It was such an honor today to have Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ visit Colegio Roberto Clemente. It is not everyday that the Father General comes to Nicaragua. It may be the only time he passes by this way. He spent about an hour and a half here at school where he took a short tour and met with student and faculty representatives from the four
Fe y Alegría schools in the area. There were a number of short speeches and cultural acts, including an amazing violin and guitar acompaniment by one of my students and her father. For me the highlight of the morning was hearing the Father General's short talk. Instead of preaching to the students he walked in front of the podium and began to ask them questions. In his few, but impactful, words he emphasized the role of education as a means to joy, faith, tolerance toward non-christian religions(!) and service to others,
en todo amar y servir (In everything love and serve).
Fe y Alegría as a project of the Jesuits serves over one million students worldwide. Colegio Roberto Clemente was chosen to receive the Father General because it was the first
Fe y Alegría school in Nicaragua, founded in 1974. After spending the past ten years studying or working in Jesuits insitutions it was such an honor for me to meet the man in charge. As he was leaving my friend Yamil and I ran to get a photo with him. For being such a powerful and influential man in the Church he seemed, above all, like a genuine and humble man.
Here are some highlights from the morning:
Students waiting to welcome Adolfo Nicolás with flowers
Adolfo Nicolás SJ sitting with students from Colegio Roberto Clemente
Nicolás walking around campus with Roberto Clemente student, Fernando Cardenal SJ, national director of Fe y Alegría is seen in the background.
Yamil in front of the newly painted front wall in honor of the Father General's visit
Andrés a Swiss volunteer with Fe y Alegría, Adolfo Nicolás SJ, and me
Prof. Ena, me, Prof. Bertha, and Prof. Magaly from Col. Roberto Clemente
Students waiting to welcome Adolfo Nicolás with flowers
Adolfo Nicolás SJ sitting with students from Colegio Roberto Clemente
Nicolás walking around campus with Roberto Clemente student, Fernando Cardenal SJ, national director of Fe y Alegría is seen in the background.
Yamil in front of the newly painted front wall in honor of the Father General's visit
Andrés a Swiss volunteer with Fe y Alegría, Adolfo Nicolás SJ, and me
Prof. Ena, me, Prof. Bertha, and Prof. Magaly from Col. Roberto Clemente
holy god. your students are ADORABLE!
ReplyDeleteI was going to tell Anni to come see your newest blog entry and the photo of the three little ones elicited the same response from me that she made.
ReplyDeleteI love the Nicolas' philosophy on education and especially tolerance (and for that matter, appreciation for) of non-Christian faiths.
Keep up the good work, Patrick.
joe
P.S. I still love seeing your school name for the great BASEBALL player Roberto Clemente, a wonderful Hall of Fame player with one of the best arms ever in rightfield. If you ever get the chance to see the clip on YouTube called Roberto Clemente: More Than Baseball (although I don't know why it's called that, it's an excerpt from Ken Burns' "Baseball" series from PBS. Great man to have your school named after.
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteJVC's "year in review" slideshow led me to this blog entry. I loved reading about your encounter with Fr. Nicolas. My favorite part: he asked questions. I will follow this model as I begin my new work on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Thanks for your "love and service" in Nicaragua.
Peace,
Luke Hansen