
Horizons programme – Brothers aged 35 ? 45
Spanish and Portuguese speaking Brothers aged 35 – 45 are taking part in a formation programme, which is now being offered to English speaking Brothers for the first time.
“The multicultural nature of the group reflects the movement into inter-culturality and internationality,” affirmed Brother Tony Leon, director of the Secretariat Brothers Today.
“This is an ongoing formation programme designed to address the issues for male religious at this stage of life to address the need for a healthy balance,” he added on May 24.
The programme, titled ‘Horizons,’ runs from May 19 – July 13 in Manziana, Italy, for English speakers and in El Escorial, Spain, for the Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
It includes talks from Superior General Brother Emili Turú, workshops on prayer and ecology, and for those in Spain, a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela from June 1 – 6.
There are 11 Brothers in Manziana from Bangladesh, Korea, Philippines, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, Fiji, Kiribati and Spain.
The 19 Brothers gathered in El Escorial come from Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and Spain.
According to Br Tony, “at this stage of life, professional development, moving into management and leadership positions as well as having very busy active roles in their active ministries, can all lead to activism in their apostolate and even some distance and disenchantment in their spiritual formation.”
“The aim is to animate the brothers at this age to look more deeply into their vocation as they enter midlife,” he remarked.
The two Horizon groups will gather at L’Hermitage, France, to explore Marist internationality from June 16 – 25.