The Salesian Congregation has repeatedly emphasised - in General Chapters 23 (1990), 24 (1996) and 28 (2020) - the need to prepare programmes that promote the professionalism, educational skills and witness of the laity, encouraging their sharing of responsibility and participation in all Salesian works.
This is why, for more than 30 years, the ECU Province, taking into account the guidelines of these General Chapters, has been developing various formation proposals in a systematic way to respond to the situation of educators, leaders and young people.
In 2015, an update of the formaton proposals was carried out in the b-learning mode (virtual and face-to-face). Thanks to this initiative, more than 3,800 people participated in the training programmes.
Currently, in ECU's Overall Province Plan (OPP) for the six-year period 2023-2029, Objective 4 establishes the formation of lay people as a priority option of the ECU Province. It is for this reason that, with the intention of consolidating and establishing the formation of the laity, the ECU Province, with the support and backing of the Salesian Polytechnic University (UPS), promoted the creation of ISAFOL.
For this reason, the Superior Council of the UPS of Ecuador resolved in July 2024:
RESOLUTION N°196-07-2024-07-16: Pursuant to the provisions of Article 48 of the Regulations of the Academic Regime of the Superior Council of Education and in the exercise of the responsible autonomy of institutions of Higher Education, the Superior Council, in the exercise of its powers, resolves: To approve, within the framework of Continuing Education, the creation of the Salesian Institute of Formation for the Laity.
ISAFOL proposes to develop processes of integral and permanent formation for and with the laity, in order to contribute to the evangelising life and mission of the Church and to the educative and pastoral mission of the Salesian charism. Its management is defined at three levels
• Strategic level: through an inter-institutional coordination committee between the Province and the UPS.
• Tactical level : through the ISAFOL Council.
• Operational level: through the management of the Institute and its personnel.
During the launch and start-up ceremony of the new institute, Dr María Sol Villagómez, Vice-Rector of the Quito UPS, on behalf of Fr Juan Cárdenas, Rector of the UPS, read out the decree appointing Dr Tatiana Rosero as Director of ISAFOL and Dr Katherine Guamán García as Technical-Pedagogical Coordinator.
In addition, as a sign of commitment and gratitude, Fr Farfán presented a statue of Don Bosco and Dominic Savio to each of the collaborators.
This event was attended by: Fr Farfán, ECU Provincial; Fr Luis Mosquera, Provincial Economer; Fr Francisco Sánchez, Provincial Delegate for Formation; and Dr Tatiana Capelo, Provincial Delegate for Social Communication.
Fernanda Vasco,
Salesian Office of Communication
