(ANS – Rome) – The ancient and traditional yet always significant delivery of the Salesian Strenna for the New Year was repeated on Friday, 27 December 2024, at the General House of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) in Rome. In the presence of the Mother General of the FMA, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, her sisters and many Salesians and members of the Salesian Family, Fr Stefano Martoglio, Vicar of the Rector Major, currently at the head of the Salesian Congregation, officially presented the message and the video that illustrate the guiding theme that will accompany the Salesian Family in 2025, the Jubilee Holy Year and the 150th anniversary of the First Salesian Missionary Expedition: "Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people".

Rome, Italy – December 2024 – The members of the new National Council of the Third Sector, established at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, were appointed with the ministerial decree of 19 December, signed by Minister Elvira Calderone. Among the members appointed by the "National Third Sector Forum" is Fr Francesco Preite, President of "Salesians for Social APS". “It is an honour and a responsibility to represent the entire associative network of Salesians for Social in the National Council of the Third Sector" Fr Francesco Preite says. "The associative network of Salesians for Social is organised in 6 territorial presidium committees, includes more than 100 participating bodies, including national associations such as the Sociocultural Youth Film Groupss, the National TGS, PGS Italy; and more than 300 organisations that are supportive friends throughout the national territory. Together we can bring the demands of our young people, especially the poorest, to the institutional and political tables such as the National Council of the Third Sector. We continue to walk together and build a Salesian social network that is increasingly rooted in the territories and attentive to the needs and dreams of our young people." he concluded.

RMG - December 2024 - At the initiative of the Economer General of the Salesian Congregation, Br Jean Paul Muller, SDB, a work depicting St Artemides Zatti was commissioned from sculptor Mauro Baldessari. ‘The work by Artemides Zatti does not describe his appearance, but his “presence”, his being turned towards the sick, the needy; his hands are turned forward ready to intervene, his gaze is intense and gentle, loving, because he saw Jesus in the sick person,'’ the sculptor described it. The work is as if vertically divided in two: one side tells of his active mission ready to go to the needy, the other speaks of his intimacy with God, consecrating his life to obedience and love for the rule. As it is written ... ‘he was always in church and always helping’. This tension is present in the soul of the sculpture, an inner tension that translated into action: towards the outside, towards the needy. A deep inner self aiming outward'. Sculptor Baldessari has already been working with the Salesians for several years, and recently he has been commissioned to create several works of art depicting characters from the Salesian Family. In the coming months, small bronze monuments will also be made, which will be installed in Valdocco on the occasion of General Chapter 29.

For further information, please contact sculptor Baldessari directly at the following e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Rome, Italy - December 2024 - On the afternoon of 16 December at the headquarters of the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS), members of the Salesian Historical Institute (ISS) met with fifteen recently appointed Provincials who are following the course dedicated to them at Salesian Headquarters in Rome. After the introductory greeting, Fr Thomas Anchukandam illustrated the history of the ISS and its aims, which are scientifically concretised in the research and study, dissemination and appreciation of the rich documentary heritage linked to the figure of Don Bosco and his spiritual sons. Fr Francesco Motto described the various initiatives proposed by ISS to the Salesian Society in view of the year 2025. Fr Stanisław Zimniak outlined the origin and development of the Association of Salesian History Enthusiasts (ACSSA), which originally consisted of around twenty members, and which currently numbers 205 SDBs (105) FMA (82), lay people (28) and numerous members of other groups of the Salesian Family. Fr Zimniak then described the contents of the ISS website (iss-acssa.org), which has recently been revamped and updated, and whose pages also present the activities of ACSSA. Fr Hendry Dominic introduced those present to the library heritage kept by the ISS library, its many forms of service and the updating related to the ISS's purposes. At the end, the Provincials unanimously expressed their appreciation for what the ISS does, emphasising the value of what is preserved especially in the Library, a ‘treasure’ of inestimable value.

Palermo, Italy – December 2024 -  Don Bosco Ranchibile is hosting the travelling photographic exhibition entitled "Anne Frank: a current history" from 10 to 20 December. Produced and set up by the "Anne Frank House" association in Amsterdam, it arrived at the Salesian centre in Palermo thanks to the contact with the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands, Dr Emanuele Pirazzoli, and his invitation to participate in a project that involves selected students from four Palermo high schools: Regina Margherita, Gonzaga, Vittorio Emanuele II and Don Bosco. Before the exhibition, on 6 and 7 November 2024 six students attending the last year in various subjects at Don Bosco Ranchibile high school had a formative experience: two days of workshops in which students from other Palermo schools also took part, and during which tutors from the "Anne Frank Youth Network" (AFYN) association trained them as exhibition guides. The whole thing took place in an interactive way, through group activities and discussion, thoroughly analysing the historical context starting from the rise of the National Socialist party in Germany, and then focusing in particular on the life of Anne Frank, a young German Jewess and victim of the Holocaust. Despite the complexity of the topics covered, the tutors managed to fully involve the students, also teaching them how to assemble the entire exhibition, consisting of 34 panels. The exhibition is highly appreciated by the many visitors who arrive at the Salesian centre, many of whom are students from nearby schools who show a particular sensitivity to Anna's story and to the question of racial discrimination, unfortunately still current today.

Messina, Italy - December 2024 - On 13 December, an important symposium was held at the St Thomas Theological Institute (ITST) in Messina on the theme ‘Dai Dubia a Fiducia Supplicans: Per un dibattito teologico dialogico e non polemico’ (‘From Dubia to Fiducia Supplicans: For a dialogical and non-polemical theological debate’), an opportunity for profound and serene reflection on the delicate relationship between faith, ecclesiastical authority and bioethics. The discussion, moderated by Professor Rosa Faraone, Professor of the History of Philosophy at the University of Messina, was attended by distinguished speakers, including Professor Marianna Gensabella Furnari, former Professor of Bioethics at the University of Messina and President of the Italian Institute of Bioethics, Sicily Section. The central theme of her address was ‘The maternal heart of the Church’, an exploration of the Church's role as a loving and attentive guide in contemporary moral challenges. Prof. Dino Calderone, former professor of philosophy at Messina high schools, offered a reflection on the delicate balance between freedom, conscience and authority in the Church, raising questions on how these concepts can be integrated without falling into polarisation. Lastly, Prof. Fr Giovanni Russo, SDB, Professor of Bioethics and Director of the ITST and SSSBS in Messina, explored moral and ecclesiological hermeneutics in the context of the passage from the ‘Dubia’ to the ‘Fiducia Supplicans’, inviting the search for a constructive dialogue that overcomes the dichotomy between doubt and the supplication of trust, highlighting the dimension of hope and openness to grace. In his speech, Fr Russo emphasised a fundamental aspect of divine mercy: never judging the sinner, but looking at him with the eyes of compassion.