La Valla 200>

 After the reception in Rome at the General House, the participants of the program Lavalla200> traveled on Friday 6 May to the small village of San Martino a Monte situated in Tuscany, near the Benedictine Monastery of Camaldoli.

In San Martino a Monte, the group was divided into five fraternities. Each fraternity is a mix of brothers and lay Marists, sharing all aspects of life including prayer, meals and house chores.

In addition to life in the fraternities, the formation program includes a series of workshops focused on personal development and relationships –  essential tools for the development of new communities.

The first workshop was conducted by Luis Serra (L'Hermitage) on the Enneagram. This was followed and complimented by  a workshop on non-violent communication in a cross-cultural environment by Louise Evans (http://www.global-business-leaders.com/solutions/5-chairs-framework/)

Apart from the program, the community is also taking time to celebrate the various cultural groups gathered. On Sunday, the South America region – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay – presented the cultural aspects of each country and also the organization of each Province in this region of the Institute.

We are all grateful for the translation of Brother Teófilo Minga, from Portugal during these day.