Marist News 542

Year XI - Number 542 | 18 September 2018

Marist News 542

Marist Brothers - General House - Rome

Martyrs of Algeria (1994-1996) Beatification of Brother Henri Vergès The beatification celebration of Brother Henri Vergès will be held on Dec. 8 in Oran, Algeria. On Sept. 1 a meeting was held in Rome to decide the date and the organisational details of the celebration of the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions, including Henri Vergès. The meeting was convened by the postulator of the cause and was attended by the bishops of Algeria and the superiors general, or their representatives, of the eight religious congregations involved in the cause.

It was decided that the celebration would take place on Dec. 8, 2018 in Oran, Algeria, in the basilica of the Holy Cross of the diocese of Bishop Pierre and his driver Mohamed.

This decision left in everyone present a feeling of peace and, at the same time, a reinforced conviction that the Church of Algeria was being faithful to what our already blessed brothers and sisters had lived and to the entire church of Algeria along with them.

Father Christian de Chergé wrote in his testament, “I would like my com-

Genereal Administration • On Thursday the general council will conclude its plenary session, which began in early September.

During these last few days, they will discuss several topics including some inherent to the Constitutions approved by the last general chapter.

• On Sunday, Sept. 16, superior

general Brother Ernesto Sánchez attended the second preparatory meeting for the Youth Synod at the USG along with the 10 superiors who will represent consecrated people during the meeting at the Vatican.

• On Sept. 20, Brothers Óscar Martín, general councillor, and Valdícer

www.champagnat.org

Fachi, director of Cmi Department, participated in the meeting of the Fratelli Project Council at the general house.

• Brother João Carlos do Prado, general councillor, will participate in the Assembly of the Mission of the Compostela province, from Sept. 20 – 22 in in Lisbon, Portugal.

Marist News 542 munity, my Church, my family, to remember that my life WAS SURRENDERED to God and to this country.” This intention was explicitly shared by Brother Henri who asked for Algerian citizenship as a sign of identification and communion with the country that welcomed him.

During the audience that the Pope granted to the bishops of Algeria a year ago, he insisted a lot that the celebration be held in the same land where the 19 new Blesseds had lived.

The bishops of Algeria wanted to hold a celebration with the flavour of what the Church lives in Algeria, namely humility and simplicity.

The beatification celebration in Algeria will have a limited number of participants. But to do it in other places like Paris or Assisi would have excluded, in practice, the Algerians and many members of the Church of Algeria.

Sister Esther affirmed that “we are the Church of Algeria and our mission is to be the Church of Algeria.” Therefore, this celebration is, above all, an event of the Algerian church.

The beatification ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, newly appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who will at the same time act as the Pope’s special envoy and carry a message.

Lebanon: 21 Marists to form new mixed community Marist laity and brothers of Champville A new mixed community with both laity and brothers is being formed at the Collège Mariste Champville – an elementary, secondary and high school in Dik el Mehdi, 18km north of Beirut, Lebanon.

The community will be made up of 21 Marists – five brothers and 16 laity, including three married couples.

They were chosen after a year’s discernment and accompaniment by provincial superior Brother Juan Carlos Fuertes Marí.

The community will meet together several times a week for prayer as well as for weekend retreats once a month.

The members will meet from Sept. 21 – 23 to discuss the community’s lifestyle in greater detail, with the guidance of Brother Carlos Mario McEwen who will serve as their superior.

Some members will live in the community building at the school’s campus full-time and others part-time, while a few will live there just a few days during the week.

Other members will live in their own homes.

The community members are: Brothers Anthony Doe Siryeh (Liberia – West Africa dis-

trict), Antoine Jarjour (Lebanon – Mediterranea province, originally from Syria), Carlos Mario McEwen Ochoa (Lebanon – Mediterranea province, originally from Colombia), Eric Kramo (Ghana – West Africa district) and Jean Claude Robert (Lebanon – Mediterranea province, originally from Egypt).

Angelique and Miled Hobeika, Pascale and Nagy Jalkh, and Sabine and Georges Sawaya (married couples); Annick Hawat, Daniel Kara, Édouard Jabre, Joseph Mikhael, Mario Ibrahim, Maroun Bou Matar, Michel Abdallah, René Salem, Rita Khoury and Roy El Daher.

The six young children of the couples are not included in the list and will be considered as unofficial members of the community for the time being.

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Marist News 542

News in Brief America Sur region Brother Alberto Aparicio, of Cruz del Sur, has been appointed executive secretary of the region, replacing Brother Natalino de Souza. The new regional coordinator, a position that is still currently occupied by Brother Alberto, will be chosen during the next regional council session in November.

‘Maristes: 200 i +’ Marists in Catalonia concluded the celebration of the Institute’s bicentenary with the inauguration of the exhibition ‘Maristas: 200 y +’ in Barcelona, Spain. The itinerant exhibition was held for one year by all of the local towns where the Marists have a school or a social work: Mataró, Igualada, Rubí, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Malgrat de Mar, Girona, Lleida and Badalona. During the summer, the exhibition was held in the Monastery of Las Avellanas.

Biography of Fr Colin Several Brothers participated, together with the other three branches of the Marist Family, on the Feast of the Name of Mary on Sept. 12 at the general house of the Marist Sisters. On that occasion, the biography of Father Jean-Claude Colin (“Reluctant Founder”) was launched, written

by Father Marist Justin Taylor and published by ATF publications.

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‘Youth, faith and vocational discernment’ Superior general Brother Ernesto Sánchez will participate in the Synod of Bishops From Oct. 3 – 28, the 15th Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place in the Vatican with the theme ‘Youth, faith and vocational discernment’.

In addition to the cardinals and bishops who make up most of the assembly, the Pope has invited ten superiors general of the Union of Superiors General as participating members of the Synod (see the list of participants).

For this occasion, the General Superiors of these Congregations were elected at the USG’s assembly: Jesuits, Salesians, Cistercians, Conventual Franciscans, Order of Preachers, Piarists, Paulines, Lasallian Brothers, Redemptorists and Marist Brothers.

Superior general Brother Ernesto Sánchez was chosen from among these ten participants.

Since the Synod’s theme focuses on youth, we think that – for an Institute like ours whose main mission is carried out among young people – both our contribution and our learning from the Synod is important and valuable.

The preparatory process of the Sy-

nod has sought to actively involve Episcopal Conferences and Religious Congregations, with a very positive response from various parts of the world.

Now we have the Instrumentum Laboris, the main document to reflect on throughout the Synod.

We remember that last March in Rome, Pope Francis listened to an international group of young people, who expressed their feelings and their concerns.

In this meeting we were invited to present ourselves as a congregation through Brother Carlos Alberto Rojas, of the Secretariat of Mission (we have the news and access to the document on our website)

Marist News 542

Marist World

United States: Br. Sam Amos renewed his temporary vows in Chicago

Ivory Coast: Saint Marcellin Champagnat School - Bouaké

Malawi: Marist Postulants & Formation Team at Champagnat House, Mtendere

France: General councillor Br Sylvain Ramandimbiarisoa at Saint-Genis-Laval community

Argentina Meeting of volunteers in Luján

Spain: Meeting of the Fraternities of the Province Ibérica in Lardero

Association of Marist Laity Canadian government recognises AMDL as on official entity The Association of Lay Marists of Canada (AMDL) held a general extraordinary meeting at the College Laval on Aug. 29 in Laval, Canada.

This encounter was of vital importance for the country’s Marist laity, since it was necessary to have the approval of an assembly to modify the internal statutes, to comply with the requirements of the government of Canada to be able to work as an official organism.

Many Marist works are directed by the laity in the province of Canada; those responsible for each work, or its representative, form part of the Council of Administration of the AMDL. Marist laity founded the Association in 2014. Its objective is to gather all those who wish to live the Marist spirit, promote, and develop the Marist spirit through further development of the values and the charism of Saint Marcelin Champagnat, and to contribute to the vitality of the Marist works.

“It is as if we were forming a new Marist community, where we are”, explained Patricia Deslauriers, of the Council of Administration of the Association. “We are truly brothers and sisters of Champagnat mutually supporting one another in the service of our mission.”

Now, with the recognition from the Government of Canada, the AMDL will be able to receive and administer donations, legacies, and other goods and contributions with the desire of taking care of the legacy of the Marist Brothers and to

assure the continuity of the works in collegiality with the Brothers.

Starting this year, the Council of Administration of the AMDL is participating in the Council of Mission of the Province of Canada, which is a shared Council between brothers and laity, which will establish a strategic plan in view of provincial animation in function of the orientations of the last provincial chapter and the XXII General Chapter.

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Marist News 542

Spain: Horizons Group 2018 Formation programme for Brothers aged between 35 – 45 in El Escorial “Being bridge-builders” is the theme of the Horizons Group 2018, the formation programme for Brothers aged between 35 – 45, who began its activities in El Escorial, Spain, on Aug. 17 and will conclude them on Oct. 17.

There are 10 Brothers who from five provinces: Cruz del Sur (1), Norandina (2), Brasil Centro-Norte (1), Brasil Centro-Sul (1), Brasil Sul-Amazônia (1), Haiti sector (2) and Ibérica (2), in addition to Brothers Antônio Peralta and Joaquim Sperandio, coordinators of the course.

“HORIZONS” invites us to look to the future, to wander, to move, to intuit new territories and new dreams, giving meaning to everyday life.

Throughout this experiment seven contents or “hills” will be explored: one’s personal history; spiritual

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growth; commitment to the mission; challenges of the XXII General Chapter; care of the common home and new life horizons.

To reach the objectives, the following mediations were chosen: a lot of contemplative prayer; fraternal life; self-care; personal accompaniment; workshops; a pilgrimage to Marist places; experience of solidarity and the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

From Sept. 1 – 8, the group walked the Camino de Santiago, for a total of 120 km.

In the company of thousands of pilgrims, they walked along roads and paths defying their own limits, supported by the inner strength that each discovered, and the support received from thousands of people who always wanted “have a good journey!”

Climbing, descending, rocks, asphalt, rain, sun and the dazzling nature of the Spanish region of Galicia accompanied us. Certainly, a unique and important experience in the formation itinerary foreseen in the course.

More than words, it was gestures and signs emanating at every moment that enriched everyone’s experience.

And when we reached Plaza del Obradoiro, in front of Santiago Cathedral, everyone felt like praising God because of the joy of having overcome the challenge.

Seated or lying on the stones, we stood for endless moments with our mouths open, in silence, contemplating one’s own achievement. Indeed, along the way, we had built bridges and dazzled new horizons for each of us and those around us. Praise be to God!

Marist News 542

Provincial Meeting of the Mission of Central America A high level of leadership in the Institute From August 30 until September 1 there took place the Provincial Meeting of the Mission of Central America, in the Marist Centre of Formation, in the City of Guatemala.

"It was highly importantto witness the collaboration between the brothers and laypeople and I also witnessed, once again, a very high level of leadership in the Institute", said Brother João Carlos do Prado, General Councillor to the office of communications in the General House on September 5.

As well as Brother João, representatives from the areas of education, evangelism, solidarity and defence of the rights of the Province took part.

On Thursday, August 30, the objectives of the meeting were set out and the participants heard the message sent by the provincial superior, Brother Hipólito Pérez.

"I feel very close to each one of you and at the same time I am confident that your points of viewand intuitions will be a valuable contribution in guiding the decisions of the Provincial Council in the years to come", he declared.

In the course of the day, Brother João offered suggestions on the 'Context of our mission', 'Spaces anddelegates for our mission' and 'The Marist community of Champagnat: animating the mission.'

On Friday, those taking part continued to reflect on the

mission of brothers and lay people and Brother João presented the topic 'Contemplative Leadership: mystical and prophetic'. Then, in groups, the participants reflected on the topic of 'Marists of Champagnat/Community' and they prepared a number of posters to illustrate their contributions.

In the afternoon, the work continued on the first topic, followed by a reflection on those 'Wide Platforms for a significant Mission/Presence.'

On the final day, the participants continued group discussions on the same topic and carried out a study on the Transformational Viewpoint and context/Leadership.'

Finally, a study was carried out on the 'Vision on our journey to follow' and the meeting concluded with mass.

Institute of the Marist Brothers - General House

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