This is the second in a series of profiles of researchers who were awarded a 2024 Lasallian Research Grant or Lasallian Research Travel Grant by the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN).
Brother Edward Hofmann, FSC, is an independent researcher from the La Salle University Brothers’ community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Awarded a Lasallian Research Travel Grant, Brother Edward will compile research related to the Lasallian charism prior to, during and following World War II in Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Brother Edward will travel to the Generalate Archives in Rome this fall to review, collect and present his findings to the larger Lasallian public. During this time, he hopes to gather stories and assess materials that were not available during his prior residence in Rome.
In the following Q&A, Brother Edward answered a few questions from Christian Brothers Conference. Responses have been edited for length.
What inspired you to take on this project?
Everybody loves a good story. Remembering that “all stories are true and some even happened the way they are told,” as well as recalling the encouragement of several Lasallian colleagues who have told me that I “tell some good ones” and “should get these things down in writing,” I decided to take a leap.
Many of those “good ones” related to school life and associated spheres of the mission shared by Brothers across the globe. However, assignments in those apostolic circles in Central Europe where living the life of faith and zeal with Brothers whose stories were of a kind different than most others, opportunities abounded to hear firsthand experiences from a difficult era. These Brothers’ tales of struggle to effect Lasallian ideals during the time of worldwide conflict in the area where it all started are not solely the stuff of entertainment but rather fodder for the mills of inspiration, introspection and intervention.
How do you see your research benefiting the wider Lasallian community?
This prose to be produced will endeavor to present our basic Lasallian ideals and common life lessons in a readable form. They will be a sort of biography of Institute life (from this era) presented to inspire. From such inspiration hopefully will emerge active meditation and introspection.
The wider Lasallian community, particularly those of Central European descent, might find no small amount of legacy material here.
How will your research enhance or connect to the Lasallian mission?
We all most likely can relate – or might soon be able – to these stories as bearing truths of our own “terrible everyday” acknowledged by John Baptist de La Salle. Those who are new to the (mission) perhaps might indeed allow themselves to be influenced by the heroic lives behind the characters proposed in these anecdotes and then take their own place to continue that beloved legacy of being “older brothers and sisters to the youngsters we teach.”
To learn more about Lasallian Research and Travel Grants, visit our Higher Education Support page.