The Marist Mission in Europe

The XXIGeneral Chapter invited the Brothers and Marist laity to live in today’s global world by cultivating an international horizon international in their hearts and spirits. In response to this invitation and the multicultural reality of Europe, the European Mission Team met on 13 and 14 September in the community of Linthout, in Brussels, Belgium.

Those taking part were Brothers Máximo Blanco (Compostela), Moisés Alonso Pérez (Ibérica), Robert Thunus (Central West Europe), Gabriel Villa-Real Tapies (L’Hermitage), Ramón Rodríguez Mayor, in the name of Aureliano Garcia Manzana (Mediterránea), and João Carlos do Prado (Mission Secretariat)

Among other matters, the meeting dealt with the Strategic Plan of the Mission Secreteriat; it defined the holding of the European Meeting for the study and implementation of the document « Evangelizers among Youth », which will be held at the Hermitage (France) from 24 to 28 September 2012, and completed the Strategic and Action Plans of the European Mission Team.

The time spent with the community of Brussels was an excellent occasion for getting to know better the Province of Central West Europe. The team received a magnificent welcome from all the brothers. The evening of 13/09, the members of the team took advantage of some free time to stroll around the most important places of the city centre and learn a little about the history and culture of Brussels.

The evaluation of the meeting was very positive, especially in what concerned the development of the agenda and the hospitality of the community. The Team’s work encourages the  construction of a common vision of the Marist mission in Europe, which will doubtless provide responses to the challenges and demands of the multiple contexts of today’s European mission.