(ANS – Turin) – Despite the heavy rain that hit Turin in recent days, the assembly of scaffolding that will allow the restoration and conservation of the two bell towers of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin began on Wednesday, 24 April, the day dedicated to the Help of Christians and the beginning of the Marian month.
Pordenone, Italy – 1924 – This year marks the Centenary of Collegio Don Bosco Pordenone. Already in 1920, Fr Giuseppe Marin, a diocesan priest, had begun an oratory dedicated to Don Bosco in the former villa Querini. Then, in 1924, the Salesians arrived, with Fr Renato Ziggiotti as director. The school had 100 students and there was also the fifth grade class with 25 schoolchildren. Two years later, in 1926, the lower secondary school, named after Don Bosco, and the first class of the higher secondary were also opened.
(ANS – Rome) – The Course for the new Salesian Family Delegates is taking place in Italy in these days (20-26 April), between Rome and Turin: an annual event that is a useful formation opportunity for this position of responsibility, as well as an opportunity to share Salesian spirituality.
Palermo, Italy – April 2024 - The Adolescent Jesus Salesian house in Palermo hosted the SYM Youth Festival in Sicily on Sunday, 21 April. The event was attended by 1,100 young people from all over Sicily, including numerous volunteers from the Universal Civil Service. It was a day full of joy, fun, reflection and prayer: in the true spirit of the Salesian Youth Movement, which with this feast officially began its 50th anniversary. Leaders from the Librino oratory and the message launched by Fr Alberto Anzalone, Delegate for Youth Ministry in the Salesian Province of Sicily (ISI), Sister Maria Grazia Tripi and Angela Caradonna, introduced the participants to the central theme of the festival: Don Bosco's childhood dream. Later, the young people were able to listen to various testimonies of young people and attend the "Joseph's Dream" musical. After lunch, numerous stands were opened with games, dances, information on missions, branches of the Salesian Family and the discovery of Don Bosco's dreams. Finally, the central moment of the entire day was the Eucharistic Celebration, presided over by Fr Franco Di Natale, ISI Vice-Provincial.
Turin, Italy – April 2024 - A meeting of those responsible for pre-novitiates from numerous European Provinces took place in Turin Valdocco on 22-23 April: Austria (AUS); Czech Republic (CEP); Croatia (CRO); Germany (GER); Central Circumscription Italy (ICC); Piedmont and Valle d 'Aosta District Italy (ICP); Lombard-Emilian Italy (ILE); North-East Italy (INE); Sicily Italy (ISI); four Provinces in Poland: Warsaw (PLE), Pila (PLN), Wroclaw (PLO) and Krakow (PLS); Slovenia (SLO); two Provinces in Spain: Mary Help of Christians (SMX) and Saint James they Greater (SSM), Hungary (UNG) and the Vice-Province of Malta (MLT). Fr Ivo Coelho, General Councillor for Formation, encouraged discussion on the journey of the Salesian Congregation in view of the next General Chapter and an in-depth study of the draft of the new Ratio Formationis. There was also a reflection coordinated by Fr Enrico Ponte, Novice Director at Colle Don Bosco, on the subject of the community dimension of the Salesian vocation in the desire to coordinate different approaches in the prenovitiate experience. In the exchange of different experiences, the desire emerged to be involved in the current challenges in the field of faith formation enlivened by Christian hope.
Messina, Catania – April 2024 – The Salesian Province of Sicily (ISI), through the Salesian Social Communication Office in Sicily, has produced and published the video clip of the hymn of the bicentenary of Don Bosco's childhood ream entitled "In the shape of your dream". The song was also chosen as the official anthem for the Salesian Youth Synod scheduled from 11 to 16 August next at Colle Don Bosco, near Castelnuovo Don Bosco, by a Central Commission of young people from all over the world. The video "In the shape of your dream" seeks to be a key to today's interpretation of the dream at nine years of age. A boy representing young John has a dream and discovers, through a series of clues and encounters, that the dream is his mission: to educate young people! A series of origami is the common thread of the story, in particular one, the pelican which, taking up the idea of sacrifice in the Christian context, indicates to the boy to give himself fully and lovingly for the salvation of every young person. Numerous people participated in the making of the video, including Salesians, young people, Salesian communities, professionals and companies that supported the production.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoLWvf0y-Zs
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – “Do Elderly Salesians have a role in the Digital Culture?”The answer in the letter “Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture” from the General Councillor for Social Communication
(ANS – Rome) – In view of the current digital reality, and due to the presence, especially in some regions of the Salesian world, of a large number of elderly Salesians, the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, has decided to dedicate a special letter to them, entitled: "Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture". Here is how he explains to ANS readers today the origins, significance and perspectives of this document.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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Latin America – Strengthening Vocational and Educational Commitment Today: 30 Years of the Salesian School in Latin America(ANS) – Since the first meeting in Cumbayá (Ecuador), 30 years ago, educational processes on the continent have found a collaborative epicentre which has given rise to the Salesian School in (Latin) America – ESA, in Spanish – as a forum for reflection and a common path. Many Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and other groups of the Salesian Family (SF) have enriched this synodal journey, focusing on young people and their integral development. What are today's demands of us in the educational field? How are we building the Salesian School of the future? Can we further strengthen this great Salesian educational network in America? Some FMAs and Salesians who were at the first meeting in 1994, share their experience and their vision of how this journey has allowed a growth in the understanding of the youth reality, in the strategic decisions within the Provinces themselves and in the challenges that emerge for Salesian education.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.