The Father General of the Pious Schools, Carles Gil, concluded on Saturday the 24th the Canonical Visitation he carried out to the Province of Catalonia. It has been fourteen intense days with an agenda full of meetings and activities.
Accompanied by the Assistant for Europe, Jacek Wolan, they visited schools, institutions and communities and met with their members. In the words of the Father General, this visitation has served “to understand and grasp how the Pious Schools of Catalonia are living the Piarist mission and the legacy of Joseph Calasanz”.
In a video message, Carles Gil wished to take leave with words of gratitude for the work carried out in all areas of the institution: “for what you are doing, for your competence, your sensitivity and your ability to understand the challenges”. He also expressed a sense of pride, because these people “have understood how to adapt the Piarist charism in Catalonia to the twenty-first century, with all its uncertainty, within a highly collaborative environment, multidisciplinary teams and people of great talent, passionate and deeply committed”.
Education with social commitment
This activity of the educational teams, supported by families, will be what allows —in the opinion of the Father General— the continued construction of “this beautiful dream that is the Pious Schools: believing that through education we can transform and improve society”.
At present —Carles Gil reminds us— this is expressed in a presence in 45 countries across four continents, through 200 schools where thousands of children “have the right to an open and high-quality school, where they feel safe, a school that fosters independent thinking and offers a context of values and, fortunately, also an existential orientation”.
Three fundamental pillars
In his reflection, the Father General also identifies a challenge for the institution: to make the school “an act of hope” in a world where discouragement is often present. He specifies three fundamental axes that should guide today’s Piarist school: pedagogy, a social outlook, and interior life.
