(ANS - Udine) - Today, April 29, 2022, the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, visited the Salesian Institute "G. Bearzi" in Udine, the school attended by Lorenzo Parelli, the 18-year-old who lost his life in an accident on January 21 while he was doing his last day of apprenticeship in a factory in Lauzacco. As soon as he arrived at the Salesian Institute, President Mattarella met privately with the family of young Lorenzo, with whom he spoke for about half an hour in a classroom made available by the Institute. Afterward, he met the students of the elementary and middle schools and visited the laboratories and workshops of the Salesian Institute, showing great interest in the activities of the students. Finally, in the school gymnasium, he gave a touching talk on youth, work, and safety, which he opened with these words: "In these difficult times it is a comfort to be under the reassuring image of Don Bosco".
Messina, Italy - April 2022 - The beautiful, intense, and fraternal experience of the first session of the 31st Provincial Chapter of the Salesians of Sicily and Tunisia involved - from April 22 to 25 - 43 Capitulars and 7 guests. On the last day, after the Eucharistic Celebration, Fr Giovanni D'Andrea, ISI Provincial, and the Chapter members met in the hall for a moment of dialogue. The Provincial presented a document to the Assembly, the result of a reflection carried out by the Provincial Council, which reaffirms that the Provincial Chapter must be lived as a moment of "discernment, discussion, and sharing". The presentation was followed by the intervention of Fr Arnaldo Riggi, Regulator, who thanked the Provincial Council for sharing this reflection, a sign of an ever-deeper "synodality" that also guides the path of the Chapter. The Chapter members met again in the five Commissions to deepen the reflection on the plan to redesign the Salesian presence in the Provinces, in the light of the priorities and criteria identified and of the document presented by the Provincial. The concluding moment of the assembly was an opportunity for the presentation of what emerged in the individual Commissions, as well as space for free interventions by the Capitulars.
(ANS - Rome) - After the obligatory pause of the last few years, due to the pandemic, tomorrow sees the resumption of a beautiful tradition, born in 2012, to foster communication education among young people in initial formation of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA): the Salesian Days of Communication. This year's event, which will take place in the afternoon of Friday, April 29, and the morning of Saturday, April 30, at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome, shall begin with the Holy Father's Message for World Day of Social Communications 2022 on the theme, "Listening with the Ear of the Heart," and will explore the broader theme, "Being Christians in a Changing World."
(ANS - Nizza Monferrato) - The three days of special celebrations for the World Feast of Gratitude of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) ended on Tuesday, April 26. This year the celebrations had an even more significant value on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute (1872-2022). The last stage of the celebrations, after the appointments in Turin and Mornese, was Nizza Monferrato.
(ANS - Turin) - "ToVision 2022" is the first song festival created by and for the students of Turin's secondary schools. It will take place on May 7 in the Teatro Grande of Valdocco, just a few days before the EuroVision Song Contest 2022, scheduled this year in the Piedmontese capital. ToVision 2022 is the brainchild of two students from the Salesian high school "Valsalice", who in turn started from Don Bosco's conviction: "An oratory without music is like a body without a soul".
(ANS - Trapani) - From April 22 to 25, 2022, the National Convention of "ALOS", the Lay Association associated with the Congregation of the Salesian Oblates of the Sacred Heart (SOSC - IX group of the Salesian Family) was held in Trapani. The conference entitled "The Servant of God Monsignor Giuseppe Cognata. A light of hope for us today", narrated the story and the message of the Salesian Bishop, founder of the SOSC, whose 50th anniversary of death falls this year.
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.