Eighty participants from across the global Lasallian family met for the Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies. The two-week formation program took place June 29 – July 12 at Manhattan University in Riverdale, New York.
Participants from all five Regions of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and a variety of roles were represented, including core curriculum teachers, chief administrators, District and international staff, admissions and development personnel, counselors and youth support, higher education faculty, campus ministers and mission officers.
There was a common faith and shared Lasallian values, said Brother Waseem Shamoun, FSC, second-year participant and principal of St. Solomon School in Multan, Pakistan. He expressed his appreciation of the Buttimer community, inspired by their “witness of (the) worldwide Lasallian family and legacy.”
“To meet people from all corners of the world who share the same vision, engaging in the Lasallian mission was remarkable,” said Bernadette Fredricksen, director of mission for John Paul College in Rotorua, New Zealand. This Buttimer experience “made me realize how global the Lasallian movement is – we do our work together and by association,” she continued.
Each day focused on course studies and each of the three cohorts had a different curriculum, yet all studied key Lasallian texts from the writings of De La Salle to more modern Institute works.
First-year participants examined the Lasallian founding story, the life of De La Salle and origins of the Institute, and were instructed by Dr. Tim Gossen and Brother George Van Grieken, FSC. Dr. Greg Kopra, AFSC, taught the second-year course on De La Salle’s educational vision and pedagogy. The final year’s course, led by Brothers John Crawford and William Mann, FSC, discussed Lasallian spirituality in depth.
In reflecting on his first-year course, Jon Hernández said he found similarities in the journey De La Salle had in uncovering his vocation as an educator. The Founder had to make the difficult decision to either “stay with what he knew” or “do what God was calling him to: educate those in need,” said the math teacher from Colegio De La Salle in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
In the Founder’s choice, Hernández added, education “became his passion … where he was truly happy. It became where he could truly be himself.” He said he related to this in his own vocation with making the decision to pursue God’s calling to education over medicine.
Prayer was embedded in the structure of the program as each day started and ended with communal prayer. The morning prayers paralleled the three movements of the Method of Interior Prayer: recalling the presence of God, reflecting on Lasallian identity and recommitting to the Lasallian mission. Evening prayers focused on modern icons who embodied Gospel living, like Dorothy Day, Brother John Johnston, FSC, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Helen Keller.
This year, 29 participants graduated from the three-year program.
Reflecting on her final year, Fredricksen said, “the study of Lasallian spirituality has shown me the importance of dedicating time to interior prayer.” Studying the Meditations of Saint John Baptist de La Salle helped provide a structure for her “to reflect inwardly and truly be in the presence of God.”
Fifteen countries were represented, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.
“The community experience at Buttimer was astounding; everyone was full of the Lasallian charism,” said Hernández. “No matter our role, no matter our age, no matter our nationality, we felt that we belonged. … Even though we have different roles, realities, and challenges; we all handle them with the same patience, love, and zeal that the Founder taught us.”
The Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies is a formation program of Christian Brothers Conference, the office for the Lasallian Region of North America. Established in 1986, the program is named in honor of Brother Charles Henry Buttimer, FSC (1909-1982), the first American Superior General (1966-1976) of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Learn more about the Buttimer Institute.