NEWS PHOTOS
Turin, Italy - April 2024 - The five gatherings of "Into the Heart of the World" held between 2023 and 2024 led 29 individuals to commit to embarking on a mission experience in August 2024. These participants included university students, young professionals, and Animators of Salesian Presences. Throughout these meetings, various topics were presented and discussed, spanning from economics and service to interculturality, with a focus on Salesian missionary spirituality. Motivated by a shared desire to choose a world to live in, that rejects the prevailing evils, the young men and women who participated in the course, facilitated by the Missionary Animation Team, will journey to Ngozi, Burundi; Nairobi, Kenya; Vilnius and Telsiai, Lithuania; and Bo, Sierra Leone. On April 7th, at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco, the Missionary Mandate for their upcoming departures was bestowed during a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Fr. Leonardo Mancini, the ICP Provincial.
Genzano di Roma, Italy - April 2024 - The 6th Provincial Chapter of the Salesian Vice Province of Central Italy (ICC), held at Casa Versiglia in Genzano di Roma from April 1st to 6th, 2024, concluded with a Eucharistic celebration led by its Superior Fr. Stefano Aspettati. It was primarily an encounter of fraternity, reaffirming the familial bonds among participants throughout each day: from prayer and the work of the Commissions to shared meals, leisure time, and discussions in the Assembly. This gathering fostered open and honest dialogue regarding consecration and mission, involving laypeople in service to youth. Three documents were drafted as reflections and contributions from the ICC Province for the 29th General Chapter, slated for early 2025 in Turin. Ahead of this, the Chapter engaged in discernment before selecting two Salesians, along with substitutes, to represent the Circumscription at the General Chapter: Fr. Roberto Colameo and Fr. Michelangelo Dessì, with Fr. Daniele Merlini and Fr. Emanuele De Maria as substitutes.
Medellín, Colombia - April 2024 - Last Friday, April 5, the San Luís Beltrán Province of Medellín, Colombia (COM) celebrated the launch of its new pastoral proposal, called "Let us dream of fraternity". The event, held together with the celebration of the new school year for the students who will finish their studies this year, featured an atmosphere of joy and unity in which Salesians and young people gathered to experience this new stage of their lives together, full of dreams and commitments. The pastoral proposal "Let us Dream of Fraternity" is an invitation from the Educative and Pastoral Community addressed to everyone, so that together we can build a more just, supportive and fraternal world, being inspired by Don Bosco's message of love and service.
Guwahati, India – April 2024 – Monday 8 April opened the 22nd Provincial Chapter of the Salesians in Mary Help of Christians Province Guwahati, India (ING). The Chapter, held at the Don Bosco Institute in the city, began with the welcome by the Provincial, Januarius S. Sangma, followed by a moment of recollection in which the Chapter members were invited to constantly seek contact with God ("Carpe Deum") and to remain in "amazement" about Christ Jesus. Seven of the oldest Salesians of the Province spoke about the growth of the Salesian mission in the region, as did Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, SDB, Archbishop Emeritus of Guwahati, who on behalf of the other Major Salesians said: "We have inherited the missionary spirit of the pioneer missionaries and we have done our little bit." The following day, after the Eucharist presided over by Archbishop John Moolachira, archbishop of Guwahati, work began on the theme of the Chapter – "Passionate about Jesus Christ, dedicated to young people: Living our Salesian vocation faithfully and prophetically" – in the presence of other guests from the various groups of the Salesian Family.