Second part of the General Canonical Visitation
After visiting the Piarist presences in Buenos Aires and Córdoba, the Provincial, Fr Sergio Conci, Sch. P., led the Father General, Carles Gil i Saguer, and Fr Julio Alberto Álvarez to the next destination: Quimilí. After a long journey by road, they arrived at the Piarist community, where the brothers Fr Juan Petkus, Fr Plácido Mendito and Fr Diego Correa were waiting for them.
The religious community shares the Piarist mission with a group of lay people who are identified with and committed to the ministry, and together they make up this fruitful presence in Quimilí. At the Colegio de Escuelas Pías de Quimilí, primary, secondary and higher education are accompanied, covering three shifts in order to serve people with limited infrastructure. There is great passion for the mission and much life in academic and pastoral processes, Iter / Calasanz Movement, Fraternity, missions and many other activities.
The Piarist presence also carries out another educational work on the outskirts of the city: Escuela de San Francisco. It is a work of significant educational and social service, with a double-shift school day. The school provides the pupils with breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack.
The Piarists of Quimilí also help the local parishes through their priestly ministry.
During the visitation, meetings were held with the leadership team, the religious community, numerous young people from Iter or the Calasanz Movement — Adalides and Cooperators — the Piarist Fraternity, and the teachers of Quimilí. In both schools and at all levels, the Eucharist was also shared, and the Father General greeted the pupils in their classrooms and in the courtyard in order to get to know them.
The Father General expressed his gratitude for this Piarist work and mission, which is changing the environment and the social and ecclesial configuration of Quimilí. May Saint Joseph Calasanz continue to make the mission fruitful.
Then came another long journey, also accompanied by the Provincial, to the Piarist presence in Rosario. There, the ministry is carried out at Colegio “Cristo Rey” and in the church open to the faithful of the area. In this educational work, there was a meeting with the pupils, who, with insight and curiosity, asked Fr Carles Gil for advice for their lives. The liveliness of the primary school children left a beautiful memory in the minds of those who took part.
Fortunately, the community made up of Fr Andrés Krivanosof, Fr Martín Vélez and Br Juan Pablo Aimaretti, together with the lay people who share the mission, gives support and accompaniment to pupils, educators, Fraternities, Iter Calasanz and Mentors.
During the visitation, meetings were held with pupils from the 4th and 5th years of secondary school, with the school leadership team, the religious community, the Mentors and leaders of Iter Calasanz, and the Fraternities. There was also time to greet the primary school pupils, to celebrate the Eucharist with the secondary school pupils and to visit the classrooms.
Finally, we returned to Buenos Aires, where the Father General, Carles Gil, and Fr Julio Alberto Álvarez held a meeting with the Provincial Sustainability Team, coordinated by Fr Matías Pavón. All the charismatic and missionary growth that has been seen requires proportional structures, plans and resources that will allow the mission to develop sustainably. This is an important key in the equation of a Province that is in a dynamic of institutional growth. The meeting took place in a new school that the Province is building in Canning, a work that will give greater capacity for mission in favour of children and young people.
At last, we returned to the point where the General Canonical Visitation began: the Saint Joseph Calasanz community in Buenos Aires. There, the Father General and the General Assistant held the final meetings with the Provincial Congregation and the Secretariat for Religious Life and Ongoing Formation, made up of the rectors of the religious communities. The Father General was able to meet with those who still remained to speak with him privately, and to share some final words with the Provincial.
The visitation ended with a tone of communion within the Calasanzian Family. The community of Buenos Aires organised a fraternal gathering with the Piarist Sisters and the Calasanzian Sisters. The Eucharist was celebrated together and a delicious asado, prepared by the juniores, was shared.
So many names, so many faces, so many stories, so many journeys, so many crossings of paths, so much learning: throughout these eleven days of canonical visitation in Argentina, all this has been treasured in memory and allows us to share in and accompany the Order in its ecclesial pilgrimage in Argentina. The challenges are great and far-reaching, as is the rhythm of growth and mission that this Demarcation is experiencing today.
We deeply value and give thanks for the Calasanzian availability with which the Piarist mission is carried out in each community and work. Unity is given in prayer and in mission for the good of the poorest.
In a special way, the Father General and the General Assistant encourage and accompany the life and vocation of the 32 men in formation in these lands: Julio César, Bruno A., Santiago C., Ignacio M., Nicolás R., Gabriel A., Santiago T., J. Maximiliano, Franco E., Juan Ignacio A., Lautaro A., A. Martín, Gregorio M., Manuel, Juan Pablo, José Gabriel, Marcos G., Santiago G., Iván, Nicolás A., Lautaro G., Santiago P., Joaquín M., Thomas, Estanislao, Federico, Gabriel S., Víctor, Bautista, Facundo M., Tiago and Matías.
