In the General House
THE FEAST OF S.MARCELLIN CHAMPAGNAT
The feast of Saint Marcellin was celebrated by the community in the General House in Rome. There were representatives from the different branches of the Marist family, other Religious Orders, the lay personnel who collaborate with the three communities in the house. It was a day of sharing with all parts of the world, united by the same spirit.
At 6 in the evening the Eucharist was concelebrated, led by Fr. Jan Hulsof, Superior General of the Society of Mary. At the end, Brother Sean Sammon gave a speech which has been published in Marist Bulletin 75. The feast day was brought to a close with supper in the cloister.

Preparing the future retreats for
EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC
A team comprising the following Brothers: Sean Sammon,Luis Garcia Sobrado,Antonio Ramalho, Pedro Herreros, Emili Turú, Peter Rodney, Maurice Berquet, Carlos Martínez Lavín, Carlos Wielganczuk, Teófilo Minga, Brendan Geary, Eugène Kabanguka, Vanderlei Soela y Bernard Beaudin,gathered in the General House from 7-9 June to prepare the Retreats which will correspond to the visit of the General Council in Europe and the Pacific which will take place from July till December.

Reunion in Rome
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
The International Council for Economic Affairs (cf. Satutes 106,4) met in the General House in Rome from 10-14 June.
When Bro. Antonio Martinez took over as the new Econome General in January this year, the General Council appointed Brothers to this Council which helps and advises the Brother Econome General in the performance of his duties. (C. 160.4).
This Council consists of Brothers Carlos Huidobro (Córdoba, Argentine), Darío Bortolini (Brasil Centro Sul), Jöel Capon (Beaucamps Saint Genis Laval) y Alberto Oribe (Norte, Spain). Also invited to take part are Brothers Mariano Medina y Guy Palandre, as assistants to the outgoing and incoming Econome generals in September.
They have undertaken, the following duties: the organisation and running of the general economy and its services to the general admistration of the Institute and the Marist world, the relationship of the Econome general with the Marist administrative units and the more concrete aspects of cooperation, qualification and information; solidarity in the Marist Institute and perspectives with regard to the 20th General Chapter to initiate a fund for Solidarity and the future; and the material resources for the general administration within the Institute and the various administrative units concerning origin, management and use.
The Council met with Brother Sean Sammon, who greatly valued the administration of goods as part of the Marist mission in conjunction with those in charge of BIS, the Commission for the Evangelical Use of Goods and Brother Lluis Serra, director of publications.

Commencing on June 6
THE YEAR OF BROTHER FRANCIS
The 6 of June saw the inauguration of the year dedicated to Brother Francis (Gabriel Rivat) the first Superior General, whose cause for canonisation has been introduced in Rome. The Postulator General and his team took over the organisation of this celebration, the aims of which are to make known his personality, to spread the profile of his sanctity to encourage us to turn to him in prayer in the different circumstances of life.

Doctoral thesis of Bro. Manuel Mesonero
THE SPIRITUALITY OF ST. MARCELLIN CHAMPAGNAT
Brother Manuel Mesonero (Madrid, Spain) presented on 16 May, in the Teresianum of Rome, his doctoral thesis entitled The Spirituality of Saint Marcellin, published in a book of 248 pages with an appendix in small print of 104 more pages. The beginning of his critical study of his biography.? In a Marist Bulletin to be published in July, we will have an opportunity to read an Interview prepared for Publications.

Reunion in the General House
PROJECT ON SPIRITUALITY
From 16-20 June a group of Brothers met in Rome to reflect on the Project on Spirituality which will be based on the document which the 20th General Chapter decided should be prepared in the style of the Mission of Marist Education.
The members of the group are: André Lanfrey (Beaucamps-St. Genis), Michael de Waas (Sri Lanka), John Tompson (Sydney), Lawrence Ndwala (África Austral), Seán Sammon and Luis García Sobrado (General Administration), Antonio Peralta (Santa María de los Andes), Vanderlei Soela (Rio de Janeiro), Juan Carlos Fuentes (Levante), Raúl Figuera (León) y Carlos Martínez Lavín (Central Mexico).

The province of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
COMMUNITY AND LAY MARISTS
Two events have taken place in the month of May: a) the 7th Provincial reunion of fifteen Marist fraternities, which comprised 123 people and took place 1 to 4 May.
b) the 10th CEFORMAR (Marist Centre of Formation) which gathered together 30 lay people from the colleges and social work in boarding school, from 12 to 24 May.The subjects were spirituality, charism and marist mission.

The evaluation team
MANAGEMENT OF THE GENERAL HOUSE
Brothers Clemente Ivo Juliatto (Brasil Centro Sul), Alberto Oribe (Norte, Spain y Ronnie McEwan (West Central Europe) have completed, 4 to 9 June, their evaluation of the management of the general house and the Marcellin Association in charge of Villa EUR, a task entrusted to them by the General Council, to whom they presented, in plenary session, the report of their conclusions.

First Professions in Kumasi, Ghana
SIX NEW SIGNS OF MARIST LIFE
On Saturday 14th of June the celebration took place of 6 First Professions in the Novitiate in Kumasi, Ghana. This house of formation is at the disposal of the Marist province of Nigeria and the 6 countries which form the District of West Africa. The 6 newly professed are proof of the international dimension: 2 from Nigeria and 1 from each of the following countries: Cameroon, The Ivory Coast, Ghana y Liberia.
The ceremony took place in the open air with a large gathering of the faithful. It was presided over by Monsignor Mensah, bishop of Obuasi, suffragan diocese of Kumasi, where the novitiate is situated, Brothers Joseph Udeajah, Provincial of Nigeria, and Jose Antonio Ruiz, Superior of the District of West Africa. The musical band of ?The Champagnat Boys? and various choirs contributed a musical and festive note to this celebration which was full of life and colour. With these professions, the province of Nigeria now has 84 Brothers, all Nigerian. The District of West Africa has 70 Brothers, 47 of whom are natives of the countries of the District. 4 Brothers from West Africa and another 4 from Nigeria have started two months of preparation for the emission of perpetual vows. 9 Novices begin their second year of formation in this Novitiate of Kumasi.

Marist Library
RECENT BOOKS
– Brother André Lanfrey is the author of ?Secularisation, separation and the scholastic battle?. French catholics and the school (1901-1914). Les Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2003. 639 pages
– Brother Joaquim Clotet, Vice rector of PUCRS,is the author of ?Bioethics. An approximation?. Edipucrs, Porto Alegre, 2003. 246 pages.
– ?Parables of Life? is edited by the Pastoral Universitaria de la Universidad Marcelino Champagnat, de Lima, Perú. 298 p.
– Brother Jesús Bayo Mayor is the author of ?Paths to Brotherhood?, San Pablo, Chile 2002.267 pages.

FMS Message 32
OUR MARIST VITALITY
In May, the 32nd edition of FMS Message was dedicated entirely to a commentary on the capitular document ?Choose Life?, completed by 65 Brothers at the 20th General Chapter.

NEWS ITEMS
– On 3rd June in Rome, The General Chapter of the Dehonians discussed the topic of sexual abuse, with the assistance of Sean Sammon, our Superior General, in his capacity as psychologist and member of the Special Commission created by the Union of Superior Generals.
– The situation in Liberia is very delicate and we continue to receive news of political instability.
– The situation in the Ivory Coast continues to be delicate and there is no news of stability since circumstances are constantly changing.
– René Voillaume, founder of the little Brothers and Sisters of the Gospel, which form part of the spiritual family inspired by Charles de Foucald, has died at the age of 97.
– The Marist Foundation or FUNDAMAR, is an organisation created by the Province of América Central to coordinate in the area of solidarity. It?s roots go back to 1998. It is in a position to address many of the anxieties in an atmosphere of shared compromise and attend to the least favoured in the South American societies.
– A Bishop?s Pectoral Cross
Father Jean-Yves Riocreux has been appointed Bishop of Pontoise in northwest Paris. Born in Marlhes, he was educated by the Marist Brothers and has worked with them in the diocese of Noumea. He will be consecrated on 29th June. A relic of Saint Marcellin will be in the new bishop?s pectoral cross.
– On 8th December New Caledonia will become part of the new District of Melanesia.
– The earthquake which ocurred in Argelia during the night of 21 May in the Province of Bumerdes, epicentre of the tremor, was the cause of 700 deaths and 5000 injured. The Marist community experienced moments of uncertainty and was able to detect, though free from danger, some cracks in the house.
– Guinea y Chad from 6 of June, have been integrated in the Marist District of West Africa.
– The Marist College of Badalona (Catalunya,Spain) began, on 1 June, the celebrations for the centenary of its foundation.
– The Province of Sri Lanka celebrated on 7 of June at the Indoor Stadium, Marist Stella College, the 2nd Youth Rally. The aims are to provide a fresh vision concerning liberation and anti-violence, by offering a musical meditation and facilitating the acquisition of christian values such as peace,,joy….More than 300 young people took part.
– Marist University of Guadalajara
-On 6th June the new Campus of Marist University of Guadalajara, Jalisco, México was blessed.
– In Barcelona on 30 May there took place a concert of music inspired by christianity, under the banner ?Let us build peace? included among others was the Marist music group?Kairoi.
– A useful address for Lay Marists in the United States: http://www.maristlaity.org
– The province of China is developing a programme on Marist evaluation in its educational centres, using three teams of specialists from 24 May-21June.
– Villa EUR- Parco dei Pini, the hotel beside the General House in Rome hosted the General Chapter of of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, an Institute founded by a French priest Agustin Planche in1876, with more than 900 religious and present in 19 countries. Their charism is centred upon evangelisation, especially in Africa. Brother Yvon Bedard has been giving them financial advice over the three days.
– Some catechetical accommodation has been opened in the centre of Marist formation situated in Joacaba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, which belongs to the Province of Brazil.
-There has been an increase in forced labour and in the traffic of children. International campaigners denounce the factories and the sexual traffic. On 12 June the World Day against Child Labour was organised by the International Organisation of Labour. OIT estimates that 1,2 million children are subjected each year to exploitative trafficking in agriculture, mines, factories, armed conflict, sexual commerce and that there are nearly 186 million child workers under the age of 15 years in 2000.

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