This pilgrimage also brought with it the gift of an encounter between the Crocetta community and the international Beato Zeffirino Namuncurà formation community in Rome, which welcomed them into its house with great joy. ‘It was a precious opportunity to get to know each other, weave new fraternal bonds and cultivate the friendships that already exist through prayer, the celebration of the Eucharist, sharing the table and moments of relaxation. All this is a sign of the strong vitality of our charism, which is expressed in the concrete experience of the family spirit that characterises the Salesian spirit,’ commented Fr Silvio Roggia, Rector of the Roman community.
This meeting is in itself an expression of the hope that Pope Francis has invited us to experience this year. In fact, the coming together of two large international Salesian formation communities - involving Salesians from five continents and as many as 36 Provinces, representing 12.7 % of the 684 Salesians in specific formation in the 7 regions - manifests God's continuous predilection for the Salesian Congregation.
‘These young Salesians preparing for the priesthood are a concrete hope for the young people they already meet in the present and even more so for the many generations to whose service they consecrate their entire future, as signs and bearers of God's love. Don Bosco's dream gradually becomes reality in the face of each one of them,’ Fr Roggia concluded.
