The Rector Major emphasized the need to know Don Bosco, his pedagogy and spirituality, and to avoid certain dangers by already being vigilant in the houses of formation. Are the young confreres really "close" to the youth and the people?  Do they take manual work to heart? These were some of the questions and challenges he raised.

Moreover, he underscored the value of being a missionary, both abroad and within the Provinces, towards the most disadvantaged and poor areas. "You do not become a Salesian of Don Bosco for your own country, because you belong to the congregation," he added, highlighting that it is important to have a "missionary mentality" and to be "available".

Answering the questions of the confreres, he spoke of all those circumstances in which whoever has tasks of government must know how to combine paternity and firmness; to fears about the increase in the average age of Salesians in certain continents, he pointed out that in many realities of the world there are works without a "community of confreres", run by lay people: what is important is to always maintain a Salesian identity.

Citing the example of the Vietnam Province, where there are 85 Salesian coadjutors out of 388 confreres, he recalled the importance of nurturing vocations to lay Salesian life. He also spoke of economic transparency as one of the challenges facing the Region; and affirmed that it is always necessary to live a simple life, according to the contexts in which one works, overcoming the challenge of individualism and practicing fraternity and obedience; and for this reason, he reiterated that communion and unity are distinctive features of Provincial Councils.

In the evening’s "good night" thought, Fr Á.F. Artime returned to the theme of missionary work: he listed some of the latest Salesian missionary presences that have begun in recent years, as well as the growth of older presences that have now been consolidated and developed, such as the Provinces of North West Africa, South West Africa, and Nigeria-Niger.

He concluded by saying: “Let’s not forget: our Congregation is 'missionary'!  Don Bosco had a great missionary heart.”

The Spiritual Exercises also continued on Sunday 20 March, again with the morning conference of the Rector Major and a time for dialogue in the afternoon.

During his speech, the Tenth Successor of Don Bosco recalled the meaning of service that any assignment in the Congregation has, and then he underlined some aspects that must characterize the provincial teams’ work: they must be and act as a community, not only as a technical team; they must maintain fidelity to the charism; they must operate with freedom and have a vision; they must be close to confreres, and give good witnesses of Salesian life. The Provincial, in particular, must be a guide, must show his paternity, be close to the confreres, through visits to the houses, too.

In the afternoon a large part of the debate concerned the theme of formation, dealt with in many respects: the quality of formation, its sustenance, formation in the mission ...

Finally, in the "goodnight" thought, the Rector Major concluded the day by illustrating to those present the project of the Salesian Places and its progress in recent years.

• Title Title
•  

Tweet