Newly professed Brothers David Caretti, FSC; Thomas Pham, FSC; Joseph Kirk, FSC

"… I promise to unite myself and to remain in society with the Brothers of the Christian Schools, who are associated to conduct, together and by association, schools for the service of the poor. I promise to go wherever I may be sent and to do whatever I may be assigned by the body of the Society or its superiors….."

Such was the vow made by three men on September 1, 2007, affirming their vocation as educators in the Lasallian tradition and committing themselves to the Brothers’ life of providing a “human and Christian education for the young, especially the poor.” The three Brothers, all experienced teachers, are now full members of the De La Salle Christian Brothers’ western province.

Celebrating with them in the Chapel at Saint Mary’s College of California were hundreds of Brothers, colleagues, associates, relatives, and friends.

Brother David Caretti, FSC, a native of Vallejo, California, teaches religious studies and is retreat program coordinator at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, California. Brother Joseph Kirk, FSC, who grew up in Napa, California, will be teaching religious studies at La Salle High School in Milwaukie, Oregon. Brother Thomas Pham, FSC, who was born in Saigon, Vietnam, is assigned to Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, California, where he teaches mathematics.

The De La Salle Christian Brothers’ western province, the Distinct of San Francisco, was founded in 1868, with Saint Mary’s College of California as its original school; today it sponsors sixteen other educational works in Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona.

“Are you resolved, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to spend your whole life in the generous service of God’s people?” the three were asked by their provincial, Brother Stanislaus Campbell, FSC.
All three answered with a firm, “I am.”

In an interview with the Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory magazine Second Century, Brother David Caretti was asked his hopes for the future of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. He said, "I have many hopes for the future of the Brothers, and I do believe that we are on the path that God has provided for us. Many people focus on the fact that there are not as many Brothers today as there were fifty years ago; however, it is important to consider that our world is much different from that of fifty years ago. Some may also find it shocking that I do not want to return to the 1950s either. We Brothers do not need to be the only teachers in an educational institution for it to be Lasallian; the Lasallian charism, the spirituality of the educator, is not something that only a religious Brother can have. There are many strong lay partners inspired by the Lasallian charism, and my life as a Brother is enlivened and enriched by my encounters with them. With that said, I do think that we need Brothers. We would be naïve to think that we can maintain the character of our Lasallian institutions by having exclusively Brothers or exclusively lay partners involved. We need both. As a Brother, I bring a very different perspective from that of a lay partner, and my lay colleagues bring different perspectives from my own. Again, both are needed by our students."

PHOTOS are by Allyson Wiley Photography.

A full gallery of nearly three hundred photographs of the liturgy and celebration can be viewed at www.pictage.com. In the “search for an event” box, type in "Perpetual Profession."

Front row: Brothers Joe Kirk, FSC, Thomas Pham, FSC, David Caretti, FSC; back row:
Vow sponsors Brothers Richard Moratto, FSC, Valery An, FSC, Victor-Kenneth, FSC,

For more information on the District of San Francisco, visit www.delasalle.org. The Brothers of the Christian Schools (Fratres Scholarum Christianarum, FSC) were founded by Saint John Baptist de la Salle in 1680 and have as their mission “to provide a human and Christian education for the young, especially the poor.” In the United States there are more than a hundred Lasallian schools and apostolates in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Worldwide, Lasallian education currently reaches over 900,000 students in some 80 countries.