From 16 to 23 November, Fr. General Carles Gil had the opportunity to visit various presences of the Province of Brazil-Bolivia. On this occasion, he visited only the Piarist presence in Brazil, and the visit to Bolivia will take place at another time. This canonical visit, scheduled by Fr. General and accompanied by the Assistant General for America, Fr. Julio Alberto Álvarez, took place within the framework of the 75th anniversary of the Piarist presence in Brazil.
The itinerary began with a fraternal welcome dinner in the Piarist community of Belo Horizonte. The canonical visit to this Piarist presence was marked by intense moments of faith, dialogue and sharing. The activities began with Mass in the community, followed by a meeting with the coordination teams, with the Presence Team of Belo Horizonte and with representatives of the schools of Belo Horizonte and Governador Valadares.
The programme also included a meeting with the formation community, a special dialogue between the Father General and the students, prenovices and aspirants. In addition, the 1st Education Symposium was held, with the participation of the group Sonoro Despertar. During this first edition of the Education Symposium, the Father General gave a conference entitled: Educar, Anunciar e Transformar: a missão escolápia de ontem, hoje e sempre, a conference in the context of the Comemoração dos 75 anos das Escolas Pias no Brasil. The symposium concluded with a presentation prepared with great care by the Itaka-Piarists Social Centre.
The next stage of the journey took Fr. Carles to Governador Valadares, with a short visit, reviewing our works and experiencing up close the beauty of the charism that moves us: to educate and evangelise. The visit began at the Ibituruna Piarist School, where they were welcomed by the collaborators and saw at close hand the daily work that turns education into life, faith and future for so many families. From there, they continued on to the Itaka-Piarists Social Centre, where they found projects that extend this same mission beyond the classroom, reaching children and teenagers through non-formal education — a concrete presence of Saint Joseph Calasanz’s dream in our city.
The visit continued at Casa Hogar, where the welcome offered to vulnerable young people reveals, even more deeply, our commitment to the promotion of dignity and to a love that protects. This stage of the journey came to completion in communion, with a moving Eucharistic celebration in the Piarist parish of Our Lady of Grace. It was the final embrace of a community that recognises itself as part of the same mission.
Serra was the final stage of the canonical visit. The twenty-four hours spent in this Brazilian presence allowed the Father General to be with the Piarist community, to visit the Itaka-Piarists Social Centre, to meet with the Fraternity and to celebrate Mass with the Parish. The following morning he was able to speak with the prenovices and to enjoy a farewell lunch. This visit has undoubtedly been a Piarist grace for everyone.
