Brother Armin Luistro, Superior General of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, has appointed Brother Cristhian James Díaz Meza as Visitor of the District of Bogotá for a period of four years beginning on 21 November 2024 and ending on 20 November 2028.
Brother Cristhian was born in the city of Bucaramanga (Colombia) on 12 September 1972, in the home of Mr. Alirio Díaz Rubio and Mrs. Graciela Meza Leal, together with his siblings Sandra Paola and Carlos Fernando.
He spent his first years of schooling at the Colegio Agustiniano and then, from the third grade of primary school until he graduated in 1989 in eleventh grade, he studied at the Colegio La Salle in Bucaramanga. There he met the Brothers of the Christian Schools and stood out for his academic and leadership abilities, being one of the leaders of the school’s Scout Group.
His journey in the Institute began in the 1990s. He entered the Postulancy in 1990 and did his Novitiate in 1992 in the city of Envigado (Antioquia). Later, between 1993 and 1995, he did his Scholasticate in Bogotá, at the Instituto San Bernardo de La Salle, alternating his studies with a Degree in Education with a major in Religious Studies at the Universidad de La Salle in Bogotá, where he graduated in 1995.
His passion for Educational Sciences led him to pursue a Master’s Degree in Teaching at the same University (2004) and a Doctorate in Education at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (USA), where he graduated in 2018.
Brother Cristhian has developed his ministry and vocation in various works of the Lasallian District of Bogota, such as Colegio La Salle de Villavicencio, where he was a teacher and coordinator, and as Director of the Postulancy and the Prenovitiate. He was also part of the Brothers’ community in Winona and Cretin-Derham Hall, in the Midwest District (United States).
He also served as Secretary for Management and Organisation of the Lasallian Region of Latin America (RELAL) between 2008 and 2010, was a professor and dean of the Faculty of Education at the Universidad de La Salle in Bogotá, and served as President of the Escuela Normal Superior de Gigante (Huila).
His main contributions to the Educational Sciences and Pedagogy have focused on Teacher Training, Curricular Processes, Peacebuilding Leadership, and the Human Capabilities approach.
In 2019 he took over the leadership of the Master’s Degree in Education at Universidad de La Salle and from 2020 to date he has been the Academic Vice-President of the same University.
We express our congratulations and best wishes to Brother Cristhian in view of the new responsibility entrusted to him by Providence and the Institute, and at the same time we express our gratitude to Brother Diego José Díaz Díaz for his generous service to the Lasallian District of Bogotá, as his term as Visitor draws to a close.