Br. Javier Hansen, FSC
Napa, CA / Washington, DC – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has announced that Brother Javier Hansen, FSC, of the District of San Francisco New Orleans (SFNO) of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) has been named as a youth delegate to the 2018 Pre-Synod Gathering.
Brother Javier will be one of three youth delegates to the Pre-Synod, which will convene March 19-25 in Rome, Italy. The delegates were selected on the basis of their local and national connections to the life of the Church, their work with other young people, and their representativeness of the cultural and vocational diversity of the Church in the United States.
Brother Javier, 27, currently serves as a religion teacher at Cathedral High School in El Paso, Texas. He will be joined by Nick Lopez, director of campus ministry for the University of Dallas; and Katie Prejean-McGrady, a wife, new mother, youth minister, and a popular speaker from the Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Speaking about his selection, he said, “I believe I offer the perspective of many young religious in this country and those who are currently discerning religious life. I not only will represent the people of my generation but also the young people I interact with every day in the classroom.”
SFNO Visitor Brother Donald Johanson, FSC, said of the news, “We are happy and excited for Brother Javier and the extraordinary opportunity that he has received. We know that the Pre-Synod will be a powerful experience for him, and we look forward to his participation and contributions.”
Last October, Pope Francis invited Christian and non-Christian young people from around the world to a meeting in preparation for this October’s Synod of Bishops, which will have as its theme: “Young people, faith and vocational discernment.”
“Through this journey, the church wants to listen to the voices, the sensibilities, the faith as well as the doubts and criticisms of young people. We must listen to young people,” Francis said in announcing the pre-synod gathering, set for March 19-25.
“We are delighted that Brother Javier, Nick and Katie have accepted the invitation to represent the youth and young adults of the United States at this important gathering in Rome,” Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia said in a joint statement. Tobin is chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, and Chaput is chairman of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth.
For more on this story visit the Lasallian District of San Francisco New Orleans website and Crux.com >