Brothers and laypeople working with marginalised children and young people
From the 29th until the 30th October, at Guardamar, Alicante (Spain), the first meeting of those responsible for social works in Marist Europe gathered together eighty persons coming from the Provinces of Compostela (13), Ibérica (16), L?Hermitage (18), Mediterránea (19), as well as secretarial staff, translators and collaborators. The participants came from Italy, Syria, Hungary, Romania, Portugal, Greece, France and Spain. This diversity of countries encouraged the fraternisation between the people who expressed themselves in French, Greek, Magyar, Italian, Catalan, English and Spanish.
The mission team in Europe proposed the following objectives for the meeting: 1) To come to a better knowledge of the Marist social works in Europe as well as the people who look after them. 2) To share experiences had in their educative work and in their life of faith. 3) To provide elements of personal formation to improve the personal and collective work. 4) To seek ways of collaborating.
The Marist mission throughout the world extends through 77 countries where 51,500 brothers and laypeople look after about a half million of young people. According to Brother Emili TurĂş, this meeting wishes that all ?feel that they are participants in the Marist mission which in Europe represents 16% of the Marist world.?
Several brothers and laypeople who work with marginalised young people felt the need for such a meeting, and little by little the idea saw the light of day. All of this started in a colloquium held at the Hermitage from the 26th to the 31st December 2003 to commemorate the departure of a number of brothers from France expelled as with a lot of other religious congregations due to the law on the laity. Under the theme of ?Sharing the history, constructing the future?, the Institute wanted to thank the French brothers for having spread the Marist charism throughout the world, for having given the grace and the gift of these educators to many countries.