SPECIAL REPORTS

(ANS - Lahore) - The first "Servant of God" in the history of the Church of Pakistan is the young Past Pupil of Don Bosco Akash Bashir. Given the situation of extreme tension and the succession of attacks and threats to the Christian communities, on March 15, 2015, Akash, then 20 years old, served among the volunteers assigned to watch over the safety of worshippers outside St. John's Church in the Christian suburb of Youhanabad, on the outskirts of Lahore. He had taken on this assignment with a great sense of responsibility, and did not hesitate to sacrifice his life to save the lives of hundreds of people who at that moment were praying inside the church: to stop a terrorist suicide bomber, he died with him.

(ANS - Ambohidratrimo) - The Easter of Jesus Christ is celebrated around the world as Jesus' victory over death, and Jesus' resurrection opens the way to new life for the peoples of the earth. Despite great poverty and the hardships of nature, Malagasy people experience Easter as a victory of life over death, a victory of joy over sadness, a victory of light over darkness.

(ANS – Rome) – Mission ‘Ad Gentes’ is an often-quoted term. But what does it really mean? It is more than just missionary volunteering, missionary experiences or fundraising for missionary activities. The word “mission” from the Latin “mission”, means “the act of sending”. While “Ad Gentes” indicates a movement “towards the people” particularly those who do not know Jesus Christ or having once known Him, have now abandoned their Christian faith.  Thus, mission ad gentes is “the task of preaching the Gospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe in Christ” (Ad Gentes 6).

(ANS - Luanda) - "Upon my return to Paraguay, after almost three months of visiting Salesian communities in Angola, I appreciated the invitation I received from the Angolan Salesian Bulletin to write my impressions. I found an incredible Easter story: from sorrow to hope, from a past of war to a life of peace, from seeds planted to growing fruits full of hope." So begins the testimony of Archbishop Edmundo Valenzuela, SDB, Archbishop Emeritus of Asunción, Paraguay, about the growth of the Salesian presence in Angola, the country where he served as a missionary in his early years as a Salesian.

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InfoANS

ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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