Turin, Italy - May 24, 2022 - After two years of waiting, the customary celebrations in honor of Mary Help of Christians returned to Turin on May 24, bringing together many faithful. On this occasion, the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, presided at Mass in the Salesian basilica of Valdocco, reminding those present and the many who followed the event linked via the web that Mary "is a solid support for our faith." This was followed, as per tradition, by a solemn procession through the streets of Turin in the presence of Archbishop Emeritus of Turin, Msgr. Cesare Nosiglia, who led the long procession.
(ANS - Turin) - The Feast Day of Mary Help of Christians in Turin has finally returned to being what it always was: a celebration of the people, even before being a Salesian feast. Yesterday, May 24, the city of Don Bosco once again gathered safely under the mantle of the Help of Christians, to celebrate and honor her. "Mary always precedes us in faith and in the trusting and generous response to God in our lives, and she is a solid support for our faith," said the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, in the homily of the Mass he presided over in the afternoon in the Salesian basilica of Valdocco.
(ANS - Turin) - "Strongly recommend devotion to Mary Help of Christians": this was one of Don Bosco's main consignments and is a reality in every Salesian house in the world. And to say May in the Salesian Family is to speak of a central month in the annual calendar. It is the best time to remember Mary Help of Christians, whose feast is celebrated today, the 24th of the month, and to organize all kinds of activities in her honor. On this special day, among the various celebrations, of particular note is the launch of a new website entirely dedicated to Mary Help of Christians.
Turin, Italy - May 2022 - On the opening day of the XXXIV edition of the International Book Fair in Turin, May 19, the figure of Don Bosco in the triple dimension - historical, dreamer, traveler - 134 years after his death- drew the attention of the audience present and scores of Italian writers via streaming. The occasion was the presentation of the book "Magellano e don Bosco intorno al mondo. La memoria dei luoghi - Magellan and Don Bosco around the World. The memory of places (Turin, elledici 2020). The author, Nicola Bottiglieri, the president of FUIS, Natale Antonio Rossi, and the volume's promoter, Fr. Francesco Motto, spoke about it at the booth of the Federazione Unitaria Italiana Scrittori, or FIUS, an Italian Writers Federation. During the conversation, there was no shortage of long-distance questions, particularly on the "enigma" of Don Bosco's "prophetic" dreams, which were answered exhaustively. The volume, also published in Spanish by the Salesian publisher in Buenos Aires, is generating much interest during this triennium of Magellan celebrations.
(ANS - Turin) - The Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences "Auxilium" in Rome, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), has confirmed Sister Piera Ruffinatto, FMA, as Dean of the Faculty for the 2022-2025 term.
(ANS - Potenza) - Fr Bruno Bertolazzi, aged 101, 75 of Salesian life, and 70 as a priest, reached the Father's House last Thursday, May 19, after a long existence lived entirely in the service of Don Bosco's mission and the Church. "A great Salesian not only to be admired but to be imitated," Fr Angelo Santorsola, Provincial of Southern Italy (IME), wrote in announcing his death.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG - Preparation, objectives, challenges and perspectives of GC29: in dialogue with the Moderator, Fr Alphonse Owoudou(ANS - RMG) - Just a few days before the beginning of the 29th General Chapter (GC29) of the Salesian Congregation, Fr Alphonse Owoudou, Councillor for the Africa-Madagascar Region and Moderator of GC29, recounts in detail, through an articulate interview, the work preceding and underlying this responsibility, indicating the spirit that will animate it and the attitudes and conditions to make it truly a Cenacle in which the Holy Spirit can act, for the benefit of the Congregation, the Salesian mission and the youth of the world.
EDITORIAL
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RMG – Don Bosco: “The Fascinating Saint”(ANS - Rome) - Don Bosco is perhaps the most amazing and fascinating saint, history has ever produced. The humble work which he began for the welfare of his poor and abandoned boys in Italy has produced astonishing results, and today there are nearly 14000 Salesians working in 138 countries, and there are more than 200,000 members belonging to the 32 groups of the worldwide Salesian Family sharing the charism of Don Bosco and reaching out to the needy young people.
EVENTS
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Spain – 33rd Edition of the Edebé Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature: Here Are the Winners(ANS – Madrid) – The 33rd edition of the Edebé Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature has been awarded to Beatriz Giménez de Ory (Madrid, 1972) for her novel Tres niños tristes y medio unicornio (Three Sad Children and Half a Unicorn) and David Lozano (Zaragoza, 1974) for his novel La cacería (The Hunt).
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – CATHOLIC WORLD DAY OF THE SICK: Salesian Missions highlights medical programs for people in need around the globe(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins Catholic organizations around the globe in honoring the Catholic World Day of the Sick. Every year on Feb. 11, the Pope marks the day with a special message calling for spiritual and physical closeness to all those who are ill. Saint John Paul II instituted the day “to encourage the people of God, Catholic health institutions and civil society to be increasingly attentive to the sick and to those who care for them.”
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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GOOD, FAITHFUL, AND COURAGEOUS SERVANTSTHE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Stefano Martoglio, SDB
During this Jubilee year, in this difficult world, we are invited to rise up, set out again, and, in newness of life, make our journey as human beings and believers.