(September 2012) Greetings from Rome. I am happy to send you the Information sheet for the last months, referring to the activities carried out by some of the SIGNUM FIDEI communities of the Lasallian world. My thanks to those who sent in the information. May knowledge of these realities help us to strengthen our links of fraternity and solidarity and may we remember each other in our prayers. Br. Alberto Gomez Barruso COSTA RICA Patricia González On August 4 th the Signum Fidei members of Costa Rica got together with the Brothers for a festive Eucharistic celebration. We said YES again, like Mary, and we once again consecrated ourselves to God to continue helping to build his Kingdom; again we accepted the idea before God, before the Blessed Mother, before the community of Brothers and before our families that we want to be bearers of the GOOD NEWS and evangelizers in our school, families and in our community. In the second half of the current year we began to revise our Style of Life, and Brother Francisco Velásquez, our adviser, offered us his assistance. We are grateful for his help since he encourages us to live out our commitment with faith and joy, filled with the Lasallian spirit and faithful to God's will. There are ten consecrated members in Costa Rica and there is one person in formation. Our objective is to encourage more teachers to join Signum Fidei. In that way we will all be committed to work more intensely in building God's Kingdom. MEXICO Elena Tiburcio Prior to renewing our consecration as Signum Fidei members we had a retreat day on June 9 at the Lasallian formation house of the pre-novitiate in Tlalpan. After an opening prayer Brother Manuel Velasco Arzac, the adviser of our group, talked on faith. Members of the group offered comments. The Eucharist was presided by Father Mauricio Alarcón. Brother Martín Pedrajo, Visitor, received the formula of consecration from each of the twelve persons who renewed. After that, he delivered an address in which he invited us to work within Lasallian educational communities to expand our group and to encourage more persons to join "Signum Fidei." 1
CONGO - Matadi Jean François Mikiele Warm greetings to all member of the Signum Fidei Fraternity from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our community came into existence as an initiative of Brother Theophiel De Wit in the city of Matadi, Bajo Congo province on September 6, 2003. Today we are known by all the Lasallians here. Following the example of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, our Founder, we live out our faith in our homes and wherever we work. CHILE Claudio Baeza and Linka Espinoza We are planning our next National Assembly, along with Brother Israel, Visitor, and Brother Gabriel, the national coordinator and the three coordinators from the schools of La Salle Reina, Talca and Institute La Salle. The Assembly is to be held at the beginning of October. Among other topics, we will work on "Fraternity, the concrete sign of Faith," and then we will proceed to the election of the national coordinating team. At the end of our meeting, during the Eucharist, we will renew our consecration. There is a possibility that two or three more people may join our group. At the beginning of July a formation session was held for Lay Lasallians in Malloco and three Signum Fidei members were invited for that session. It was an excellent opportunity for formation and the sharing of experience by the various Lasallian schools in Chile. PANAMA - COLON Brother José Morales and Ms. Amparo The Signum Fidei Fraternity in the cities of Panama and Colon renewed their consecration in two groups: some renewed on May 15 at the school Mass before the student body and the rest renewed on May 27, the last Sunday of the month, at a community 2
Eucharist. Brother Visitor Ceclio was present for this event. Both groups are part of the same fraternity. Prior to these events there was an afternoon retreat as part of the preparation. At the present time there are 16 members of Signum Fidei in Panama-Colon and two aspirants and we ask God to continue to bless us. SPAIN - Barcelona Vicente Fortunato Mr. Cayo Pérez made his perpetual Signum Fidei consecration during a Mass celebrated by the Bishop emeritus and by a former student of Comtal, Father Carlos Soler. At the same Mass several Brothers celebrated the golden and silver jubilees of their consecration. In addition, twelve Lasallians renewed their commitment to Association and 3 new Associates made their first commitment. Present for the day were Brothers Jesús Miguel Zamora, ARLEP Visitor, and Josep Guiteras, Auxiliary Visitor of the Catalonia sector. All enjoyed a festive meal. We give thanks to God for the dedication of the Brothers who celebrated the anniversary of their perpetual profession and for the people who have committed themselves in the Lord's vineyard to continue the evangelization of our students and young people, always giving preference to the poor and needy. Equatorial Guinea - Bata Brother Miguel Gil Vos On June 3, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, eight members of the Signum Fidei Fraternity renewed their consecration in the Church of De La Salle in the city of Bata. Brothers also renewed their vows as is the custom within the Institute. We felt very united to the charism and the mission of the Lasallian Institute in this city where we have various Lasallian works. NICARAGUA Rhita González Murillo Around the Feast of Pentecost, the members of the Signum Fidei Fraternity held a mini-camp during which we reflected on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Sixty-four boys and girls participated and there were 14 staff members. In keeping with the mission entrusted to us by the District Accompaniment Commission, our third news bulletin was sent out. It was requested that all Signum Fidei members in the District collaborate in sending news items for the next publication. Bulletins are sent bi-monthly. 3
ITALY ROME Silvana Danzica June 3 was a beautiful sunny day in Rome. The members of the Signum Fidei Fraternity gathered at the Pius IX school, excited to see one another once again before the summer vacation. We were especially delighted to be in the presence of our friend and sister Flora as she is a symbol of faith and courage for us. We were honored with the presence of Brother Alberto Gómez and we went to the wonderful Church of Saint Prisca, one of the most ancient in Rome, to renew our consecration. Brother Antionio Díaz di Marco was the accompanist on the organ and Brother Stefano Agostini facilitated the use of the school dining room for us to share an excellent meal in an atmosphere of true fraternity. MADAGASCAR Brother Juan Sala As had been planned, we had a meeting at a very nice place about 12 kilometers from Antananarivo. Almost all members were present. At this meeting, just about everything happened: there was formation, shared prayer, socializing and of course, the renewal of the Signum Fidei formula of consecration. We needed to have this meeting since it had been nearly two months since our last one, due to many different reasons. The new school building of the Signum Fidei Fraternity, financed by a Lasallian donor, is nearly complete. Brothers Théo and Jerôme are overseeing the construction. We still need some funds for the furniture cause without it we will not be able to use the classrooms. Fond greetings to one and all from the Signum Fidei members in Madagascar. MALTA Marlene Camilleri and Mark Grech We remember the first anniversary of the death of our Brother Louis Camilleri, the founder of the Signum Fidei Fraternity in Malta. We had a Mass in the Ursuline Convent in Rabat. We usually have one Mass per month and, on this occasion, it was in memory of Brother Louis. His relatives joined us for this Mass. During the same celebration the Brothers and Signum Fidei members renewed their respective consecration to the Lasallian mission. Brother Louis would have wanted it this way. In July a delegation from our government visited Burkina Faso and got together with the Brothers from that country that are carrying out the CLIMA project. In this way they were able to get to know first handed how the financial aid that our "Signum Fidei" NGO sent to them is being used. We are happy to be able to help out the mission of the Brothers in other countries. Mr. and Mrs. Sant Fournier (Julian and Joanna) sent us a news item in which they mentioned that 4
they have a project in Facebook entitled COUPLECARDS. Its purpose is to strengthen relationships among married couples. We hope that it will be translated into other languages. Brothers Martin and Edward, along with he members of the coordinating team, organized a seminar for all Signum Fidei members in Malta in the new retreat house in Mellieha. It was a wonderful experience for everyone. PERU Jorge Rojas Carranza and Sandra Aguado The Fraternities in Peru celebrated the 27th anniversary of their foundation. Many communities came into existence over the course of these years thanks to the commitment of Brother Manuel Olivé, the founder of the Fraternity in this country, and the generosity and dedication of a group of brave pioneers and Lasallians throughout the country. We were happy to learn that the Signum Fidei youth group in Arequipa is moving forward; that the Hands of God community holds a monthly meeting where they share life, prayer and reflection on themes of spiritual formation; that for more than 25 years the community of Huamachuco celebrates faith and fraternity at meetings in which children, young people and adults participate; that in many places there are formation and updating meetings; that the work continues to complete the pavilion of the beginning education center in Trujillo and in Lima, even though funding is still not complete; that at the Hands of God school a bakery workshop has started for student training and to raise financial resources. The oven was a gift from the Spanish NGO known as "Madre Coraje." SRI LANKA Brother Damian Brother John Pill, Director of "Lasallian Services" for the PARC Region, paid us a visit. In recent years Signum Fidei only existed in Colombo. Traveling around the Lasallian institutions in the country with him, we brought up the idea of promoting the Lasallian Family and setting up new Fraternities. There has been a good response on the part of teachers. We would like to have a Fraternity in each school. We will have an assembly of teachers on October 20 to talk about the Signum Fidei Style of Life. 5
MALAYSIA L. A. Fernandez Thank you for the information that we receive. The community members in Kuala Lumpur renewed their commitment on June 3, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. May God bless you all. EGYPT Alexandria Magdi Foll Greetings from Alexandria. We are sending some photos of the activities of our Signum Fidei community that were taken during vacation in "Hegaza" Luxor. It is a small city. We work there with children and with their teachers and also with parents and other adults.in addition, last summer the three communities of Upper Egypt, Cairo and Alexandria had a "day of recollection" in the city of Marsa Matrouh. SPAIN Andalusia Luis Lacida We met for the first time this academic year on September 22. Last August 27th we renewed our consecration during a Mass. We celebrated the Andalusian Sector Day with the Brothers and Associates. In November there will be another meeting for those who were unable to attend the August meeting and then two new members of the Fraternity, Loli Muñoz and Pepi Mesías, will make their first consecration. SINGAPORE Brother Jason Greetings from Singapore. After a few years the seeds that were planted are growing. Brother Edumundo, Visitor, and the Sector Council have accepted the establishment of a Signum Fidei group according to the Style of Life and I have been asked to be the adviser. Our group will try to live out the 6
guidelines expressed in Circular 461 on Association. We will post this decision on our web site and draft a mission program. That is all for now. NEW ZEALAND Rotorua Bernadette Fredricksen On July 5 Signum Fidei members helped out at the Australia and New Zealand youth meeting held at our "John Paul College" Center under the slogan "Keep the Faith, Let It Show." All together there were 168 Young Lasallians. On September 15 we got together in Hamilton with our Lasallian companions from other schools to let them know about the many programs and initiatives that take place during the year. Brother Mark McKeon, Visitor-designate, provided us with an excellent reflection. Bernadette Fredricksen spoke about the Signum Fidei Fraternity at John Paul College, its objectives and mission and she encouraged all to form new groups in their own places of origin in Auckland and New Plymouth. The most important event during this academic year was the Mass of Commissioning. It took place at St. Mary's Parish on September 16. Brothers Colin Griffin and Declan Thompson were in attendance. After the Mass all were invited for coffee. As members of Signum Fidei we try very hard to deepen our spiritual life and to offer the gifts of the Spirit according to the charism of De La Salle as we allow ourselves to be impacted by the vision of Saint John Baptist de La Salle. ROMANIA Brother Vicentiu Several documents on Association and the Style of life have been translated into Romanian. There are 7 of us in our group and we want to carry on with the idea of forming a Signum Fidei community united with all the communities in the Lasallian world. As we are starting out on a path that is new to us, we would like to get to know other community annual programs from other communities that might be able to help us in drafting our own and adapting it to our concrete situation. With small but sure steps the Romanian Signum Fidei Fraternity will become a reality. We are united in De La Salle. 7
JORDAN Amman Hayfa et Clara Manouel On September 23 rd we had our first meeting this year. Our work has been focused on the Style of Life. We will be sending our suggestions to collaborate in this work with all the Signum Fidei from the whole world. There are some new members this year and we hope that some others will join later. Mr. Raaed Qussous is the new coordinator of our community. Br. Régis, Visitor, was with us and gave us hope and joy as he invited us to work with the spirit of De La Salle For further information: www.lasalle.org (Lasallian Family and Association / Signum Fidei) 8