Desire to serve others

The
Catholic Weekly
Online

Sydney
26 October 2003

Meaning of life

Tuition fee jump

Award for Reservist chaplain

Outreach

Priests set priorities

Step behind the convent walls

Desire to serve others

Trial for euthanasia?

Interfaith

Seminar on self help in action for hearing impaired

Editorial: Enormous debt

Letters: Interstate appreciation

Conversation: Br Dan Stafford, chaplain to the Australian Jockey Club - A generous fraternity of 'saints and sinners'

Voice of Youth: Blessed upon the earth

‘Wonderful occasion’

Stone takes the cake

Bumper crop of students

Concert ‘journey’ by young honours Pope’s anniversary

‘My kids’ bring tears

Desire to serve others

Young Lasallians listen to a talk by their superior general, Br Alvaro, in Sydney

By Damir Govorcin

“The young are not just the future, they are also the present for the world and the Church,” says Br Alvaro Echeverria, the superior general of the De La Salle Brothers.

During a pastoral trip to visit the Lasallian ministries in Australia Br Alvaro said his contact with young Lasallian Australians has “enabled me to discover their great generosity and sensitivity to the needs of the poorest in society and their desire to act creatively in response to their problems”.

Br Alvaro added: “I invite them to strengthen their faith, to deepen the bonds of friendship among themselves, and to work for a country and a world where everyone can live as sons and daughters of God and as brothers and sisters to one another.”

He was impressed by what he saw in Australia, saying it is a continent with “great possibilities”.

“As far as our institute is concerned, he said, “three things about Australia struck me - the brothers’ creativity in responding to the needs of the young; the Lasallian spirit and apostolic zeal of many of the lay partners who share our mission; and the enthusiasm of the young people involved in the Lasallian youth movement and their great desire to be of service to others.”

Br Alvaro was born in Costa Rica in 1942, but has never served in his native country.

His brother - Miguel Angel Rodriguez Echeverria - was president of Costa Rica from 1998-2002.

“Costa Rica is a small country that doesn’t have an army and is a place I love deeply, although I have not lived there for the past 46 years,” he said.

“Being away from the country sometimes makes me idealise it, but it has also helped me to appreciate more deeply its values of peace, tolerance and the defence of the environment.”

Br Alvaro did his initial training as a novice at the international novitiate at Bordighera, a seaside town in north-western Italy.

Following his novitiate, he began studies in Spain at the ancient university of Salamanca where the Spanish brothers were already establishing their Catechetical Centre, San Pio X, as a faculty of the university.

Br Alvaro was sent next to Mexico where he continued his university studies while helping in the Mexican novitiate.

He spent 25 years working in Guatemala and Nicaragua during the tumultuous period of the 1970s and 80s when the undeclared war with ‘death squads’ resulted in thousands of violent deaths.

As a teacher, director of a school and visitor of the district of Central America, comprising Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, he experienced the violence and underlying tensions of these difficult years.

Now in his role as superior general of the De La Salle Brothers, Br Alvaro is concerned about the wars going on in Colombia, Ivory Coast and the Middle East.

“Colombia is a country where we have many schools, including two universities and where the people live in great insecurity,” he said.

“The Ivory Coast is also a cause for great concern where an unresolved situation exists and where we have many young brothers in formation.

“Also in the Middle East, where our university has come under attack several times and where military restrictions often prevent our students from attending their classes.”

Br Alvaro says being superior general is a challenging, yet rewarding role.

“When I was elected superior, the brother-capitulants indicated they wanted me to be a pastor and a prophet. This is not an easy challenge to live out,” he said.

“I feel my priority should be the brothers, to be approachable and attentive to each one, and to the Lasallian mission, to ensure in our time the participation of our lay partners so that our institute may continue to be an instrument of salvation for the young, especially the poor and those most at risk.”

When asked about the future of religious congregations he said: “We are in a period of transition and some may think that religious life is coming to an end and will be replaced by the new movements and groups that are emerging in the Church.

“I don’t share that view. On the contrary, I think that the crisis we are now experiencing is a moment of grace and an opportunity to rediscover the essence of religious life and to renew ourselves in the light of the Gospel values that underpin this life, incarnating our charism in today’s world.”