Pope Francis welcomed members from all over the world of the Fraternity of St. Thomas Aquinas Groups, also known as the FASTA movement.
The Pope set aside the speech he had prepared and began to tell many personal stories of his relationship with the founder, Dominican priest, Fr. Aníbal Ernesto Fosbery, one of the driving forces advocating for private education in Argentina.
FR. CÉSAR GARCÉS ROJAS
President of FASTA
It was really beautiful because the Holy Father shared that he was friends with our founder from a young age in the parish in Flores. They participated in the Catholic action group in the parish. There were two priests who accompanied them and when some realized they had vocations, some went to the Jesuits and others to the Dominicans. Pope Francis went to the Jesuits and our founder went to the Dominicans.
Father Aníbal founded FASTA in 1962 with education as one of the central elements of its mission. Its schools impact the lives of over 45,000 people, including teachers, students and families.
ALEJANDRO CAMPOS
Executive Vice President of FASTA
We are communities of faith, communities of lay people, priests, and consecrated women and men who live the mystery of God in fraternity and community. We establish young people and adult groups, apostolic works, schools, and universities. We have different ways of working with young people and families in different countries.
The FASTA movement—which is celebrating its 60th anniversary—is present in 8 countries, most of them in Latin America. Nearly 8,000 people belong to the movement, including 31 priests and 11 consecrated women.
CA
TR: AT
