La Plata, Argentina – December 2024 - After a few days of work by Fr Darío Perera, Superior of the Salesian Province of Argentina South (ARS) with the Provincial Council, a new meeting of the Provincial Council and several guests was held from 11 to 13 December, with the aim of reviewing the proposals for the pastoral areas in the light of the Fourth and Fifth Provincial Chapters. At the Ceferino Namuncurá Retreat House, in La Plata, the delegates or representatives of the pastoral areas presented the projects and actions that are being carried out in the Province. Starting from the methodology of spiritual dialogue, also used during the Provincial Chapters, the related documents were re-read, comparing them with the realities that challenge the ARS Province today. Then, in the plenary sessions, the topics for the formation of Rectors, educators, approaches for the management and animation of the Salesian houses in the Province and explanation of the faith were discussed. As the last work of the Provincial Council with the various guests, the meeting of the provincial teams with the Councillors was divided into three groups, with mixed teams; in this phase the concrete actions carried out in the various sectors were analysed, in order to facilitate the animation of the entire Province.

Cape Town, South Africa – December 2024 – The Salesian Institute in Cape Town, the first Salesian presence in South Africa, is probably the longest established Salesian house in the entire Africa-Madagascar Region. Already in 1917 Fr Louis Versiglia, now a Saint, stayed at this house during his trip from Italy to Macau. On the occasion of his Canonisation in 2000, a plaque was placed in front of the room where Louis Versiglia stayed. Now, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition, Fr Francois Dufour, Rector of the Salesian Institute in Cape Town, has committed himself to making the hall something more. In recent months, a Memorial Hall has been established which preserves photographs, books, images and objects referring to the first missionaries. This simple but significant Hall of Memory to Saint Louis Versiglia also seeks to be an inspiration for other Salesian houses, to remember all the missionaries and local Salesians who have died in South Africa, Lesotho and eSwatini and to prepare similar initiatives in other communities.

Sonada, India – December 2024 - The first community radio station located in a college in the hills of Darjeeling, near Sonada, celebrated its ninth birthday with its listeners, belonging to remote villages scattered among the tea plantations. Operated by the "Salesian College Autonomous Sonada", Radio Salesian is an initiative of the Salesians of Kolkata, the only community radio run by the Salesians in the South Asia Region and is aimed at the inhabitants of the villages in the Darjeeling hills and the community of university students. Radio Salesian 90.8 FM celebrated its ninth birthday with a cake cutting ceremony led by listeners of the Marma Tea Estate. The event saw a joyful gathering of older listeners and passionate supporters of the station. Radio Salesian was represented by radio journalists (RJ), including the Director of the Sameer Chettri program, along with RJ Moses Tamang, Pratap Rai, Wang Lama and Bandana Lohagun, whom the listeners present congratulated. The station's only female RJ, Miss Bandana Lohagun, said: "This celebration has strengthened the bond between Radio Salesian and its community of listeners, highlighting the station's continuous commitment to involving its audience and being its public voice".