(ANS - Turin) - Going to the roots, in the physical and moral sense: this is the proposal that the participants of the Days of Spirituality of the Salesian Family in progress in Turin have gathered and experienced on the morning of Friday, January 14, with the pilgrimage to the area of Valdocco.

Oulx, Italy - January 2022 - To start the year 2022 in the best way, a group of young people on their path of Missionary Animation "In the heart of the world", of the Special Circumscription of Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta (ICP), lived New Year's Eve in an alternative way, taking advantage of the activities carried out by the "Massi Shelter" of Oulx. The shelter welcomes migrants from the Balkan and African routes. These are individuals and families who attempt to cross the border into France and are often turned back by the French gendarmerie. In Oulx, in winter, temperatures drop several degrees below zero, making night crossings extremely dangerous. In fact, the Massi Refuge is the only possibility for migrants to get a hot meal and to avoid sleeping outdoors. Fr Chiampo, parish priest of Bussoleno and in charge of the shelter, welcomed the young volunteers and introduced them to the structure and how migrants are welcomed; the young people then helped to clean and tidy the premises and, in the evening, they shared dinner together with some migrants.

Turin, Italy - January 2022 - Yesterday, January 13th, the Salesian Family Spirituality Days, now in their 40th edition, opened in Valdocco. At the Days, connected via web, there will be about 10,000 people who will follow the four days of listening-prayer-confrontation taking place in the Salesian Mother House. Yesterday, on the first day, after the solemn closing of the year dedicated to Fr. Paolo Albera, the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, officially presented the Strenna 2022: "Do all through love, nothing through constraint".

(ANS - Turin) - Tatiana from Central America, Carlos from Spain, Antoine from Central Asia, Jonas from the Far East and Christopher from Africa ... and the globalization of the Salesian Family celebrating the opening of the 40th edition of its Spirituality Days, January 13, in Turin-Valdocco is immediately described. Via web, about 10,000 people will follow the four days of listening-prayer-confrontation taking place in the Mother House with the presence of 150 representatives of the 32 groups that make up the largest Catholic religious family.

Rome, Italy - January 2022 - On the occasion of the fourth centenary of the death of St. Francis de Sales, the Canção Nova Community, the 25th group of the Salesian Family, has recorded some short videos on the charism and spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. In the first eight episodes, Fr Wim Collin, SDB, professor of History and Spirituality at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome, talks about some of the themes that the saint deals with in his writings, such as: "How to know the will of God, why one should meditate, what to do when one is angry...". They are short interventions that deal with both the daily life and the spiritual life of each person. The Canção Nova Community will publish these episodes weekly on its website and on its YouTube channel. The mission of the group, in fact, is to evangelize, to communicate Jesus, through the mass media. The Community tries to be present in the (virtual) places where young people are, and it was a strategic choice to make short episodes of a few minutes, ideal to have a brief weekly reflection on Francis de Sales and deepen his spirituality.

(ANS - Turin) - Dreams, hopes, expectations, desire for sharing, for deep communion, for recharging oneself by drawing on one's own charismatic roots; and, again, the desire to deepen one's knowledge of the figure of St. Francis de Sales and his maxims for the spiritual life, to listen to the Rector Major's commentary on the Strenna 2022 and his indications for the new year; and, finally, to treasure all this in order to take it home and share it with one's friends and fellow missionaries. At Valdocco, in the Salesian Mother House, where today, January 13, 2022, the 40th Days of Spirituality of the Salesian Family (GSFS) will open, we can now breathe all this.