"On this occasion I send you this message with concern about the terrible storm that this weekend hit Bahía Blanca and its surroundings and several cities in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires" he said.
And he explained: "The Colegio Don Bosco is deeply saddened by the death of a child, a student of the school, and his father. For this reason, we pray intensely for this educative and pastoral community, so that the Father's consolation may reach this family in these moments of inexplicable pain."
Then he also spoke about the other house in Bahía Blanca: "In La Piedad, much of the roof of the old Salesian community, the roof of the new classrooms of 'Unisal’ and part of the roof of the chapel of Santa Lucia were blown off. We are currently studying how to proceed with the repairs."
Among the Salesian houses in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, the one that suffered the most damage was the Centennial Oratory house in Avellaneda: "In addition to several uprooted trees, a huge wall collapsed. Part of the roof of the school was also swept away and several classrooms were hit, " the ARS Provincial said.
"The Uribelarrea school suffered damage to part of the historic entrance of the school building and other minor inconveniences in normal work areas" he said.
Finally, Fr Perera asked the entire provincial community to join in prayer: “I want to ask you to be united in prayer with these communities. May our Mother Help of Christians show us the way to transform pain into hope.".
The next day, Fr Perera sent another communication to the Rectors of the Salesian houses to ask for financial support for the houses that had suffered damage.
“I am grateful that two houses have decided today to share resources to help in this situation. I am grateful for this generous gesture that makes us feel like a family, in which we not only think about our needs but also take others into account" he wrote.
he invited them to reflect on the importance of the Province's solidarity fund: "The solidarity fund is an exercise in our way of understanding the Gospel and dreaming of a different society. A society zt whose core is the ‘ethics of the other’ of which we spoke in our last Provincial Chapter."
He added: "The solidarity fund is a sign that we are sorry that our homes are not all the same and that there are poor homes and others with more resources. And it pains us because it contradicts our dreams. The fund is the first gesture against making natural what is not natural. And it is the strongest sign of our journey towards an economy of communion."
"For this reason I would like to invite you to collaborate with the 2024 fund. And to invite those who can to give extraordinary help to the houses affected by the storm..."
The letter ends with a request to the various rectors of the houses to contact the provincial economer, Fr Gabriel Doddi, so that the extraordinary help requested can be effective.
