Presented as proposals for all groups of the Salesian Family, the International Congresses of Mary Help of Christians celebrates two charismatic aspects of the Salesian spirit: Eucharistic worship and devotion to Mary Help of Christians.
The first of these Congresses was convened by Fr Egidio Viganò, 7th Successor of Don Bosco, and took place in Turin in 1988, on the Centenary of Don Bosco's death. Since then, seven more international congresses have been held.
At the last of these meetings, which took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2019, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of ADMA, it was announced that the 9th International Congress of Mary Help of Christians would be held in Fatima, a Marian and pilgrimage place par excellence.
The theme chosen for the 9th International Congress of Mary Help of Christians, "I will give you the Teacher", recalls Don Bosco's “Dream when he was nine”, the 200th anniversary of which will be celebrated in 2024. Starting from the dream, the goal is to make Mary more and more known as Mother and Teacher who accompanies and guides the entire Salesian Family on the path to Jesus and to the most needy young people.
The formation process designed as preparation for the Congress, will seek to deepen the "Dream at None Year of Age" and will be divided into five themes and ten stages.
The first theme present in the dream is, of course, the Oratory mission: here the educational charism and the Preventive System as a path to holiness will be analysed.
The second theme will emphasise the mystery of life as a vocation and mission, something that is in us, but greater than us. It will therefore reflect on the theme of faith, vocational discernment, spiritual struggle and the Christian life.
In the third theme, the invitation is to reflect on the experience of God as presence and mystery, an experience that involves the themes of encounter and proclamation, conversion and faith, contemplation and action, liturgy and apostolate.
The fourth theme presents the style of the Salesian charism, loving-kindness. The goal will be to promote a pedagogy of love, totally inspired by the charity of God, and therefore a relational style characterised by humility and gentleness, kindness and friendliness.
The last theme gives the opportunity to reflect on the feminine and maternal face of the Church throughout God's plan.
Registration for the 9th International Congress of Mary Help of Christians is already underway. Registration is individual and can be done through the form available on the congress website, where all the details and costs for participation are also available: https://mariaauxiliadora2024.pt/it
Considered by St John Paul II to be "the altar of the world", Fatima, and more precisely the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, is the spiritual centre of Portugal. In 1917, between May and October, Our Lady appeared there six times, appearing to three simple and poor shepherds: the brothers Francesco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lúcia dos Santos. The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima responds to the request made by Our Lady in the apparition of October 13, 1917: “I want to tell you to build a chapel here in my honour, because I am the Lady of the Rosary.” The Chapel of the Apparitions was erected in 1919 on the site of the 1917 apparitions in Cova da Iria and, since then, the sanctuary has been built in response to the considerable influx of pilgrims.
