Rome, Italy - December 2018 – On Sunday, 9 December, 2018, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, received the Presidency of the Italian Federation of Past Pupils – male and female sectors – for the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings. At the Salesian HQ of the "Sacred Heart", the Rector Major invited the Past Pupils of Italy to take advantage of the education received, to bear witness in the places where daily work is carried out. "Dreaming and thinking," first of all, he added. Present at the meeting, in addition to the National Delegate, Fr Gianni Russo, was the Confederal Delegate, Fr Raphael Jayapalan. The Past Pupils were led by the National President, Giovanni Costanza.
(ANS - Catania) – In 2017, according to the Atlas of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors (MSNA) of the NGO "Save the Children", more than 17 thousand minors arrived in Italy, of which 15,779 minors without any chaperone - practically, 90%. To these must be added the MSNAs that are not intercepted: this is about 5,000 "invisible" children, who every day risk being involved in criminal activities or sexual exploitation.
San Donato Milanese, Italy - 02 December 2018 - On 2 December the Salesian Cooperators were hosted by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in their school of San Donato Milanese in "Metanopoli". The event was dedicated to families wishing to have a moment of meeting and discussion with other families, through a day of sharing, where everyone could find their space, both for a formative moment and for a moment of leisure, and where parents and children had the opportunity to meet and be together in harmony. Animating the meeting were Fr Davide Perego, delegate of the SSCC of the Center of Arese, and Sr. Elena Cavaliere, provincial and regional delegate of the association.
(ANS - Rome) - Over 400 teenagers took part in the project "Urban Re-GenerAction: young ideas in the urban banlieues. Experiences of active and supportive citizenship for / with the new generations." Started in July 2017, and nearing its conclusion, the project has seen the participation of 16 branches of "Salesians for Social - SCS / CNOS Federation", "Youth and Social Tourism" (TGS) and "Cinecircoli Giovanili Socioculturali" (CGS), i.e., socio-cultural youth cineclubs.
(ANS - Castelnuovo Don Bosco) - From Nigeria to Northern Belgium: this is the journey undertaken by the young Salesian Lawrence Okoli, 26, accepting the challenge of being a missionary ad gentes, ad estra, ad vitam. Starting with the 149th Salesian Missionary Expedition, he speaks today of what it means for him to be a missionary.
(ANS - Turin) - Starting yesterday, Monday, December 3, the so-called "rooms of Don Bosco" in Turin, that is the rooms in which Saint Giovanni Bosco lived near Valdocco, are closed for restoration. The work shall last at least for the whole of 2019: the intention is to proceed with a complete reorganization of the Pinardi House, in view of the General Chapter 28, to be celebrated in Valdocco from February 16th to April 4th 2020.
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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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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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."