Brasil Centro-Norte Province
The Brasil Centro-Norte Marist Province held its X Assembly of Province Principals en Brazlândia September 3-5. The event was devoted to reflecting on “an education steeped in excellence – viewing learning as a process based on the concept of an education that liberates.” Participants were encourages to share their ideas concerning successes, challenges and insights gathered during their current three-year term and to offer recommendations for the next three years.
In opening the gathering, Br. Wellington de Medeiros, Provincial reminded everyone of the distinctive nature of our Institute and stressed the apostolic mission of its educators and school administrators. “The foundational vision of our Institute,” he said, “is characterized by the love of a heart that was not satisfied with the education being offered in the French countryside in 1817.” He went on to stress that, “Marcellin Champagnat, a man profoundly sensitive to what was happening all around him and especially in the lives of children and young people, believed that education had to be infused with meaning for every boy and girl. Each School is a blessing rooted in the Gospels and exists to make Jesus Christ known and loved.”
The Vice-Provincial, Br. José Wagner da Cruz, presented a new document to the brothers, administrators and colleagues, one intended to serve as a guide for the formation of Marist Principals in the Americas. Drawn up by a sub-commission consisting of members from Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Guatemala, it speaks of the Mission of the School and the Ministry of the Principal in the world of today. Br. José explained that “the document invites us to remember our Marist Mission, leading us to reflect on who we are as Marists and what people expect from our Principals.”
At the conclusion of the gathering participants shared the successes and challenges in each of their School Systems. In addition, the Brazlândia Letter was published, a document offering recommendations for the next three years, including that we perpetuate Champagnat’s dream of educating children, teenagers and young adults to make Jesus known and loved and fulfill the calls of our XXI General Chapter: to strengthen the apostolate of education as a place for proclaiming the Gospel, to strengthen education in the field of human rights, and to invest in promoting academic excellence.