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Year IX - Number 370

7 May 2015

Marist News 370

Marist Brothers - General House - Rome

New Province "Brasil Sul-Amazônia" Provinces of Rio Grande do Sul and the district of Amazonia unite

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n 18 April, the Superior General and his Council approved the union of the District of Amazonia with the province of Rio Grande do Sul, creating the new province, called Brasil Sul-Amazônia, which will begin running on 8 Dec. 2015.

The province of Rio Grande do Sul, founded in 2002, has 18 colleges, 10 community centers, 8 schools, 1 university (PUCRS) and 1 hospital. It also has religious communities, formation centres and houses for encounters. Its area is the state of Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal District.

The district of Amazonia, created in 2002 as a mission of the three provinces of Brazil, has always been linked to the province Rio Grande do Sul. There are currently 19 brothers and a lay missionary woman working in five States of the Amazon region of Brazil (Acre, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and

Roraima). The Marists do not have their own works in the Amazon but rather carry out their mission, under contract, in schools and universities and manage projects for the formation of leaders, indigenous communities, pastoral in-

sertion, promoting vocations and volunteering.

A process that began with the provincial chapter of Rio Grande do Sul in 2012 resulted in the unification of two

General Administration Brothers Emili Turú, Antonio Ramalho and José María Ferre are participating in a seminary of the SEDOS (Service of Documentation and Studies on Global Mission) in Nemi, Italy, from May 4-8, under the theme “open the door, let him out.”

General Councillor Víctor Preciado is in Mexico Central visiting some comunities.

João Carlos do Prado and Miguel Ángel Espinosa are taking part in a programme for formation of leaders in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from May 5-8.

Brother Chris Wills, director of the secretariat of Collaboration for Mission, International (Cmi) will meet with the international community Juan Diego in New York to discuss the Cono Norte Project on May 7 and 8.

The meeting of the International Council for Economic Affairs (CIAE) in the General House, which is coordinated by Brother Libardo Garzón, ended May 6.

Marist News administrative units. This chapter recommended that the provincial link with the district be increased to promote the mission in the region.

This process culminated in the last chapter of the district held in Dec.

Year IX - Number 370

2014 when the Brothers of the Amazon approved the dissolution of the district’s structure and chose the unification with the province of Rio Grande do Sul.

cially open this December with the celebration of the first Provincial Chapter, which will involve the Superior General.

The first provincial and the elected Council will take up possession during the chapter.

The new administrative unit will offi-

Revision of Constitutions Australia

Central America

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eventy brothers of the Province of Central America met in an “assembly-retreat” in Guatemala City from March 26 to 30.

Their main goal was to continue the revision of the Constitutions and Statutes by addressing the five themes proposed in the “Stories of the Journey, told around the Fire.” The brothers gathered from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia.

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round 120 brothers from the Province of Australia met from April 6-9 to revise the Constitutions in Sydney, Australia.

All Marist provinces are revising the Constitutions, which will see changes in the next General Chapter in 2017.

“Michael Green helped us to change the context for our thinking by sharing with us some of the Institute-wide changes that have been developing for some time,” said a press release from the province.

“He alerted us to the importance of our present times and local actions in this time of significant movement for the Institute,” it stated.

During the gathering at St Joseph’s College, the “Ozzies” spoke about the identity of the Marist Brothers. It also included talks on mission and fraternity.

“Like Marcellin, we spoke of “the wellspring of our spirituality” – being led by the Spirit, seized by the love of Jesus and Mary, touched by the events and people of our lives and called into a growing silence and oneness with all,” said Brother Graham Neist.

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“The opportunity to share opinions in groups with brothers, who are similar in years of profession and in generations, and to deepen the visions we have of them were one of the aspects the Brothers valued the most,” said Brother Provincial Luis Carlos Gutiérrez. “There were eight different groups and they worked well and in depth,” he added.

During the encounter, they celebrated the Jubilee of the brothers, the memory of the brothers who have passed away, and to give thanks for the 90th anniversary of the Champagnat School in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.

Marist News

7 May 2015

New Models of Animation, Government and Management Team releases global diagnosis of Marist Institute

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he international commission of New Models has finished analyzing the functioning of the Institute after one year with its results published in its second bulletin, found in the link below.

The General Council is now to “scrutinize and discuss the diagnosis and reach a consensus for the results to become part of the body of valid information for new designs,” reads the publication. “These designs are being done from March to July 2015.”

The international commission, called “New Models of Animation, Government and Management,” was created by the General Council at the request of the Secretariat of Mission in 2012.

The results underscore that “the goal of the project is to propose and implement principles and guidelines for the general administration and the administrative units.”

Among other goals, it also aims to show “how the Marist Institute wants to be perceived in the world, the role of the Marist laity, and the places in the world where the youth needs the Institute the most.”

The team travelled to several Marist locations worldwide last year, and held six regional meetings in Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, Nairobi, Mittagong, Rome and Bangkok.

Download PDF in www.champagnat.org

The Bulletin includes a description of the process and participants as well as the future steps the Institute will take.

A Retreat in the District of Melanesia

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uring the second week of Easter, the Brothers of the District of Melanesia came together for a retreat at Mabiri, Papua New Guinea.

The theme of the retreat was “JESUS”.

During the retreat the Brothers were given times to reflect on their lives as consecrated men and how they are living out their consecration in their day to day encounter with people they work with and minister to. The time was given to the Brothers to go in groups and shared about their personal relationship with God and Jesus. Who is Jesus or Who is this man that I promised to follow him?

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Marist News

Year IX - Number 370

Latest bombings in Aleppo

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ince our last message, the tensions in Aleppo have significantly increased with the bombing of the predominantly Christian quarters.

The Suleymaniye neighborhood was targeted on April 11. The Farhat Square was then bombed, causing severe damages to the Maronite cathedral and the headquarters of the Greek-Catholic bishop.

Then the Orthodox Armenian cathedral “the 40 Martyrs” was levelled to the ground. Mortars fell on the Kostaki

Homsi Street, the main artery of the city center, and on the Telal quarter, now abandoned by the inhabitants.

Only lucky people with 3G can access internet, but with slow and inconsistent connection.

The club of Aleppo was under fire on May 1. The Siryane Al jadide quarter was attacked the next day and Mogambo was attacked on May 3, killing and wounding several.

Thank God there are no victims among us, the Blue Marists, and among those who benefit from our various programs. We are continuing with our projects, despite all.

Many families have fled and searched refuge in the cities on the coast. Water and electricity are rarely available, if not completely cut. The ADSL internet connection was lost over 40 days ago.

Although we receive many messages via Facebook and email, we cannot reply them. We thank you all. (N.A.)

Diary of the martyr Brother Miguel Ángel Isla, killed in Bugobe exceptional value. It includes traces of a personal and collective history that Miguel Ángel wrote, with his feet in the mud, of a tragedy without limits: the immense suffering of thousands of people fleeing the Rwandan genocide.

And which was also a story signed with blood: that of his own and of his three community companions: Julio, Servando and Fernando, all of them Marist brothers, martyred on October 31, 1996.

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uring the 14 months spent in the Nyamirangwe refugee camp (Aug. 1995 – Oct. 1996), Brother Miguel Ángel wrote in his agenda, with thorough and emerald handwriting, the events of life in the camp, as well as his own experiences, feelings and source of pain and hope. It was his diary.

These pages, now published by Edelvives thanks to the sponsorship of the Province Ibérica, are of a unique and

Reading the diary of Miguel Ángel also leads us to understand the consequences of a love without limits. We discovered that the presence of Miguel Ángel and his companions among refugees of the camp was a fraternal presence, surrendering day by day.

We face a true love story, lived with passion for truth and justice, without compromise.

Four Marist Brothers had the courage

Redaction: Piazzale Marcellino Champagnat, 2, ROME E-mail: comunica@fms.it Site: www.champagnat.org

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to side with the victims and run the same fate. They took fraternal love to its ultimate consequences. Through the pages of his diary, Miguel Ángel infects us the courage and audacity so each of us continues adding pages to this same love story.

This is what Br Emili Turú states in the foreword: This book will be released during the Year Montagne, the first of the three years of preparation for the Marist bicentenary. Could we have a better example of what it means to commit to caring for the young Montagnes of today than the surrender of Miguel Ángel, Servando, Fernando and Julio?

--------------SIN LÍMITES, Diary of the martyr Brother Miguel Ángel Isla, killed in Bugobe, Edelvives, 2015, 264 pages.

To order, please contact the Secretariat of the Province Ibérica: secreprov@ maristasiberica.es

MARIST NEWS N.º 370 – Year IX – 7 May 2015 Edit by: Marist Brothers' Institute - General House – Rome