By Bob Carrejo
This is the second in a series of profiles of Christian Brothers leading up to National Vocations Awareness Week, Nov. 2-8, 2025.
Brother Javier Castro, FSC, teaches World Languages at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He made his profession of first vows in July 2025, part of a journey that took him from New York City through seven years of military service, then to a trip to Washington, D.C., where a chance encounter and series of conversations would alter his life. Brother Javi talked about this and more when he recently reflected on his experiences as a young Brother.
The Founder described his vocation journey in terms of God leading him “in an imperceptible way and over a long period of time so that one commitment led to another in a way that I did not foresee in the beginning.” Does this resonate with your story of how you arrived where you are today?
For sure. Not only did the Founder not consider what was happening to him as his goal, but he would have resisted it if he had known what was coming. We are flawed people with very complicated designs. I call it divine serendipity. We give small yeses. Small yeses led me to this lifestyle. We think, are we sure? Are we ever going to be sure? Our Founder said, I was never sure, but God knew. God gave enough for me to get to the next thing. I do think there is this serendipity that’s happening, and it’s giving me enough to get to the next thing.
Do you recall how did you first became aware of the Brothers and the Lasallian mission?
I took a bus from New York City to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life in 2014. On that bus right behind me was Brother Ed Shields, FSC, and he’s like, hey! And when we got to the March, we walked together. So, it was social justice and Brother Ed that first attracted me to the Brothers. Brother Ed would call me weekly and ask, “Would you like to have dinner with us? Would you like to pray? Would you like to go on this retreat?” And at that moment, I needed that. I needed that spiritual guidance, needed some nourishment, and the Brothers provided it.
What are your goals as an educator and what are your ways of accompanying your students in their faith formation?
This actually goes to the reason that I became a Brother. Originally, I wanted to go into politics. At the March for Life, Brother Ed asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I said I wanted to be part of the branch of government where I could best serve my people. Then he asked, “How about teaching?” And I said, Brother Ed, “Don’t you get it? I’m trying to change the world.” Then he said something that shifted my whole perspective. He said, “When you’re in the classroom and you present a new idea to 30 students, they have to either defend their world or surrender their world, meaning, deconstruct their world and reconstruct it, making the new information that you have given them part of it.” So, he said, by teaching, instead of changing one world, you can change a thousand worlds.
In the Rule of 1718, the Founder wrote, “The necessity of this Institute is very great.” In these times, what do you see as the Institute’s unique and essential gift to our society?
Because of my military experience, I think of the Brothers as a reserve guard of good teachers. You always need a core of people that don’t go anywhere, that have institutional memory and can bring knowledge. That’s one gift. The other is faith and witness. We believe so much in what we preach that we’re actually willing to dedicate our lives, forgo marriage, children, wealth, personal interest. Then, there are the things the Lasallian charism guides us to do. One is to be urgent, focused on the salvation of our students. Another is to remind people that we are in God’s presence, that God is not just floating somewhere out in the cosmos. A third is to give special attention to people on the margins, especially children. Because that’s what our Founder did. Our Founder went to the margins for them.
What gives you your greatest joy as a Brother?
I would say the students. You can kind of see in real time how you’re guarding, in a way, the students. In our classrooms, we’re making a space that gives them a sense that they belong. We keep the light in their eyes lit up until it’s their turn to act on the problems of the world. So, my joy comes from knowing that there are generations that will be better decision-makers than us and will treat each other with kindness. You see how bad it is in the world, but then you see the students and you think, well, if these are the leaders of our future, then things will be OK.