The first national Symposium on the Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother, Faces of Jesus Today, was held at Notre Dame University on March 25, 2017. Well over 200 persons, predominantly religious brothers, but also including sisters, laity, and ordained clergy, attended.
Brother John Mark Falkenheim, OSB, a psychologist by profession, a faculty member at Saint Meinrad’s Seminary, IN, and a formator for his community at Saint Meinrad’s Abbey, presented the day’s keynote. Two brothers served as respondents; a panel, including seasoned and newer brothers, a vocation director, a provincial, and the parents of a brother, further explored this unique vocation, and all participants continued the conversation in smaller reflection groups. 
After closing remarks by Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, participants joined the Saturday Vigil liturgy at Notre Dame’s Sacred Heart Basilica, where Cardinal Tobin presided and was homilist.
The Religious Formation Conference was proud to be a sponsor for this event. A reflection on the Symposium by a Brother, an RFC member who participated in it, will be published in the June issue of InFormation; until then, click here for all presentations and photos of the day.