The French-founded Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools have elected Brother Armin Luistro as their new superior general.

Luistro becomes the Lasallian Brothers’ 28th superior general and the first Filipino to hold the congregation’s highest position.

The election took place May 18 at the religious institute’s 46th general chapter in Rome.

Typically held every seven years, the election comes eight years after the previous government was elected in 2014 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Luistro is the second Filipino chosen to head a religious order in recent years after Fr. Gerard Francisco Timoner, who was elected superior general of the Dominicans in July 2019.

In 2000, Fr. Antonio Pernia, also a Filipino, was elected superior general of the Divine Word Missionaries, a post he served for two terms or a total of 12 years.

Luistro joined the La Salle Scholasticate, the academic training centre of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, in Manila in April 1979, while studying at De La Salle University (DLSU).

He received the religious habit in October 1981, professed his first religious vows in October 1982 and his final vows in May 1988.

The 60-year-old started his teaching career at De La Salle Lipa in Batangas, where he worked as a religion teacher, class counsellor and campus minister from 1983 to 1986.

In August 2000, he co-founded with Indonesian BishopJosef Suwatan of Manado, the De La Salle Catholic University in Manado, now known as De La Salle University-Indonesia.

Luistro has more than 34 years of experience in both the private and public sectors.

From 2010 to 2016, he served as secretary of the Education department. Prior to this, he was at the helm of De La Salle University in Manila, serving as its president from 2004 to 2010.

In previous years, he also served as president of the De La Salle University System and several other La Salle schools. From 2017 to 2019, he returned to serve as President of De La Salle Philippines, the network of La Salle schools in the country.

He is currently a board member of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the largest business-led non-governmental organisation in the country. In May 2019, he was appointed Brother Visitor of the Lasallian District of East Asia.

Luistro has also held various positions in other governmental and intergovernmental organisations, such as the Advisory Council of the National Youth Commission, the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines and the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO).

Luistro holds a Doctorate in Educational Management from Saint La Salle University in Bacolod and a Master’s Degree in Religious Education and Values from De La Salle University in Manila. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and Humanities from DLSU.