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HERMANO
SANTIAGO: A Brother’s
Legacy.
In Nicaragua,
amid the political turmoil
of the 1970s, Brother
James Miller, FSC, a
native of Wisconsin,
worked in Christian Brothers’ schools
in the town of Puerto
Cabezas. A skilled farmer,
welder, carpenter, and
handyman, as well as
a teacher and administrator, “Hermano
Santiago,” who
was fluent in Spanish,
was instrumental in helping
the indigenous Miskito
Indians to get grade
schools and a fire station
in their rural area.
In 1981 he was assigned
to another Central American
country with volatile
politics: Guatemala.
There, in the town of
Huehuetenango, he worked
at the Colegio de La
Salle doing teaching
and counseling, and supervised
the Casa Indigena for
local Indians. In his
Christmas letter home
that year he wrote, “I
can’t end this
letter without asking
for your prayers for
Guatemala and for all
of Central America. The
level of personal violence
here is reaching appalling
proportions (murders,
tortures, kidnappings,
threats, etc.) and the
Church is being persecuted
because of its option
for
the poor and oppressed.
The Indian population
of Guatemala, caught
defenseless between the
Army and the rebel forces
operating in the country,
is taking the brunt of
this violence. I am personally
weary of violence, but
I continue to feel a
strong commitment to
the suffering poor of
Central America. God
knows why He continued
to call me to Guatemala
when some friends and
relatives encouraged
me to pull out for my
own comfort and safety.
I have been a Christian
Brother for nearly twenty
years now, and commitment
to my vocation grows
steadily stronger in
my work in Central America.
I pray to God for the
grace and strength to
serve Him faithfully
among the poor and oppressed
of Guatemala. I place
my life in his providence;
I place my trust in Him.”
On
Saturday, February 13,
1982, at about four o’clock
in the afternoon, Brother
James was outside the
Casa Indigena, up on
a ladder, patching a
wall. Three men approached,
fired several shots,
and fled. Brother James
died there on the street.
His killers escaped and
have never been conclusively
identified. †
Each February, Brother
James Miller’s
legacy of service at
the cost of his own life
is remembered and celebrated
in many ways. A few examples:
- The 24th Annual
Brother James Miller
Day is on February
12, at Sacred Heart
Parish in Polonia,
Wisconsin, sponsored
by Sacred Heart
Parish and the Diocese
of La Crosse.
- At Cretin-Derham
High School,
where Brother James
had been both a student
and a teacher,
the 5th Annual Brother
James Miller Justice
Symposium was
held January 30 to
February 3.
- The
22nd Annual Brother
James Miller Day
will be observed
on February 15 in
his hometown of Ellis,
Wisconsin, with a
lecture and the presentation
of an award for work
on behalf of peace
and justice (see
the Portland
County Gazette for
more).
- At Trinity
Stores there
is an icon
which the site
says was commissioned
by the people
of his hometown.
Brother James
is depicted
in robe and
rabat, with
schoolbooks
in one hand
and a pipe
wrench in the
other.
For
more on the life
of Brother James
Miller, the best
source is Hermano
Santiago: The Life
and Times of Brother
James Miller, FSC,
by Theodore Drahmann,
FSC, (Christian
Brothers Archives
of the Midwest,
2002).
SAN
MIGUEL: Who Was This
Lasallian Saint?
February 9 is
the feast of San Miguel
Febres Cordero, FSC,
of Ecuador. Most
of us are familiar
with the “San
Miguel Schools,” an
innovative and thriving
network of Lasallian
middle schools for
poor children in the
U.S. But we may not
know much about the
San Miguel for whom
they are named. He
was an Ecuadorian who
lived
from 1854 to 1910 and
in 1977 was declared
a saint of the Catholic
Church. A biographer
says, “He was
a first-rate human
being, a fundamentally
good person, cheerful,
kindly toward others,
willing to be of service
and happy in whatever
he was called upon
to do. Not all the
saints have had the
same ability to let
the sunshine in, to
radiate peace, to appear
as messengers who bring
tidings of great joy.
Yet this is a recurrent
theme in the reminiscences
of all those who lived
with
Brother Miguel.” Born
Francisco Febres Cordero,
he had crippled legs
from birth and was
never to enjoy good
health. Educated by
the De La Salle Christian
Brothers, he was the
first Ecuadorian to
become a Brother.
Starting as a classroom
instructor at the age
of 15, he was soon
known as a superb teacher.
He also developed
rapidly into an eminent
scholar, publishing,
when he was only 20,
a Spanish grammar
that would become
a standard text in
the nation’s
schools. Many other
books and translations
followed, as did election
to the National Academy
of Ecuador and wide
fame. Yet the strongest
impression he made
on those who knew him
was of modesty, humility,
and a calm joy. Says
his biographer, “In
order to penetrate
to the source of the
sanctity of Brother
Miguel, it is necessary
to go beyond the externals
and to seek in his
private notes and personal
reflections the very
center of his entire
being. And there the
secret is revealed:
he was in love
with God. Not in some
abstract way. To him
God was real, a living
presence, the personal
object of his affection
and adoration, available
to his every waking
thought.” Brother
Miguel spent 1907-
1908 in France and
Belgium, translating
books into Spanish,
and in 1909 was assigned
to a school in Spain.
In Spain he contracted
pneumonia. He died
there on February 9,
1910. †
The biography quoted
above is Brother
Miguel Febres Cordero,
F.S.C.: Teacher, Scholar,
Saint, by Luke Salm,
FSC (Christian
Brothers Publications,
Romeoville, Illinois,
1984).
For more on Brother
Miguel and other saints
among the Christian
Brothers, go to
www.lasalle.org.
For more on the San
Miguel Schools visit
http://www.miguelschools.org.
For more about Lasallian
education in Latin
America today, see
the “Regions” area
of the international
Web site.
The
Région Latinoamericana
lasallista (RELAL)
stretches from Mexico
to Chile and includes
the
island of Mozambique.
The Christian Brothers
first came to South
America in 1863, and
their first
schools were in Ecuador,
where among their first
pupils was a nine-year-old
named Francisco
Febres Cordero, who
became Saint Miguel
(see above).
SOME DATES
OF SIGNIFICANCE
- February
19 is the date
on which John Baptist
de La Salle was beatified
in 1888.
- March
1 is Ash Wednesday,
the beginning
of the Lenten season
and our forty days
of preparation for
Easter. Easter Sunday
in 2006 will be April
16
NEWS
BRIEFS from around
the DISTRICT OF SAN
FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO - Brother
David Caretti, FSC,
writes thoughtfully
on “The Foundations
of
Service” and
why true service
must always involve
a genuine encounter
with another. His
essay
leads off the February
issue of the Sacred
Heart Cathedral Prep
newsletter SHCP
Connection.
YAKIMA - At La Salle
High School in Union
Gap the Parents Association
is putting on the
Third Annual Shamrock
Cup, a Six-Kilometer
Fun Run & Walk,
on March 11.
PORTLAND
- When a pro basketball
player doesn’t
do his workout,
how does a Lasallian
high school benefit?
To hear the unusual
story, visit the De
La Salle North Catholic
Web site.
SACRAMENTO - Junior
Scott McCalla of
Christian Brothers
High School was
recognized by the
4-H organization
with the Golden
Clover Award for
outstanding achievement
for his five years
of 4-H-related
work with numerous
service groups
and community events.
MONT LA SALLE -
Christian Brothers
Ranch, now in its
sixth year, offers
at-risk adolescents
in the Napa area
the benefits of
a 4-H style animal
husbandry program.
Raising, showing,
and selling animals,
the students gain
valuable skills
and also earn money
that is saved for
them to be used
for their post-secondary
education. All
of the students
who have graduated
from the Ranch
program have gone
on to college or
to professional
training financed
by the money they
earned
during their years
on the Ranch.
To find out what’s
up at schools and
works throughout
our District, visit
our ‘Schools
and Works” section
for an alphabetical
listing of District
works with links
to their individual
Web sites.
NEWS BRIEFS from the
U.S./TORONTO REGION
REGIONAL ASSEMBLY
DVD - A special
DVD that was
created for use
at the first-ever
Regional Assembly
on Mission, in
Salt Lake City
in November 2005,
is available
at the Christian
Brothers Conference
Web site. “Associated
for the Mission:
Voices of the
Region” consists
largely of inspirational
conversations
with Lasallians
throughout the
U.S./Toronto
Region.
LASALLIAN VOLUNTEERS
- The Lasallian
Volunteers gathered
for their mid-year
retreat in Goshen,
New York, in
January. This
program that
matches post-college
volunteers to
needs in various
Lasallian education
works throughout
the country is
now in its sixteenth
year of successful
service. The
District of San
Francisco has
been a prime
source of Volunteers,
with more than
eighty Saint
Mary’s
College of California
graduates taking
part. Click
here for
the full story
on the retreat,
and to learn
more about the
program.
For more news of
the U.S./Toronto
Region, go to the
Web site of the
Christian
Brothers Conference.
NEWS BRIEFS from the
INTERNATIONAL LASALLIAN
MISSION
PHILIPPINES -
Brother Andrew
Gonzalez, FSC:
Rest in Peace
One of the most
dynamic figures
in Lasallian
education in
the Philippines
has gone home
to God. On January
29, Brother Andrew
Gonzalez, FSC,
died of complications
from diabetes.
He was 65 years
old. One eulogy
describes him
as an intellectual
giant, a visionary,
and a “mover
and shaker with
an open mind,
a big heart,
refreshing, liberal
and liberating.” Brother
Andrew was president
emeritus of De
La Salle University-Manila.
His presidency
commenced in
1979, and he
was the force
behind the growth
of what is now
the De La Salle
University System,
which has
eight different
educational units
that serve students
with varied needs
and from varied
socioeconomic
levels. One
administrator
has characterized
the DLSU System
as “the
type of schools
that St. La Salle
established during
his time.” For
the story of
Brother Andrew’s
life and for
reflections
on his achievements
as a Brother,
educator, citizen,
and public servant,
visit the De
La Salle University
Web site.
ROME
- “Associated
for the Lasallian
Educational Mission”
What is it like
to live and work
as a Lasallian
educator in Chicago,
or Valladolid,
or Bristol, or
Cameroon? Lasallian
educational works
are many and
varied, and they
are spread all
over the world.
But is there
a spirit of association
that all Lasallians
share? Incisive
and moving reflections
on “Association” by
many Brothers
and Partners
are collected
in a new publication
titled “Associated
for the Lasallian
Educational Mission” available
on the international
Web site.
For complete
news of the international
Institute, visit
www.lasalle.org regularly. You
can sign up there
for e-mail alerts
to the postings
of the latest
news.
Teachers of
languages and
cultures: You
have a resource
in Rome -- The
Web site of
the Institute
of the Brothers
of the Christian
Schools is multi-lingual
and multi-cultural,
with publications
and postings
in French, Spanish,
and Italian as
well as English.
It’s
a gateway to
the wider Lasallian
world.
LASALLIANS
WEST • FEBRUARY 2006
A monthly newsletter
De La Salle Christian
Brothers | District
of San Francisco
For information, contact
J. A. Gray
Director of Public Relations and Information Services
De La Salle Institute, Napa, California
707-252-3739
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