More than 60 Lasallian Communicators from all regions of the world gathered on 26 October for the first online meeting to establish the International Community of Lasallian Communicators, promoted by the Brother Superior General and the General Council through the Office of Lasallian Global Communications.
“Today we have active international communities of practice comprising the Councils for the Lasallian Educational Mission, Volunteer Coordinators, Brothers serving on the peripheries, NGOs and Foundations, and several others currently being established, including this Community of Institute Communicators,” remarked Brother Chris Patiño, General Councillor, when referring to the origin and purpose of the international communities.
Communities of practice
“It is with the same vision,” continued Brother Chris, “to assure flexible, adaptable animation and leadership structures that can transcend our usual structures around a common field of mission,” that the commitment to “international communities that are not depend on those ‘in charge’, but rather on the vested interest and commitment to the mission by those who form the community. In many ways, this approach is leaning into our Lasallian secret: the power of community, of carrying out the mission ‘together and by association’.”
For this reason, “a community of practice brings together people who share a concern, a responsibility or a passion for one area of work, and who deepen it by exchanging experience over time”, explained Brother Chris, adding that “in the Lasallian context, each international community of practice gatherss Brothers, Associates and colleagues from different Districts and Regions around a common field of mission”.
Stories, testimonies and shared objectives
In this way, and in order to collectively address the challenges and needs of the Lasallian Mission as One La Salle, the International Community of Lasallian Communicators “does not negate the autonomy nor specific context of the Districts and Sectors”, clarified the General Councillor. “Rather, it is about how we work in unison for a dynamic, effective communication that tells the Lasallian story, shares the Good News through the witness of our mission and of those who make it possible, and works towards essential common goals, such as communicating truth, hope and Christian humanism that can transform digital reality by ensuring it remains in service to humanity and the common good.”
Thus, the aim of this International Community of Lasallian Communicators “is to value the good and positive opportunities that communication offers us, recognising, as Pope Leo writes in *Magnifica Humanitas*, that communication ‘is not only the transmission of information, but it is also the creation of a culture’. “For us, deepening collaboration and global solidarity through communities like these are critical for we can do to ensure our mission (and common voice) is contributing to a culture of integral human development, peace, justice and transformative structures that place the human at the centre,” emphasised Brother Chris Patiño.
Towards global communication
For his part, Brother Armin Luistro, Superior General, during his welcome address, thanked the participants for accepting the invitation to be part of this International Community. “I know that much good work is already happening in communications across the Institute (…). They tell their stories in different languages, cultures and contexts. We should recognise and strengthen these efforts. But perhaps the next question is: what would it look like if we began to think about Lasallian communication not only locally or institutionally, but globally?”
Furthermore, Brother Armin asks, “What could we accomplish if our communicators were more connected with one another? if stories and resources could travel more easily across Districts and Regions? If the experience of one part of the Institute could strengthen the work of another?” In the face of these challenges, he believes that “this International Community can make an important contribution”; to this end, “now that you are just beginning, I would like to leave you with three questions: (1) who are we not reaching? (2) what is the one message we want the world to hear from us? and (3) what changes because we communicate?”
With these questions as a backdrop, the International Community of Lasallian Communicators will continue to move forward “together and by association” and will hold two further online meetings — on 30 November 2026 and 25 January 2027 at 2.00 pm Rome time — in preparation for the First International Meeting of Lasallian Communicators, which will take place face-to-face in Cuernavaca (Mexico) from 15 to 19 March 2027.