(ANS – Vasto) – Sports, religion, socialising, hospitality and lots of fun. Among the founding basics of the Salesian work that, on 2 September 2024, with as many as 450 young people invaded the streets of Vasto with happiness and colours. From 4 pm until late in the evening, the Salesians in Vasto, after the last few months of intense and full of appointments in the Oratory, continue their incessant work.
(ANS – San Giovanni Rotondo) – From 30 August to 1 September, 140 representatives of the Educative and Pastoral Communities in the Salesian Province of Southern Italy (IME) met in San Giovanni Rotondo (Foggia) for the Youth Ministry Conference.
(ANS – Rome) – The local Romei 25 APS association, founded at the beginning of 2024 and affiliated with the TGS - Youth and Social Tourism, proposes, in collaboration with TGS Nazionale and CNOS FAP Lazio, a first cycle of professional formation from September to November to create a community of companions capable of offering outdoor educative and pastoral paths in Salesian style, forming young university students to become Cultural Animators of pilgrim groups.
(ANS – Locorotondo) – On 30 August 2024, 126 years after the birth of the Venerable Francesco Convertini, a Salesian missionary in Bengal, and 50 years after his last trip to Italy, the Church and civil communities of Locorotondo and Cisternino, led by Mayors Dr. Antonio Bufano and Dr. Lorenzo Perrini respectively, and by parish priests Fr Stefano Bruno and Fr Giancarlo Lacarbonara, gathered to experience the 9th Torchlight procession of Peace.
(ANS – Mestre) – The start of the year 2024-25 took place at the Don Bosco Institute in Mestre on Tuesday 3 September for school teachers and formators at Vocational Training Centres in the Province of North-East Italy (INE). It involved the participation of 750 people, including about 70 new recruits, from 16 Salesian institutes in north-east Italy.
Rimini, Italy – September 2024 - A meeting of Salesian Cooperators (ASC) from the Middle East who have been resident in Europe for years (Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) took place in Rimini from 30 August to 1 September. The event was led by Antonio Boccia, World ASC Coordinator, Italo Canaletti, Head of ASC for Italy, the Middle East and Malta, and Fr Aisen Barbar, SDB. The programme included spiritual themes, formation, sharing, as well as moments of preparation and pentiential rite, prayers and masses. The concept of the identity of the Salesian Cooperator in today's world was explored and issues related to the group of Salesian Cooperators of the Middle East in Europe were discussed, with an exchange of ideas to strengthen the group spiritually, operationally and organizationally. There were also cultural moments, sharing of spiritual experiences, and planning of future meetings.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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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
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – On-Line Course on Integral Ecology 2025: An Initiative of the Alliance for the Care of Our Common Home (Pontifical Universities & Atheneums of Rome)(ANS – Rome) – 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical letter on the Care for Our Common Home, in which he invited all people of good to “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet” (Laudato Si’, 14). However, as Pope Francis recognizes in Laudate Deum, the apostolic exhortation published on 4th October 2023, “our responses have not been adequate” and “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.” (Laudate Deum, 2).
SPECIAL REPORTS
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RMG - St. Francis de Sales Communicator: All for Love(ANS – Rome) - The figure of St. Francis de Sales, chosen by Don Bosco as an example of a communicator, teaches that communication is a matter of the heart. In his expression, "Everything in the Church is love: everything lives in love, for love, and of love," we understand his revolution in the way of communicating, and how communication becomes fruitful when it allows communion and the exchange of one's experiences in a path of accompaniment and collaboration in God's project.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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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."