Venice – Mestre, Italy – June 2024 - The Faith and Culture Project has involved about a hundred teachers from Salesian schools in Triveneto this year, divided into three separate events: 20 June for primary school teachers; 26 June for vocational school trainers and 27 June for secondary school teachers. Fr Emanuele Zof, Delegate for Youth Ministry in the Salesian Province of Italy-North-East (INE), summed up the project and illustrated the meaning of the work carried out. He reminded those present that the project started a year ago and has already seen a meeting in September, followed by constant work at the local level. A formation moment was then followed by Fr Lorenzo Teston, School Delegate, who delved into the current cultural context, strongly influenced by digital and Artificial Intelligence, and used concrete examples of school life to reiterate the importance of educating for truth and freedom. Each Salesian work then recounted its local project carried out during the year, providing ideas for reflection and sharing. The participants were divided into mixed groups for a review of the projects, allowing an exchange of ideas and suggestions between different educational realities. Finally, space was given to the review for houses, encouraging discussion among colleagues from the same institution to take stock of the situation and relaunch the project next school year. The Faith and Culture Project is an important tool for professional and spiritual growth for teachers in Salesian schools in Triveneto.
Turin, Italy - 1950s - Immortalised in this shot, dating back to the early 1950s, is a moment of study and formation at the Don Bosco International Institute of Turin - Crocetta. The study centres founded in Turin for the formation of Salesians, such as the one in Crocetta, gradually developed into a cultural focal point that moved to Rome in 1965, to its new headquarters in the Nuovo Salario district. This image, together with other valuable historical photographs, is available on the website of the Pontifical Salesian University.
(ANS – Naples) – Adrenaline, joys, fears, expectations, worries, hopes, questions, anxieties, fun, sharing, silence, listening, prayer: these are just some of the emotions and feelings experienced during the last weekend of June 2024 in Naples, on the occasion of the “opening weekend” for the boys and girls from Salesian educational settings who for several months have prepared for a summer experience of service under the banner of Salesian Missionary Volunteering.
(ANS - Rome) - The communications office of the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) announced that on Monday, 24 June 2024, Card. Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesian Society of St John Bosco, in his capacity as Grand Chancellor of the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS), appointed Prof. Fr. Kevin Otieno Mwandha, Vice-Rector of UPS for the next three-year period 2024-2027, starting from 3 August.
Trieste, Italy - July 2024 - The 50th edition of the Social Weeks of Catholics in Italy is underway in Trieste. "Salesiani per il sociale APS" is among the official exhibitors of the national event and until Sunday 7 July is present at the event with a pavilion set up in the central Piazza Sant'Antonio, inside the "Village of good practices". The aim is to let visitors discover the projects and activities that ‘Salesiani per il Sociale APS’ carries out in Italy to protect the minors most at risk of marginalization. The Social Week is a periodic appointment, where Catholics active in Italy in all spheres of society meet to compare their experiences, share their perspectives and coordinate their activities, launching common actions and proposals for change for the future of the country.
(ANS – Locorotondo) – The Francesco Convertini bicycle path was inaugurated on the morning of Saturday 29 June 2024, on the 89th anniversary of the ordination of the Venerable Fr Francesco Convertini, SDB, in Piazza Antonio Mitrano in Locorotondo (Bari), in the presence of the Mayor, Dr Antonio Bufano, of the Municipal Councillor, Dr Mariangela Convertini, and several other councillors and municipal councillors. The path crosses the countryside of Locorotondo and ends in Contrada Papariello, where the Venerable was born on 29 August 1898.
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."