Brazil – Emotion, smiles mark closing of Provincial Assembly of "Salesian Mission in Mato Grosso"
Cuiabá, Brazil - November 2022 - Last Nov. 11, the courtyard of the Salesian Institute "Santo Antônio" in Cuiabá welcomed about 400 people, including students, teachers, staff, and Salesians, all gathered for the closing Mass of the Assembly and the Provincial Celebration of the "Salesian Mission in Mato Grosso" (MSMT). The Eucharist was presided over by the Superior of the Province of Brazil-Campo Grande (BCG), Fr. Ricardo Carlos, with the Provincial Vicar, Fr. Elias Roberto, the Provincial Delegate for Youth Ministry, Fr. Wagner Galvão, the Institute Director, Fr. João Marcos Araújo Ramos, and the Director of the Salesian Community of St. Paul VI, Fr. Lauro Takaki Shinohara. At the end of the celebration, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Salesian presence on the site where the "Santo Antônio" Institute stands today, each Salesian present donated a rose at the foot of the statue of Mary Help of Christians, leading a procession of students who repeated the gesture until a total of 125 roses were delivered as a sign of gratitude. Finally, Fr. João Marcos Araújo Ramos greeted those present by expressing gratitude for the school year that had just ended and urged them to pray that Mary Help of Christians may continue to care for her children cared for in the various Salesian presences scattered throughout Mato Grosso.