How did the celebrations begin?
From 1 to 4 September I participated together with the Secretary General, Fr Stefano Vanoli, in the beginning of the celebrations in Punta Arenas. Among those present were the Provincial with his Council, the Rectors of the communities, and the Salesians of the Magallanes region. The main actors were the young people from the educative communities of the Salesians and those of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in the city. There was a solemn Eucharist followed by a historical re-enactment and a cantata in honour of Monsignor Fagnano. Meeting the young people I reminded them that from Don Bosco to Monsignor Fagnano and Mother Angela Vallese, the apostolic dream is the same: "Do good to my peers, my people, and to the people who do not know the gospel."
What was the highlight of the celebrations?
On Saturday 3 September there was a celebration in Puerto Natales and a visit to Torres del Paine Park. On the Sunday there was the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Punta Arenas presided over by Bishop Bernardo Bastres SDB, and then we paid homage at the tomb of Monsignor Fagnano. The morning ended with a parade through the town of Punta Arenas by the four Salesian schools together with representatives of the two schools of Puerto Natales. But the real highlight will be the visit of the Rector Major, next March.
What struck you about this missionary figure?
When Monsignor Fagnano arrived in this area, Punta Arenas had 1,500 inhabitants. Today it has nearly 140,000. Only apostolic zeal drove the missionaries to engage in these poor lands with the many difficulties the encountered in travel, conflicts with settlers, buildings, and poverty. Monsignor Fagnano spent over thirty years of his life in Southern Patagonia. He showed particular concern for the human development and evangelization of the Indians. On this side of the Strait of Magellan he built schools and missions that later become towns and cities. On the other side, in the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego, he built villages for the local tribes. His missionary efforts failed to halt the decline and extinction of the Indians, but they remain a great example of evangelizing dynamism for us today.
How do you see the missionary commitment of the Congregation in Chile?
I frequently recalled he words of our Rector Major when he emphasizes that our Congregation is missionary and has to recover its missionary zeal. The missionary vocation arouses generosity, attracts young people, and encourages self-giving. The memory of Monsignor Fagnano and his story will be good for Chile and for the Congregation. Today it is urgent for us to build international communities, where the intercultural experience becomes evangelical witness and prophetic fraternity, of acceptance of differences and of communion.
Did you get to know other Salesian situations in Chile?
I met confreres, young people and laity at Iquique in the north, in Concepción, Punta Arenas and Santiago. Then I met the Rectors and finally the Provincial Council. Together we saw the progress of the Congregation since GC27. I saw a Province that is alive and committed to working among poor youth. This centenary will certainly give a new apostolic thrust.
