Br. Nestor (left) with the De Marillac Academy leadership and Br. Nick (2nd from right).
Brother Nestor Anaya, FSC, Secretary for the Lasallian Mission of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, recently made a one-week visit to the San Francisco New Orleans District (SFNO).
The visit, which was part of a larger tour of the Districts of the Lasallian Region of Norther America (RELAN), took place December 2 – 8 and included stops at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (SHC) and De Marillac Academy (DMA) in San Francisco, Cristo Rey De La Salle East Bay High School (CRDLS) in Oakland, Saint Mary’s College High School (SMCHS) in Berkeley, and Saint Mary’s College of California (SMC) in Moraga. Brother Nestor also visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Saint Mary’s College High School, and Joseph Alemany Brothers’ communities. In all places, he found the mission alive and well.
Brother visits a Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep class.
“I was very happy,” he said, “to see that our Lasallian philosophy and pedagogy both have such vitality in the District’s ministries among the students, teachers, and administrators. I saw the great effort they make to live intensely our traditions of community, service – especially with those who have less – and faith.
Accompanying Brother Nestor during his tour were Assistant Visitor Brother Nick Gonzalez, FSC, and SFNO Office of Education Director Mike Daniels, both of whom helped introduce Brother Nestor to the people and daily life of our District.
“Our Brothers and Partners,” Daniels offered, “enjoyed their candid conversations with Brother about 21st century education, mission integration, and the pandemic reality facing our schools today. Partners especially learned more about the Institute in Rome and Brother’s role in supporting the Lasallian mission worldwide.”
Brother with SMCHS president Larry Puck (l) and Aspirant Br. Matt Chiantella.
Throughout the week, Brother Nester’s focus was on learning more about RELAN’s current mission realities and activity, as well as on encouraging local Lasallians’ attention to various Lasallian Mission-related publications and to the Third International Assembly of the Lasallian Educational Mission (AIMEL).
“Brother Nestor enjoyed getting candid responses to his questions about the strengths and challenges in our schools and communities,” said Brother Nick. “He saw that U.S. Lasallian schools are facing some very unique challenges. Brother will take all of his interactions and try to guide the efforts of the upcoming international mission assembly based on those interactions.”
Brother Nestor observed, “In my time in SFNO and throughout the RELAN, I was able to appreciate the importance of our faculties and staffs, both for their concern to continue offering valuable academic content to the students and for their dedication to listening to the concerns of the personal lives of the students.”
Brother Nestor and the CRDLS leadership team.
At this various stops, Brother Nestor met with school administrators, board trustees, faculty-staff members, and students who all provided him with a deeper understanding of local educational experiences.
“Brother’s visit gave him a live experience and a more informed perspective about the varied ways that the Lasallian mission is lived out across SFNO and within its diverse settings,” Daniels explained. “For example, he was very impressed by the uniqueness of the Cristo Rey model, with its integration of the work component into the life of a student and the expansive cooperation that exists with Corporate Partners.”
Brother Nestor also was struck by some of the scholastic approaches typical to all of our schools. “I was struck by the many and varied co-curricular activities that complement academic formation,” he commented. “These activities are highly valued by the students and help them to discover their personal talents, to develop as persons, and even to find the meaning of life in the search for goodness and beauty.”
Early in the visit, Brother met via Zoom with the SFNO leadership team, where he was given an overview of its structure and workings, as well as of the District in general.
Brother with members of SMC’s Cummins Institute.
“We were pleased to welcome Brother Nestor,” said Brother Donald Johanson, FSC, Visitor, “and help to familiarize him with our SFNO family and ministries. He has a very important role in the Institute and I was glad for this chance for him to get to know us better and also for us to support him in his work.”
For his part, Brother Nestor ended his visit with thoughts about the strength and the future of our Lasallian mission, saying, “Our 300-plus year history tells us again and again that life is full of challenges. But it also tells us that by putting our best foot forward, we can continue to walk and fulfill the mission to which we have been called. Today, as yesterday, we must give way to creativity, to our apostolic zeal, and to our capacity for resilience in order to continue serving and living our beautiful vocation as Lasallian educators.”
