On 22 June, the General Secretariat for the Construction of the Pious Schools organised an online meeting with the eight American demarcations to work on the model of presence that has been so important in Pious Schools for several years and in our Road Map for these six years.
An average of 4-5 people from each demarcation attended, most of them responsible for different areas of government in their Province, several provincials and lay people responsible for the Fraternity.
After a prayer of welcome and a review of the path that the model of presence has travelled, a presentation was given, in which the importance of this way of organising ourselves and sharing the life and mission of the Piarists was highlighted. In addition, the fruits that this model is already making possible in so many places were pointed out, such as greater Piarist communion and coordination, the promotion of synergies that drive us all, reaching more people and enabling them to participate, optimising our resources by working in a network, accompanying with more capacity to transform the reality of the most vulnerable…
Then two concrete experiences were shared from the local presence in Carora, Venezuela, and from the work of the presence in the Province of Nazareth, which enriched us all and encouraged each place to take further steps.
Then we dedicated a separate time to each demarcation to reflect on the moment in which it finds itself in this sense, with its difficulties, progress and challenges. And we ended the meeting by highlighting some ideas, such as that the model of presence helps to unite the works and is a clear way of living synodality that helps us to join forces in the same direction, focussing on what we do as communities by the Spirit, who can speak to us more powerfully through this dynamic of communion.
