More than forty years ago, a restless and spirited young man from Madrid, eager to transform the world through education, had the good fortune to meet people who helped him discover the mission that God had dreamed for him, and to respond wholeheartedly to that call.
This is how the Assumption entered the life of Javier Platón, then a student of Education, convinced that the growth and development of each person begins in childhood, through both education and personal guidance. His dream was that every child might grow up happy and secure, so as to give the best of themselves. A community of religious sisters, established in a working-class neighbourhood and collaborating with a parish youth club, gave him his first opportunity to discover the charism that Mary Eugénie had offered to the Church and to the world.
Shortly afterwards, upon completing his university studies, Assumption Cuestablanca School became the place where he was captivated by Assumption education. The school’s environment, its spaces, its chapel, its silence… all helped him to discern how he could contribute his own stone to the building of the Kingdom of God. The early days were not easy, with vocational training students almost older than himself, yet he managed to win them over through trust and closeness, helping them to discover their own worth and showing them that the world needed them.
He went on to teach at every level, from primary to secondary education, enjoying not only the delivery of academic content but above all the opportunity to foster values, forming strong and resilient characters, able to face the future with confidence and hope, and with a desire to commit themselves to the transformation of society. Through daily contact and collaboration with the sisters, the charism of Mary Eugénie took root in him, becoming fully his own. He was living shared mission even before the term was widely used.
It was this journey that led the Province of Spain to invite him to join the newly created Leadership Team, tasked with guiding the collective mission of the province’s nine schools. The man who had begun as a teacher now became a teacher of teachers. Listening, accompaniment, availability, humility… these were the keys with which he embraced this new stage, supporting the leadership teams of the various schools in carrying out their educational mission, and training new generations of teachers in the spirit of the Assumption. Passion and dedication were the driving force behind his tireless work; hope and love, the motivation that always moved him to place himself at the service of anyone in need.
As he himself says, institutions are meant to endure, while people are here only for a time; they give the best of themselves and then humbly step aside to make way for those who will take over. Now, after years of dedication and care, Javier can enjoy a new and joyful chapter, looking back with satisfaction on the journey travelled and the work accomplished. And now, with Mary Eugénie, he can say: “All that remains for me is to be good.”
Thank you, Javier, for the solid foundations you have laid in the work of God and for all the gifts you have shared with us over the years. May the Lord continue to bless and guide your life.