Br. Jorge Gaio, new Econome General

The Superior General, Br. Ernesto Sánchez, and his Council have appointed Br. Jorge Gaio as Econome General of the Institute. Br. Jorge is currently a member of the International Community LaValla200> of Holguín, Cuba, and belongs to the Province of Brasil Centro-Sul. He will take up his three-year mandate on 1 January 2022, replacing Br Libardo Garzón, from the Province of Norandina, Bursar General since January 2015.

Br. Jorge Gaio

He was born on 22 February 1975 in Videira, Santa Catarina, Brazil. His family comprises four siblings, three nephews and two great-nephews. After completing the stages of initial formation, he made his first profession in the Institute of the Marist Brothers on 8 December 1995, in the Province of Brasil Centro-Sul.

His academic formation includes: Religious Sciences at IMACH in Belo Horizonte (1998); Business Administration with emphasis on finance and marketing at São Judas University in São Paulo (2002); MBA in International Management at FUNDACE in São Paulo (2005); specialisations in Human Resources and Non-Governmental Organisations at FGV in São Paulo (2002), and Political Sociology at UFPR in Curitiba (2007); Master in Strategy at the Business School of PUCPR, Curitiba (2014); specialisation in Marist Educational Principles at PUCPR, Curitiba (2017); refresher courses in Consecrated Life, Spirituality and Community Life, Spain (2009), Religious Leadership in current contexts, by CRB, Brasilia (2015) and Missiology, in the programme LaValla>200, Communities for a New Beginning, Italy (2017).

In his career of mission and service, he spent several years of his life in vulnerable communities, implementing and systematising social projects in the Province. He animated and coordinated the Marist Solidarity Network aimed at defending and guaranteeing the rights of children and young people, as well as the allocation of resources, fundraising, prospecting, development and innovation.  He represented the Province in organisations defending the rights of children and young people in areas of civil society, with the Institute and in the Region of the Americas. He maintained close links with the youth ministry of the Province as well as in the Ecclesial Communities, especially in the accompaniment of young people and immersion experiences. He was a member of the Provincial Council for four three-year periods and served as Provincial Bursar for two three-year periods. In these areas he participated and coordinated different teams and projects in the Province and in the South America Region, from strategic planning, economic-financial analysis and risk.

In his itinerary, he values teamwork, the design and implementation of strategies, innovation, and the presence of lay people who contribute to the incarnation of the charism in our time and situation. He supported the development of diagnosis and planning for the sustainability of the AUs in Africa and Asia. He was a member of the International Commission for Economic Affairs of the Institute, analysing the economic-financial data and the strategic projects of the area. In the last three years, after training in the La Valla>200 Programme – Communities for a New Beginning, he joined the Montagne Community, Holguín, Cuba, joining life, spirituality and mission, together with lay people and brothers and sisters, with the aim of being a Marian presence that accompanies and generates hope for children and young people.