Honouring the founder

THE Lasallians in Papua New Guinea are preparing towards their national gathering in Port Moresby next week to celebrate 300 years since the death of their founder, Saint John Baptist de La Salle.
The gathering would be held at the LaSalle Technical College in Hohola from June 30-July 3.
Papua New Guinea De La Salle brothers sector coordinator Br Thomas Yapo said more than 500 participants were expected to attend the programme.
The celebrations of Saint John Baptist de La Salle’s life and the impact of the Lasallian mission in PNG started with the opening mass on Feb 22.
It would be followed with the national gathering and the closing mass on Sept 20.
The theme of Lasaillian tercentennial is “Prosperity through Christian values in education” which is in line with the Papua New Guinea’s education theme of “Citizenship and Christian values in Education”.
The congregation of De La Salle brothers was founded in Reims, France in the 17th Century by the French Catholic priest to educate poor boys.
He said since the brothers came to PNG in 1946, they engaged in schools wherever they worked.
“The brothers have committed themselves to educating the young people to prepare them for a hopeful future,” he said.
He said there were eleven De La Salle Brothers in PNG working with highly committed lay partners under the Lasallian mission of “teaching minds, touching hearts and transforming lives”.
The national coordinator of Lasallian Family in PNG Grace Wrakia said the Lasalian Family started with seven teachers in 1997 and today has about 900 teachers in the network.
This would be the first national gathering to involve their students.