Given the success of the methodology used in recent editions, this year's Salesian Family Spirituality Days (GSFS) shall once again include a "mixed" combination of activities, in-presence and digital. In this way, the approximately 300 representatives of almost all 32 groups of the SF present in Valdocco will have the opportunity to participate in 100% of the scheduled events; but also the thousands of members of the SF scattered around the world will be able to live communally some of the moments of the Days: more specifically, the 9 a.m. morning Mass and the afternoon sessions from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. (UTC+1) shall always be visible respectively on the social networks Facebook and YouTube.
Coordinated as always by the Rector Major's Central Delegate for the Secretariat of the Salesian Family, Fr. Joan Lluís Playá, and his team, GSFS2023 will be accompanied by Hungarian alumnus Marton and Italian animator Federica Ambrogio as presenters.
It will begin in the morning of Thursday, January 12, with the welcoming of guests and visits to Valdocco and the Casa Don Bosco Museum, while the official opening will take place in the early afternoon, at 3:30 p.m. local time (UTC+1). In this same session, digitally accessible from around the world, in addition to greetings for all and messages of welcome, the Year dedicated to St. Francis de Sales will be officially closed featuring a talk by Fr. Ivo Coelho, General Councilor for Formation; and the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, will proceed with the presentation of the Strenna. The Mass in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians and, in the evening, the community experience of the "Via Lucis" - a liturgical-devotional path born precisely in the Salesian Family - close the day.
Friday 13 begins with Mass in the Basilica and a reflection session in which participants in Valdocco, divided into small language groups, reflect on which aspects of the Strenna most help to enhance the lay dimension of the Salesian Family. In the afternoon, during the session broadcast live online, a panel discussion is scheduled on "The Present Moment of the Laity in the Church," moderated by Antonio Boccia, World Coordinator of Salesian Cooperators, and featuring four different interventions: on the apostolic commitment of the laity; on the identity of the laity; on educational processes and youth accompaniment; and on the role of the laity in the Church today.
The day shall proceed with a presentation by two groups of the Salesian Family - the Sisters of Mary Immaculate Help of Christians (SMI) and the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Michael the Archangel (CSSMA) - a time to meet with the speakers from the roundtable and a time of prayer in the evening.
The morning activities on Saturday January 14 proceed similarly to those of the previous day, but during the work time in the language groups, the reflection will continue to develop the insights that emerged from the previous day's roundtable. In the afternoon, the assembly session - viewable by all via live streaming - will include an in-depth look at the Salesian holiness of Br. Artemide Zatti. This will be followed by a presentation on the Daughters of the Queenship of Mary Immaculate (DQM) and the Community of Don Bosco Mission (CMB) groups. Then it will continue with the presentation of different good practices of youth ministry carried out by the Salesian Family in different continents, the film "Zatti, hermano nuestro" will be screened, and the day ends with the fraternity evening.
The last day, Sunday, Jan. 15, also opens with morning Mass from the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, presided over by the Rector Major and visible via streaming; and will proceed with a final session of group work, this time, however, with the participants divided by their groups. The reflection shall concern the youth experiences of the previous day.
The final conclusions by Fr. Playá and the Rector Major will then be broadcast in the last live digital broadcast.
To watch the various moments broadcast via the web, please subscribe to the language channels of ANSChannel (YouTube) that will offer live commentary: Italian, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
