Stefanie Abela Reflects on Her Rome Experience 2026
Stefanie Abela, a teacher at De La Salle College Birgu, recently attended the Rome Experience, a Lasallian formation programme that brings together educators and mission partners from across the world.
Three years into her journey with the Lasallian family, Stefanie arrived in Rome looking to deepen her understanding of what it means to be Lasallian. For her, the programme was an opportunity to experience the Lasallian spirit beyond the familiar rhythms of her school, and to strengthen her identity as an educator grounded in the charism of Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle.
The impact was immediate. Stefanie returned to the classroom the day after arriving back in Malta, feeling not depleted but recharged. Alongside the formal formation sessions, this experience renewed her sense of purpose and brought something harder to plan for: new friendships with members of the Lasallian family from around the world.
One conversation stayed with her above the rest. Discussions within her group turned to what makes a school genuinely Lasallian, and to the question of how the mission can be kept alive as the role of lay educators becomes increasingly central. Stefanie shared how De La Salle College Birgu holds weekly reflections before lessons begin, a practice managed by the school’s Chaplaincy Team under the leadership of Ms Isabel Zahra, drawing on a wide range of themes and resources.
The exchange sparked a partnership. A teacher from a Lasallian school in Illertissen, Germany, was already running a project in which her students themselves prepare the morning reflections, and she was keen to exchange ideas on the themes used for reflections at De La Salle College Birgu. Stefanie was struck by how the teacher had turned the morning reflections into a project for her students to work on — an approach she is now considering trying with students back in Birgu. The moment made the strength of their connection tangible and brought the wider Lasallian network to life in a concrete, practical way.
Formation sessions led by Brother Claude, Brother Paul, and Brother Daniel gave the group space to reflect on Lasallian spirituality in today’s context: the challenges educators face, and the signs of hope that continue to sustain the mission. Their reflections returned, again and again, to the importance of living faith alongside students rather than only teaching it. They spoke of vocation as something that can bring fulfilment and joy to the work, even amidst the real difficulties of school life.
Stefanie returns to her classroom carrying that conviction. This experience reinforced her belief that it is the daily practices that give a school its Lasallian character. “Lasallian values and spirituality give us our distinctive identity,” she reflects, “and are what set us apart as an educational community.”