If we had to define these three days we have been spending at L’Hermitage with one word, that word would be ILLUSION. From the sixth of March, when the almost 140 participants who are at the meeting started to arrive, the faces of illusion towards every corner of our beloved mother house were the protagonists of every minute of the day. It didn’t matter if it was the first or the fifth time, as some of them said, ‘coming to L’Hermitage’ is always a gift. So much so that there were those who didn’t want to go to sleep and wandered around the house with a maté in their hands.
The 2nd Champagnat Global Meeting began with the participants introducing themselves by region, some of whom had to take to the aisles to do so. We also had the opportunity to hear a few words of welcome from the Provincial of the Hermitage, Br. Gabriel Villa-Real; followed by those of Br. Ben Consigli, General Councillor, who highlighted some important aspects of Global Champagnat, and closing with the intervention of Br. Ernesto Sánchez, Superior General, who, in addition to inviting us to be ‘pilgrims of hope’, also called on us to ‘look beyond’ as Champagnat would have done.
In addition, the Marist mission networks were presented: RIMES, Publishing, Youth Ministry and Solidarity, which had representatives at the meeting, as well as FMSI, the Marist Foundation created by the General Administration.
Without forgetting, of course, our beloved community of brothers residing in the house of L’Hermitage, who introduced themselves and dedicated a few words of welcome full of that feeling of hospitality so characteristic of them.
In this vein, we have had the wonderful opportunity to get to know not only every part of this house but also all the Marist sites thanks to the brothers. We have literally stepped on the origin of our beloved Institution in Rosey, we have renewed our baptismal vows in the same font where Marcellin was baptised and we have touched his granite statue in Marlhes to shape it as its sculptor intended. We sat at the table in La Valla, where some of the most important decisions of the Institution were made, and around it we sang to the Good Mother who had travelled from Mexico.
Music is with us every day. Proof of this is to see Br. Eladio with guitar in hand, as is Br. Miguel who also adds the microphone and of course accompanied by Br. Antonio with a half-moon tambourine and Br. Rafael with a kind of zambomba, singing some great Marist songs like ‘Tú serás hoy Champagnat’ or ‘Buena Madre’ while we all sing along and some participants start to dance. Also noteworthy is the special collaboration on this day of the musical box.
They, together with Brother Dem, have given us a tour of all the places in the house, explaining every detail and taking us back 200 years to imagine in our minds everything that was happening there at that time. We have listened to the Gier from Marcellin’s room, touched the rock and let ourselves be carried away by the melody of the brothers’ guitar.
Once our experience of the most emblematic places was over, we had the opportunity to enjoy a talk given by Dr Danilo L. Farnela on the Contextualisation of the educational work and legacy of Marcellin de Champagnat. A conference full of surprises, so much so that Champagnat himself came down from heaven for a little while to answer some questions and say a few words to us.
Next, the priorities of the document on Marist Educational Mission: In the footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat were addressed, where certain issues related to the school were discussed in working groups.
We reached the halfway point of the conference with the sessions by Xavier Aragay and Junquera Arnó, president and director of Reimagine Education, who dedicated the sessions to exploring the challenges of the current school, the Marist school and the role of the director in the 21st century.
To be continued!