The journal includes three essay, in the STUDIES section of this issue:
The first contribution is by Giovanni Caputa and presents Fr Alfredo Sacchetti and the "Catholic Near East Welfare Association" for Armenian orphans taken in at Betgamāl. The focus is on the work of the Salesians in Palestine from 1896-1936 in giving refuge to Armenian boys who survived the massacres and highlights both how this service was carried out at the mandate of and in coordination with Popes Benedict XV and Pius XI, and the long-term project initiated by Fr Sacchetti, which included starting professional or agricultural work, and Christian formation, also from a vocational perspective. The article presents the results of a study conducted on contemporary archival documents, hitherto unpublished, compared with contemporary publications of historiography on the massacres of the Armenian people.
The essay by Nestor Impelido follows: Fr Antonio Cavoli and the Caritas Sisters of Jesus. Some notes on the role of Fr Antonio Cavoli. Fr Cavoli certainly played a crucial role in the birth and development of the Caritas Sisters of Jesus, who would in fact be his main concern in his missionary work. The analysis recounts the formation of this indigenous Congregation and talks about the creation of the Hospice that arose when it invited the members of the Immaculate Group to take care of the poor and the sick. This contributed to the growth and spread of Caritas among its members and made them historically involved in Salesian missionary work.
The third contribution by José Luiz Lima de Mendonça Jr investigates: Latin language teaching programs for Salesian lower and upper secondary (1887-1908) in the Italian pedagogical context. Through a detailed study of the Teaching Programs, the author attempts to outline the didactic, pedagogical and programmatic approach of the Salesian classical school. Divided into three parts, the article provides an overview of the classical school of the time, analyses the methodological and didactic practice of Latin in Salesian Loer and Upper Secondary schools, and emphasises the importance of Teaching Programs for didactic and pedagogical uniformity in Salesian schools.
The fourth contribution, by Kamil Pozorski, is dedicated to: The birth and evolution of the Compagnie magazine from 1949-1966. Promoted by the Salesian Congregation, it had as its main purpose the animation of Salesian youth associations and was a tool for animating Salesian educational activities. The article analyses the birth of the journal and its evolution in a context of continuous socio-cultural and ecclesial changes, up to the Second Vatican Council and the transformation of the journal Compagnie into a new periodical: Note di Pastorale Giovanile Reading the Compagnie magazine shows the great commitment of the editors and their cultural preparation at the service of their readers, as well as a solid cohesion between scientific thought, represented by the authors who were academics, and the educational practice expressed in the articles written by Salesians directly engaged in the field of education.
An original text is then presented in the FONTI section:
Salesian scholar Fr Aldo Giraudo has provided a critical version of the handwritten manuscripts of Don Bosco's conferences to the Salesian Cooperators in Rome and Turin (1878-1883) . Indicated here is the critical edition of Don Bosco's manuscripts relating to four conferences he gave in Rome (29 January 1878 and 5 April 1880) and in Turin (16 May 1878 and 25 January 1883). They are the only Italian originals relating to these events, and together they document the saint's communicative ability, his vision of the mission of the Salesian Cooperator and the manner and care with which he organised such meetings.
To complete this edition of RSS there are also:
the PROFILI Section, where researcher Genevieve Khaiñ presents a personage of significant value for the knowledge of the history of missionary expansion of the Salesian Congregation in Asia: the Venerable Bishop Stephen Ferrando (1895-1978);
the NOTA Section, with three short contributions concerning the one hundred years of Salesian presence in Taranto, Fr Francesco Scaloni and his founding role, and the "Notes on the volume "Salesiáni Dona Boska v Československu (1924-1939)" respectively;
the RECENSIONI Section, in which numerous publications are presented on topics related to Salesian personalities and activity, covering a wide spectrum of topics and historical periods;
and, finally, the SEGNALAZIONI section, noting the volume by Jesús Graciliano González Miguel, Los once primeros capítulos generales de la congregación salesiana;
