It has been good news for the Pious Schools that, on September 13 and 14, religious and lay people of the Piarist Province of Italy, met in the community of the Nazarene in Rome, summoned by the Provincial to learn more about the implications of joining the Network of Piarist Parishes.
Javier Alonso, coordinator of the meeting, reminded those present of the objectives of the meeting and the meaning of teamwork as a condition for the fruitfulness of the mission. The participants commented on the conference that Father General gave to the parish priests at the meeting in Oaxaca in May 2023, in which he reminded them that the parishes should embrace the keys of life approved at the last General Chapter and the responsibility of building Pious Schools from the parishes.
In a second moment, each pastor presented their current pastoral reality, strengths, and weaknesses. The time was too short for the wealth of presented experiences, but, above all, problems and concerns were shared. Participants came from the parishes of San Giuseppe Calasanzio in Milan, San Giovanni Bautista in Carcare, San Batolomeo in Empoli, San Francesco d’Assisi in Rome, and San Giuseppe Calasanzio in Naples.
Fr. Javier then presented the framework project of the Network of Parishes and the progress already made in the last four years, especially in the parishes of America and Africa.
In a sincere and cordial dialogue, the group evaluated the pastoral reality according to the SWOT analysis scheme, a condition for building a joint project. The participants noted many weaknesses but also common strengths:
- There is a Piarist charism that can give meaning to a shared project.
- There are many collaborators available to work for their parish.
- There is a clear desire to work with children and youth.
- There is a good population of children and young people who come to the parish.
- There is a good infrastructure for the development of activities.
- There is a sincere willingness to connect with the Order and network.
The meeting left a good taste in everyone’s mouth, but also the commitment to continue moving forward to build a shared project for the parishes of Italy in communion with the keys of life of the Order.
