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16 October 2012 VISIT WINONA 11-16 OCTOBER 2012 My primary reason for visiting Winona was to see Brother Ferdinand from the Delegation of India and Brother Christy Croos of the District of Colombo. Both are in a Masters of Lasallian Spirituality programme at St Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona Campus. Bro Christy is preparing to be Director of Novices for the PARC Region. In other reports I will be more specific about each of the Brothers. Prior to the two Brothers studying in Winona, Bro Christopher Soosai, President of the Delegation of India studied also on the campus. The studies of the three Brothers have been made possible by the extraordinary generosity of Bro William Mann, President of St Mary’s University, the District of the Midwest and in the case of Bro Christopher, the District of ANZPPNG also. In addition to the Brothers of PARC, two Brothers from RELAL study also at St Mary’s. The journey from the PARC office in Singapore took me via Tokyo, Los Angeles, Chicago and La Crosse airports, a total of about 21 hours flying time, not to mention transit stops. I was met at La Crosse by Brothers Ferdinand (Freddy), Christy and the Director of the Brothers’ community, Pat Conway. The drive to Winona through beautiful autumnal scenery adjacent to the Mississippi River took about 40 minutes. The community given the Brothers from overseas is international and covers a cross section of ages up to senior Brothers some of whom are retired. Given the capacity of accommodation in the main residence, I stayed in St Yon (former novitiate) where Bro Larry Humphries resides and hosted me. On the first day Brothers Freddy and Christie accompanied me on a tour of the very impressive campus including St Mary’s Press where Bro Frank Carr escorted us on the tour. While I have for years seen publications from SMP, I did not realize the capacity of the organisation and its wide range of publication of books and resources for the educational mission. To see how modern technology is utilized in the Press was a very valuable learning experience. The campus tour enabled me to meet a number of faculty, staff and students and culminated in attendance at Mass in the newly renovated University chapel. Original portraits of the Blessed Mother, St John Baptist de La Salle and the Holy Family are inspiring and definitely a talking point. In personal interviews both Brothers Freddy and Christie updated me on their studies and the various experiences they are having in community, on campus and in RELAN. Each spoke highly of the Brother William’s generosity, the pastoral care of the Director and the fraternal spirit in the community.Their course work and reading allows time for them to engage with the students in the Campus Ministry programme, the dormitories and informally. In addition to their studies, Brother William has facilitated their attendance at Buttimer, the Heuther Conference, a Spiritual Direction programme, a formators’ programme, the RELAN Being Brothers Today assembly and District and university events. There is no doubt that both Brothers are receiving a rich formation and a valuable experience of the international Institute. It is fair to say that several Brothers commented that the community of Brothers is enriched by the presence of both. In two afternoons the young Brothers were engaged in manual labour in the grounds of the residence! A Saturday morning drive took us to Rochester, MN, home of the Mayo Clinic. We took lunch at the Mysore Café where South Indian cuisine delighted our two Brothers from PARC and introduced Brothers Frank Carr and Miguel (Peru) to some different fare. I attended Sunday Mass in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Winona which features also a stained glass window in honour of the Founder. Bro Larry hosted me to lunch and in the evening I attended a cocktail function at the home of Dr Mary Fox whom I first met at the International Assembly in 2006 and with whom I have maintained contact. During my final day once the temperature rose to 11 degrees and the sun shone brightly, I ventured out for a long walk prior to meeting Brother William Mann in the afternoon. My meeting with him was in two parts; one with two Music faculty members who will soon visit Hong Kong and Singapore and secondly with Bro William himself. In the meeting I expressed the appreciation of PARC for his generous support of the Region for sponsoring Brothers to study at St Mary’s. He is open to others from PARC doing likewise provided this is within the budget. An evening walk around the campus with a number of Brothers on Monday evening enabled further interaction with students and the opportunity to view briefly a soccer and ice hockey game and see further campus facilities. I spoke by telephone with Bro Rory Higgins (former Director of Novices) who is studying in a Masters programme in Chicago and attending also the Jungian Institute. He is residing in the De La Salle community in the city. My visit affirms for me the invaluable experience Brothers from PARC receive when they live and study abroad. As an International Institute, Brothers and other Lasallians who have international experiences enrich their own Districts/ Delegation when they return. A challenge for both our Brothers studying at St Mary’s is to assimilate when they return and adapt their learnings and experience to the local context. They are very conscious of this and reflect upon it often. My thanks and appreciation to Brothers William Mann (President), Pat Conway (Director), Larry Humphries, and all the Brothers in the community whose fraternal welcome and hospitality was superb and not to forget our Brothers Ferdinand and Christie whose company I enjoyed.
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