Father Tarcisio, what remains of Fr. Orione's legacy today?
Fr. Orione was born on June 23, 1872, and he was for the Church and for the world a light that shone. His life was bringing to the world the news and especially the need for a focus on charity as a mediation to reach the Church and to live the Gospel. Fr. Orione's main message is precisely this: through charity, we love the Pope, we love the Church because this is the message and the beautiful news of the Gospel.
We also often associate Fr. Orione with oratories and care for young people. What is his educational model and how relevant or current can it be today?
Fr. Orione began his congregation with a focus on young people, boys, on children, especially in the oratories. His message of attention to young people remains. One of our superior generals, a few years ago, put it this way, "Young people. Are they far away or are we far away?" So don Orione is really the messenger to say that we must be close to the youth. If we succeed with our purposes and projects to gather the young people and be close to them we can do so much good, because what the young people need today is above all presence, closeness.
What is Fr. Orione's legacy in the world?
The congregation today is scattered in about 30 nations around the world. When he first left Italy he went to Brazil, founding the works both there and in Argentina, where he also lived for 3 years of his ministry. The congregation has spread around the world with precisely this message: to evangelize through works of charity, not just institutionalized works, but by doing, by passing the message that it is precisely through charity that we can win people and demonstrate the motherhood of the Church.
What are the challenges for the Orione family in the near future?
We have chosen as the theme of the General Chapter a phrase from don Orione: "Commitment is to throw ourselves into the fire of the new times." Fr. Orione saw humanity afflicted by so many evils, in need of restoration in faith, of the heart of Jesus Christ, and said, "We must go to the people. We must go out and go to the people. It is an urgent need that we must throw ourselves into the fire of the new times for the love of Jesus Christ, the People, and the Church."
"Throwing oneself into the fire of the new times"; how is that accomplished, in concrete terms?
Our reflection and intentions are mainly in the sense of a strong spirituality. As religious it is a reflection ad intra, that is to strengthen our spirituality, our religious consecration, and our Orione identity. But all this is to go out to the people, to the people to transmit the Lord's love through works of charity. This is our purpose and our charism.
