Chad: End of the Pastoral Visit of the general Superior in the District of Central Africa: stage 3
Sunday 6 November 2016
The general Superior participated in the 8:30 am Sunday mass in Djaména’s Our Lady of Peace Cathedral. The animation of this Eucharistic celebration was led by three choirs… the particular rite in the archdiocese wants the Liturgy of the word to come prior to the penitential Rite to allow the faithful to be better informed about their condition of sinners… The cathedral parish priest, Father Raymond introduced the general Superior of the Brothers of the Christian Schools to the Assembly of the faithful before the final blessing … He took the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the Brothers for their apostolic commitments in the Cathedral parish.
At 5:00 pm, the Superior, having completed the individual interviews, had a meeting with all the Brothers of Kelo and Djaména communities. He repeated the same message as previously addressed to the Brothers of the other communities in the district. He said again how much he appreciates the commitment of the Brothers in the mission while stressing that we are more than the mission. We have a duty to witness, integration in our life of the Brothers of the three dimensions of our life: the consecration, the mission and the community… once again spoke on the importance of the pastoral of vocations, the accompaniment of Brothers and our lay partners… He shared with the Brothers his dreams: an inclusive Lasallian University in Africa, RELAF responsibility regarding the mission in south Sudan, the Lebanon Fratelli project… He invited the Brothers to continue building the identity of the new district of Central Africa… He then listened to Brothers’ questions and reactions…
Monday 7 November 2016
The pastoral visit in the District of Central Africa came to an end this day with the visit in De La Salle Technical Centre of Learning and Development (CTAP)” of Djaména. At 7:00 am, apprentices gathered around the flagpole to raise the flag and sing the national anthem.
The Director, Br Pascal, introduced the general Superior and the Councillor and then went on with the presentation of the Centre. The CTAP is an educational work of the Catholic Church founded in 1991. It welcomes young people and adults that it prepares to insert into the socio-professional world of automobile mechanics, electricity industrial cold, plumbing, metal and wood construction, welding, electronic maintenance and computer sciences. The duration of the training called initial is two years. This structure is attached to the Ministry of the public service and employment. In addition to the initial training that takes place in the mornings, a 9 month-formation is proposed to young school leavers in the afternoons. This year 2016- 2017, the Centre has 190 first year apprentices among whom there are 6 girls. Second years are 139 apprentices among whom there are 5 girls. These apprentices are supervised by 16 trainers among whom there are 6 members of the administration. Among the learners, the Protestants are the majority (46, 5%) followed by the Catholics (36, 17%), Muslims (13, 67%) and other (3, 64%)…
In his speech addressed to the apprentices, the Superior emphasized that they have their own particular significance in the family of the million Lasallian students of all races, religions and sex that the Lasallian network present in 80 countries has… He urged them to work in the development of the society, the country and to live as brothers and sisters of each other. He visited the workshops and met the teaching staff. He thanked them for the remarkable work that they do and insisted that the secret of the success of the Lasallian education lies in the fact that it is first and foremost a community work and not individuals’. The pastoral visit in the District of Central Africa was coming to an end with the preparations for departure at 2:15 heading to Madagascar.
