He arrived in Würzburg on the evening of Friday 3 June accompanied by his secretary, Fr Horacio López. He listened to the conversation between some young Germans and the Salesian Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, on the relevance of the Salesian charism, the situation in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, his vocation, and so on.
Saturday 4 June began in the Salesian House with Mass, at which Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga presided. The day continued with a presentation of the Congregation and the current challenges by the Rector Major. Also present were the Economer General, Bro. Jean Paul Muller, and the Provincial in Germany, Fr Josef Grünner.
In the afternoon there was the most striking event of the programme, a boat trip on the River Main. About 700 people sailed on the river for two hours in three large boats. The organizers made a good choice when they put the Rector Major on the same boat as the young people who had come from all over Germany to celebrate the centenary of the Salesian presence in the country. In close dialogue in this informal setting Fr Á.F. Artime was able to speak in a fatherly way with many boys and girls from the oratories, but also young people at risk who are beneficiaries of the Salesian social projects, and refugees from various countries.
The highlight of the celebrations was reached on Sunday morning with solemn Mass in the city Cathedral. In the church packed with young people and other members of the faithful, Fr Tadeusz Rozmus, Councillor for Central and Northern Europe, presided over the celebration, while the Rector Major preached the homily, in which he recalled the big commitment made by the Salesians in 1916 by their confidence in young people – a formula that is still true today and will be for the next 100 years.
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