CONGRESS-MEETINGS |
Beginning of August 1964, some companions of the APAS (Parents’ Association) of France, Italy and Spain, gathered in Belley, Mother House of the Congregation, invited by the Superior General. Once gathered, they observed that, on the one hand, they all have similar problems, and on the other, they all have entrusted their children’s education to the Brothers of the Holy Family. In doing so, they have acquired the Brothers’ charism.
So they decided to perpetuate this contact, extending it also to all those who form part of the Educational Communities of the Schools, such as Brothers, former students, parents of former students, teachers, etc.
After two years, the first statutes saw the light in the meeting held at Barcelona on 23-24 April 1966. They decided to meet every year the Council, celebrating also every two years, a Congress for the deep study of a topic of mutual interest, and a Meeting to boost the coexistence and fraternity among the different national groups.
Next year, they agreed to start activities for students, and so they began in 1968. At the beginning only summer camps, held in turns in France, Italy and Spain.
With this experience, since 1984 they started to organize, in turns, activities more sophisticated for students such as Olympics games and cultural weeks. These activities, together with the congress and meetings of the AISF, filled with contents our Association and led it to fulfilment.
Besides these ordinary activities, there have been other extraordinary activities that have become for our Association an important support to the work of the Brothers. These occasions have been:
- The campaign for the Beatification of Venerable Brother Gabriel, culminated in Lyon in the year 1989.
- The starting project of the Nazarene Fraternities in the year 1991 at Rome.
- The support and participation in the acts of the Bicentenary of the birth of Vble. Br. Gabriel Taborin in 1999, together with the moving of his mortal remains in 1998.
- The integration of Burkina Faso in our Association, whose candidature was presented in the Congress.
Reached this point, and following a proposal of the Honorary President of the Association, the Superior General, it was decided in Belley to extend the AISF to what today is the international reality of the Brothers: the ten countries where Brothers are fully established.
Then, everything was ready, and we have modified the Statutes of the AISF, which were presented in the Meeting of Gavà (Spain) in April 2001 and approved in June 2001 in Belley.
From now on, the European countries have remained as the European Regional Council of the AISF.