The Fundació Escola Cristiana de Catalunya presents the Xavier Melgarejo Program
With the name “Xavier Melgarejo Program”, the Fundació Escola Cristiana de Catalunya (FECC) – jointly with the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences of Barcelona (ISCREB) and in collaboration with the Center for Christian Studies and Justice – proposes a training in the field of identity and mission for the first week of July.
Tribute to Xavier Melgarejo
The proposal wants to pay tribute to the person who was the first recipient of the Blanquerna Education Award following his study of the Finnish education system but, especially, for his way of doing, feeling and acting which made him close and committed to the improvement of the system Catalan education from Christian humanism.
A prophet in the educational world
The Claretian Josep Sanz, who had a special relationship with Melgarejo, remembers how in the farewell ceremony for the passing of the one who was director of the school of the Claret College in Barcelona, he was defined by Anna Ramis – that at that time he was responsible for the “Family-School Program, Shared Action” (FEAC) of the Christian School – as “a prophet in the educational world, as a person who communicated to us a word that brought light and guidance”.
Content of the training
The figure of Melgarejo, presented by Eloi Aran (FECC), will be the starting point for the matinees that will take place at the headquarters of the Center for Studies in Christianity and Justice, where three aspects of vocational confluence for teachers will be discussed: ‘education, spirituality and social transformation; traits that are linked in the legacy of the Catalan psychologist and pedagogue. Each of the topics will be worked on with a couple of specific presentations, current testimonies and, also, some time devoted to personal prayer and reflection.
Trainers and methodologies
This first edition has regular trainers from the Pastoral Department of the Christian School and ISCREB, such as Josep Oton, but the involvement of teachers who have been part of reflection groups on education in Christianity and Justice has also been sought , such as Claustre Besora and Manu Andueza, current coordinator of the theological area of the study center; or, from the field of education in relation to spirituality, Laura Rius, collaborator at EIDES (the Ignatian School of Spirituality). As for the aspect of social transformation in relation to the educational vocation, this will be guided by the musician and theologian José Laguna through the educational proposal of Pope Francis in the Global Educational Pact. Regarding times of personal reflection, different prayer methodologies will be proposed, such as a Christian meditation guided by Pere Agustí Maragall.
The Xavier Melgarejo Program
The “Xavier Melgarejo Program” is the face-to-face proposal for the second year of the “Certificate of Competence in Pastoral Education”, a joint effort by the FECC and the ISCREB that facilitates global training in Christian charism in the educational community – regardless of the specific one of the ERE (Education of Religion) – over the course of three to six years.
