It all began in July 1931, when the Marist Brothers signed an agreement with the Ente di Assistenza Comunale (ECA) of Giugliano, in Campania, entrusting them with the town’s orphanage in exchange for the authorization to open a school. A great achievement for the Marist community, but, at the same time, only the beginning of a great mission. In fact, on October 2 of that same year the first Brothers “on mission” arrived, Brother Fabiano and Brother Costanzo, who started the first community in Giugliano (Italy). From that moment on, the rest is history.
The 2021-2022 academic year will mark 90 years of Marist presence in this area of Italy. In this time, the Marist Brothers have not only brought education, culture, love and solidarity, but have also marked the history of Italy. Ninety years of a significant mission in a reality that has always welcomed such a vibrant charism. This milestone should be duly celebrated: the institute wasted no time in honoring its history and the 90 years of Marist presence in Giugliano. Many initiatives were planned and projected, always with an eye on the young, although because of COVID19, not all of them were carried out.
Throughout the year, the community organized various moments that ranged from fun for the little ones to opportunities for reflection and discussion for the young people of the middle school and high school, moments that had as protagonists above all the students, making real once again the phrase of our founder Marcellin Champagnat: “To educate young people you have to love them”.
There was also the cultural impulse which, in the end, continues to be one of the main objectives of Marist history in the area. In fact, in recent days, as part of the 90th anniversary initiatives, the school organized a meeting with the famous writer and scriptwriter Maurizio De Giovanni and Simone, of the famous group ‘The Jackal’, as well as several experts in communication, who, together with the teachers and some members of the community and in the presence of students and parents, discussed the importance of communication among “social” young people and the evolution it has undergone throughout history.
“The move away from the written word in social indicates the deterioration of communication,” said de Giovanni at this end of the course, pointing to the absence of the written word as the main cause of the decline of communication among young people, leading to the lack of imagination of a teenage audience that, faced with a photo on Instagram or a post on Twitter, loses its ability to “go beyond”, preferring a post on social to reading a book. The next day, Simone, involved the students of the Liceo C.B.A in a deep reflection on modern communication strategies, which aim to capture the attention of the observer for a faster transmission of information, which oscillates, in the satire of the media, between “political correctness” and “benaltrism”.
Two magnificent occasions, not only to reflect on how communication has changed in the post-Covid world, but also to remember that the Marist mission in Giugliano is still relevant today and with renewed vigor looks to the future. Celebrations over the years continue.