The key theme was Hope, sought in daily life, starting from situations where it seems difficult to hope.
After the arrivals, accommodation and welcome on Thursday 6 February, the style of the first full day, Friday 7th, was one of pilgrimage: starting from the Basilica of Don Bosco in the Cinecittà district, passing by the Salesian basilicas of Mary Help of Christians and the Sacred Heart, the practical trainees arrived at dusk at St Peter's, where they concluded the experience with a Eucharistic celebration at the San Pellegrino chapel in Vatican City. Each stage was accompanied by the testimonies of some of the young confreres on their ‘moments of despair’: Claudio de Benedittis, within his own vocational history; Alessandro Marchetti and Antonio Coppedè in the life of young people; Pietro Zaramella in consecrated life. The group was guided through the various stages by Dr Luca Allevato, who offered a synthesis of art and Salesian spirituality.
During the second day, spent in the Central Circumscription Italy Province (ICC) Don Bosco Centre, moments of storytelling and others of sharing alternated, thanks to the provocations of Hope offered by some of the testimonies. In the morning, Fr Jimmy Muhaturukundo, Director of the Valdocco Oratory, spoke of his rediscovery of his roots in his homeland; in the afternoon, Alessandro Iannini, coordinator of the ‘Rimettere le ali’ area of the Borgo Ragazzi Don Bosco, and Sr Ilaria Balducci, Superior of the community of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Macerata, spoke of the ability to succeed in seeing God's presence in young people and of shared responsibility as a place of hope for consecrated life. All different experiences, but united by the certainty that, even in the most hidden or painful folds of every life, there is hope: in the light of Christ everything can acquire meaning.
On Sunday, in order to have adequate time for resonance and silence, the practical trainees spent the morning in the San Tarcisio postnovitiate community, taking up the provocations left by the testimonies of the previous day. The concluding Eucharistic celebration was celebrated by Fr Pascual Chavez, Rector Major Emeritus, who in his homily, starting from the Collect Prayer ‘O God, who have chosen the heralds of your word from among people with unclean lips’, invited the young Salesians in formation to reflect on the call that God addresses to each one, starting not from their own merits or demerits, but from the free initiative of his love.
‘These days of sharing and conversation were a valuable opportunity to touch on the theme of the Jubilee in a vital way. The experience of faith and fraternity during these moments reinforced the awareness that Hope is a gift that can only be cultivated and witnessed starting from a personal and living encounter with the God who is the source of all hope,’ commented the members of the Italian National Commission for Formation at the end of the experience.
