Lasallian Glossary & Acronyms

Lasallian Glossary

This glossary defines many terms used in the Lasallian Region of Ireland, Great Britain & Malta (IGBM) that are unique to the Lasallian family. This is not an exhaustive list and is subject to updates.

This glossary is based on a resource from the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN) and used with permission. It is based on an original compilation by Brother Brendan Kneale, FSC, (1919-2018).

Animator: someone responsible for making known in their ministry the essential elements of the Lasallian tradition. 

Apostolate: the kind of work to which the Church through its various agencies sends people and institutions on mission. 

Aspirant: a man who is considering, usually in a non-residency programme, whether or not he is called by God to become a De La Salle Brother. 

Assembly: name for a convention held for Brothers and Partners from the Region, District or more locally. 

Association: the central vow of the De La Salle Brothers by which they promise to associate themselves for the service of the poor through education. The term also describes a present- day movement of Lasallians committed to the mission. 

Associative Group: Lasallians who gather based on geographic area to deepen their connections as an educational community in order to better serve their ministries and students. 

Auxiliary Visitor: a Brother nominated by the Visitor and appointed by the Superior General to assist the Visitor and substitute for him in his absence. Also known as Auxiliary Provincial or Assistant Provincial. 

Brother: title given to vowed religious of the De La Salle Brothers. Comparable to titles such as “Sister,” ‘’Father,” “Reverend.” Commonly used in other religious orders to denote a vowed religious who is not an ordained priest. The official religious habit worn by Brothers throughout the world, especially on formal occasions, but replaced by other approved apparel in various locales, is a black robe with a white “bib” called a “rabat.” 

De La Salle Brothers: the English translation of “Fratres Scholarum Christianarum”(FSC), the official name of the religious institute founded by Saint John Baptist de La Salle. Familiar references to members of this Institute are “De La Salle Christian Brothers” or “Christian Brothers”. 

Brothers’ Formation: the initial formation of a Brother typically consists of a year or two of postulancy, a year of novitiate, and five to eight years of temporary (annual) profession of vows. After he professes perpetual (final) vows, he continues his formation through the entirety of his life. 

Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies: an intensive formation programme held for two weeks each summer over three consecutive years to study the life, work and spirituality of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and the origins of the Lasallian mission. Started in 1984, Buttimer is named in honour of Brother Charles Henry Buttimer, FSC, (1909-1982), the first American Superior General of the De La Salle Brothers. It is a programme of the Office for Lasallian Education at Christian Brothers Conference. 

Canon Law: the Code of Canon Law (1983) contains some 1680 canons, or official regulations, governing Roman Catholic Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Brothers, Sisters, institutes, laity, parishes, schools, sacraments, etc. 

Canonical: an adjective used to describe any person or action that conforms to the requirements of Canon Law, such as a Visitor or a formal visitation. 

Capitulant: a person who attends a gathering, such as a General Chapter, not by election, but rather as a representative who was appointed or is attending by right of office. See delegate. 

Charism: a grace or spiritual gift given to those in apostolic or missionary work in the service of others; e.g., the gifts of preaching, prophecy and healing are charisms; the term is sometimes applied to entire institutes as well as to individuals. 

Community: a religious community is a canonically recogniSed group of people belonging to a religious institute and living in the same residence according to the rule of that institute. The building or residence is often called the community. Sometimes the word “community” is extended to mean the whole institute. 

Contact: a man who indicates an interest in becoming a De La Salle Brother and with whom the Brothers remain in contact as he discerns his life’s vocation. 

Council (or Councillors): the group or members of the group of Brothers who are elected to or appointed to advise the Brother Superior (General Council) or the Brother Visitor (District Council). Other councils are formed for specific purposes, like a District council or mission council. 

Declaration: “The Brother of the Christian Schools in the World Today: A Declaration” (Declaration) was published by the 39th General Chapter in 1967 to address in contemporary language the central dimensions of the Brother’s vocation, namely, fidelity, vision and mission. 

Declaration On The Lasallian Educational Mission: This document was published in 2020 to help Lasallian educators strengthen their identity and provide a guide for responding to today’s challenges, while remaining in dialogue with social and pedagogical realities.

Delegate: the Brother appointed by the Superior General to represent him in governing a Delegation of the Institute. Delegate is also used to describe a person elected to participate in a gathering, such as a General Chapter. See capitulant. 

Delegation: a group of Brothers living in a certain geographic area under the authority of the Superior General, who appoints his Delegate to administer the Delegation. There may be a local coordinator known as the President of the Delegation. A Delegation is smaller than a District. 

Director: the local religious superior of a community with terms limited by Canon Law or by the Rule. 

District: a geographical area that is an official, canonical, administrative unit in the Institute under the direction of a Visitor. The District of IGBM comprises Ireland, Great Britain and Malta.

District Chapter: a policy shaping body of Brothers elected to nominate Visitors and to formulate legislative acts adapting the Rule to local conditions; the body normally meets when the Brother Visitor is about to complete his term of office. 

District Chapter Acts: legislative acts or directives coming forward from a District Chapter. 

Formation: an expression for the training and education by a religious institute of its members and partners. 

Formator: a person who is appointed to organise and provide formation. 

Founder: Saint John Baptist de La Salle, a priest born in Reims, France, April 30, 1651, who in 1680 founded Christian schools for the education of poor children and a religious congregation of laymen called the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers. He died on April 7, 1719, and was canonised a saint of the Catholic Church on May 24, 1900. On May 15, 1950, Saint La Salle was proclaimed Patron of All Teachers of Youth by the Catholic Church. 

General Chapter: conducted every seven years at the Generalate in Rome, the General Chapter is responsible for the whole Body of the Institute and is held to undertake a periodic evaluation of the life of the Institute, to provide for its continuing adaptation and renewal, and to set out the main guidelines for future action. In addition, the Chapter elects the Superior General, Vicar General and the General Councillors. It has the power to take all suitable legislative and administrative measures that concern the establishments and members of the Institute (Rule, 112). 

General Council: the leadership of the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers comprised of the Superior General, the Vicar General and Generals Councillors. In 2018, there are seven General Councillors, five with responsibility for the regions, and two with specific responsibilities. 

General Councillor: a Brother elected or appointed to assist the Superior General and the Vicar General in administering the work of the Institute.  

Generalate: the headquarters of the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers in Rome, often called the Centres of the Institute or by its Italian name, Casa Generalizia. 

Initial Formation: a time in the formative process of the Brothers’ vocation that includes the postulancy, novitiate and a period of temporary vows. 

Institute of the De La Salle Brothers: founded by Saint John Baptist de La Salle and approved by Pope Benedict XIII in 1725, an institute of pontifical right, composed exclusively of lay religious. The term “Institute” is more accurate than the terms “congregation” and “order.” 

Intercapitular: a meeting of visitors and auxiliary visitors held at the Generalate between two General Chapters, which take place every seven years. The meeting provides an opportunity to evaluate how directives from the General Chapter have been implemented throughout the Institute and to make provisional plans for the following chapter. 

International Association of Lasallian Universities (IALU): a network of Lasallian higher education institutions around the world that supports the Lasallian mission and offers opportunities for collaboration, research and exchange between member institutions. 

International Council of Young Lasallians (ICYL): comprised of one member for each of the five Regions of the Institute, along with the International Coordinator for Young Lasallians. The ICYL is responsible for encouraging the unity of the Young Lasallians movement and implementing common projects based on a common vision. 

International Lasallian Centres / Centro Internazionale Lasalliano (CIL): a programme of Lasallian formation conducted at the Generalate in Rome, and occasionally in the Regions, in which Brothers, Lasallian Sisters, and Partners from around the world participate. The length of each CIL programme varies from one month to nine months. 

International Lasallian Cooperation Service / Service de Coopération Lasallienne Internationale (SECOLI): established by the 39th General Chapter (1966-67), SECOLI coordinates the support of Districts to fragile sectors of the Institute. SECOLI’s goal is to advance the strategic plans of developing sectors of the Institute as they move towards both responsibly fulfilling their Lasallian mission and achieving self-sufficiency. 

International Lasallian Studies Session / Session internationale d’études lasalliennes (SIEL): a programme of the Institute’s Lasallian Research and Resources Service in which Brothers and/or Partners are accompanied in developing basic competence in Lasallian research, with the goal of producing Lasallian studies and the dissemination of those publications both inside and outside of the Lasallian family. 

Lasallian: an adjective that describes the spirituality and the educational approach of Saint John Baptist de La Salle and the mission, as well as any ministry or movement associated with the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers. The word is also used as a noun, singular or plural, to describe those people who are involved in continuing the charism in Lasallian ministries. 

International Council for Association and the Lasallian Educational Mission / Conseil International pour l’Association et la Mission Éducative Lasallienne (CIAMEL): a deliberative and collaborative body of Brothers and Partners representing the worldwide Institute, established for the animation and direction of all existing and future educational programmes that embody the Lasallian mission. 

Lasallian Family: a term used to refer collectively to those who participate in the Lasallian mission, especially those who follow in the path of sharing the spirit and mission of Saint John Baptist de La Salle. 

Lasallian Partner / Partner: the most common and preferred term used to describe people who are co-workers, associates or colleagues of the Brothers in their ministries. 

Lasallian Youth: an international movement and formation programme which empowers students to be examples of faith, service and community through mission experiences, retreat programmes, social justice education and service-learning opportunities. 

Letters of Affiliation (AFSC): a person formally honoured by the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers for having served the Lasallian mission in an extraordinary way. The affiliated member may use the initials “AFSC” after his or her name. 

Ministry: in general, ministry is the carrying out of an ecclesial mission according to a charism recogniSed by the Church. In some English-speaking countries, “ministry” is also used to refer to works or educational centres including the particular functions that people carry out in educational works. 

Mission (also Lasallian mission): from the Latin root meaning “send,” the term includes the various works or apostolates to which the Church sends people and institutions. The purpose of the Lasallian mission is “to give a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor, according to the ministry which the Church has entrusted to it”. 

Novice: a man in the Brothers vocation programme who has completed the postulancy phase and enters the novitiate. A novice receives a Brother’s robe and undertakes a year-long formation programme prior to taking first (temporary) vows and proceeding with further academic and pedagogical training. The term is used similarly in other institutes of consecrated women and men. 

Novitiate: a yearlong experience for men who are discerning their vocation as De La Salle Brothers that gives them a chance to deepen one’s formation. 

Perpetual Profession: See vows 

Postulant: a candidate in the first stage of initial formation who discerns his vocation while sharing in the community and apostolic life of the De La Salle Brothers. The postulancy stage precedes the novitiate. 

Provincial: a title synonymous with the animation and leadership role of Visitor.

Provincialate: the official name of the offices where the Visitor, Auxiliary Visitor and their staffs work. It also refers to the community in which the Provincial (Visitor) resides.

Rabat: (pronounced ruh-bah) the two-piece white collar that is part of the Brothers’ habit/robe. 

Region: a geographical area officially designated as a union of several Districts in the Institute, generally selected on the basis of contiguity and common languages. In 2018, there are five Regions in the Institute: Pacific-Asia Regional Conference (PARC), Région Lasallienne Afrique-Madagascar (RELAF), Région Lasallienne Europe-Méditerranée (RELEM), Región Latinoamericana Lasallista (RELAL), and Région Lasallienne de l’Amérique du Nord / Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN). See “Lasallian Region of North America.” 

Robe/habit: The traditional habit of the Brothers is the robe and white rabat. 

Rule: a canonically approved set of articles (constitutions and statutes) pertaining to the mission, duties and practices that the Brothers throughout the world adapt locally as directives for their communities and Districts. The Rule of the De La Salle Brothers was revised in 2015 based on the modifications made to the 1987 version at the 45th General Chapter in 2014 following several years of work by commissions. 

Secretariats and Services: at the Generalate in Rome, the Secretariats and Services are organised to help the Brother Superior General and his Council in the government and animation of the Institute. There are three secretariats: Association and Mission, Formation, and Solidarity and Development. There are two services: Lasallian Research and Resources; and Communications and Technology. 

Sector: a geographic area within a District that is made up of communities and ministries that share similarities in language, history or culture.  

Shared Mission: adopted by the 41st General Chapter in 1993 to refer to Brothers and Partners sharing responsibility for the Lasallian mission. Today, “association for mission” refers to those who identify themselves as the sons and daughters of John Baptist de La Salle participating in the saving work of education and evangelisation. 

Signum Fidei: a Latin expression meaning “Sign of Faith,” symbolised by a five-pointed star and incorporated into the seal of the Institute of the De La Salle Brothers as well as many Lasallian schools and organisations. It is also the name of an organisation of lay Lasallian associates that was established in 1976. 

Superior General: the highest officer of the Institute with canonical rights and duties. He works and resides at the Generalate in Rome and is assisted by a Vicar and Councillors. At the 45th General Chapter in 2014, Brother Robert Schieler, FSC, former General Councillor for the Lasallian Region of North America (2007-2014), was elected Superior General. 

Twinning: an Institute initiative that encourages Districts that are financially able to aid those most in need.   

VEGA: an Italian acronym for the words Vedere, Giudicare, Agire meaning “See, Judge, Act.” It is the name of gatherings of Young Lasallians that take place throughout the world with the goals of fostering the growth of the Young Lasallian movement, providing formation, and strengthening networking. 

Vicar General: the second highest officer of the Institute.  

Visitor: the Religious Superior of a District, also called Provincial, and having canonical rights and duties. 

Vocation: a call from God that individuals experience to live as a responsible baptised person. An individual’s call or vocation may be to a particular expression of that baptism, as a member of a religious institute, to single or married life, and/or to a particular profession. 

Vocation Director/Team: the Brother(s) and Partner(s) who lead a District programme for fostering a culture of vocations that invites young men and women to properly discern their calling in life. They focus especially on inviting and accompanying men interested in the Brothers’ way of life in their discernment process. 

Vows: the deliberate, free and public promises to God made by the Brothers. The first and central vow is that of association for the educational service of the poor. They also take a vow of stability in the Institute. The traditional vows of obedience, chastity and poverty flow from association and stability to express their religious consecration for the glory of God. The Brothers express this consecration, first by temporary and then by perpetual profession. First vows and annual (or temporary) vows are terms that respectively describe vows taken for a single year at the end of the novitiate, and vows taken for a single year which are renewable on an annual basis until the time for perpetual profession (generally after five years of annual vows). 

Young Lasallians: an international movement, promoted by the International Council of Young Lasallians, keeping young people (typically ages 16 to 35) engaged in the Lasallian mission through faith sharing, service of the poor through education, and community building. Young professionals, young alumni, young Brothers, Lasallian youth, Lasallian collegians and Lasallian Volunteers are among those who are considered to be young Lasallians.