(ANS - Rome) - Both before Italy's unification and after, even when Rome was proclaimed "Capital" of the Kingdom, Don Bosco, a Piedmontese halfway between loyalty to the institutions of the Kingdom and unconditional love for the Pope, visited Rome 20 times for a total of almost 2 years of stay - not a little, considering the conditions of the means of transport of the nineteenth century. On those occasions he had to face the distrust of the ecclesiastical authorities, received the warm welcome of both Pius IX and Leo XIII, and aroused the devout admiration of the Roman people.
(ANS - Rome) - “Covid forces us to change the ways in which to be close to the young, much more online and much less courtyard, but this does not change our spirit and our mission.” On the eve of the feast day of the Founder of the Salesian Congregation, Sunday 31 January, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major, spoke with Famiglia Cristiana, the leading Italian Catholic weekly, which publishes the interview in the issue in newsstands starting today.
(ANS - Rome) - A few days after the closure of the Salesian Family Spirituality Days 2021, held online for the first time, the Rector Major Fr Àngel Fernàndez Artime speaks. “This pandemic that is afflicting our humanity will end but there are other chronic pandemics that as Christians we have a duty to help eradicate: wars, mafias, hunger, poverty that is dehumanizing those forced to immigrate to give a future to their children and are tortured or die in the cold, youth unemployment ... Here, then, is our task where as the Salesian Family we are called to be present: to give hope and work for justice to 'give more to those who have had less', as Don Bosco recommended and Pope Francis reminds us.”
(ANS - Turin) - Yesterday, January 24, the third edition of the International Day of Education was celebrated. The anniversary was established by the United Nations with the resolution passed on 3 December 2018 and aims to reaffirm the crucial role of education in building sustainable and resilient societies. But due to the pandemic, the global scenario is very worrying: it is estimated that school closures in 180 countries have left 1.6 billion students at home. A generation of young people sees the opportunities for formation in the various skills and interpersonal relationship skills between peers and adults reduced to a faint glimmer.
Livorno, Italy - January 2021 - On 23 January, at the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Msgr. Simone Giusti, Bishop of Livorno, presided over the presbyteral ordination of the Salesian Alessandro Dui.
(ANS - Rome) - Sister Alessandra Smerilli, religious of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, received the honor of Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy. The Embassy of Italy to the Holy See communicated the award in a statement in which it motivates the assignment with words of great praise for the nun.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
-
Chile – Former Salesian student in the fight against Alzheimer's disease(ANS - Santiago) - Dr Nibaldo Inestrosa, graduate of the Salesian Institute in Valdivia and national prize of Natural Sciences winner, is a pioneer and expert in the study of Alzheimer's disease in the country. In this interview, he offers an insight into the current challenges, but not before reflecting on his formative experience at the Salesian Institute in Valdivia and how this influenced his interest in biology and science.
EDITORIAL
-
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
-
India – INS youth solemnise Don Bosco’s Feast Day with ‘Ka Sur Kynud S-3’ Grand Finale(ANS – Shillong) – The Youth of St John Paul II, Shillong Province, celebrated the Feast Day of St. John Bosco with the Grand Finale of “Ka Sur Kynud, Season 3.” Organised by Don Bosco Media Network Television, the Social Communication Department of the Province, at Don Bosco Youth Centre, Laitumkhrah, Shillong, this two-month-long singing competition, which imitates the global singing competition The Voice, concluded on 31 January 2025, coinciding with the Solemnity of St John Bosco.
SPECIAL REPORTS
-
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
-
WHAT A GIFT TIME IS!THE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR,
Fr Stefano Martoglio, SDBThe beginning of the new year is illuminated in our liturgy by the ancient formula with which the Israelite priests blessed the people: "May the Lord bless you, and keep you. May the Lord show His face to you, and have mercy on you. May the Lord turn His countenance to you, and give you peace."