our stories, and when we accompany young people in Hispanic pastoral care in the United States, we realise that the culture they bring with them is that of their parents and of their peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean. That is why <\/span>this project draws on art and culture as a way of raising their voices and as an opportunity for evangelisation by and for young people<\/b>\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a responsibility to carry this call to <\/span>reclaim our stories as migrants, in a synodal manner, in spaces for listening and dialogue <\/b>such as these, where art connects us with our roots,\u201d says Juan Soto, President of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry (NCCHM), which is one of the organisations supporting this initiative, alongside the Organisation of Catholic Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (ODUCAL), the University Network for the Care of Our Common Home (RUC) and the <\/span>Office of<\/b> Lasallian Global Communication<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following this first edition in Rio de Janeiro, \u2018Nuestras Ra\u00edces\u2019 will continue to create spaces for dialogue between artistic creation, academic thought and social commitment, through <\/span>an <\/b>open call<\/b><\/a> for participation in the meetings to be held in Bogot\u00e1 (Colombia), Mexico City (Mexico) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)<\/b>. From 2027 onwards, meetings will also be held in various regions of the United States, in San Diego, Miami, New York and Chicago.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>