5335(I)_Welcome to the Sandor Community 2020!
March 11, 2020
Parañaque, Manila, The Philippines, 10 March 2020 -- There are only four such Salesian communities around the world - Guatemala, Spain-Barcelona, Yaounde-Cameron and Paranaque-Philipines - for the specific formation (2 years formative experience) of Salesian Brothers. Although the Blessed István Sándor Community was established canonically in 2013 to provide a venue for Brothers of the East Asia-Oceania (EAO) region for their specific formation, only in 2019 were the Brothers were able to move to their new community building. Since there is at present no other such specific formation community operating in English, during this school year you may find confreres not only from the EAO region, but also from Indian, European and African provinces.
With the leadership of their Rector, Fr Arnold Sanico, and another three formators, the 20 Brothers form one multi-cultural family with a lot of creativity and enthusiasm. Close synergy with the DBST (Don Bosco School of Theology) makes their formative experience very valuable thanks to the commitment of their professors, offering the course on Theological and Pastoral Studies (TPS). TPS aims to provide the Salesian Brother with “an adequate theological, pedagogical and Salesian preparation appropriate to his specific vocation” (C 116). This course follows a two-year cycle of studies. In YEAR A (2020-2022-2024), pre-requisite courses are offered: Introduction to Sacred Scriptures and Theology and YEAR B (2021-2023-2025) with other specialization courses sustaining the Brother vocation in many ways.
According the Rector: "This coming school year 2020-2021, so far, we are expecting six second year Brothers and six first year Brothers (one from Sri Lanka, three from Philippines North and two from India). There would still be eight rooms available for other Brothers. Hopefully, the Sandor Building will have again a full house next school year."
For next school year 2020-2021, the newcomers are expected to join the community before 14 June 2020 - provided they have the English proficiency level TOEFL B2 or similar equivalent. Our hope is that no Salesian Brother from our EAO region will miss this excellent opportunity of formation!
For better insight into the formation program, you can visit the Facebook pages of Sandor community!
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