(ANS - Verona) – San Zeno, the Salesian graphic design and printing school, celebrated its 50 years this 2017. In its fifty years, it has trained thousands of young people, offering students education and employment prospects, and skilled and serious workers to companies.
(ANS - Turin) – Of late, the crypt of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin has become the shrine and burial site of the most important figures of the Congregation's history. Starting Sunday, December 17, the "Salesian pantheon" has opened to the public to foster the memory and prayer for the past Rector Majors who continued the dream of Don Bosco with fidelity and commitment.
(ANS - Turin) - To best celebrate the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, scheduled 9 June 2018, the Special Circumscription of Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta (ICP) has launched an initiative of unity, fraternity and spirituality in solidarity at the Congregation-wide level: for each single Province, a specific day of prayer will be offered. For this reason, every Province is urged to send a candle to Valdocco; the candle will be lit before the painting of Mary Help of Christians. Below is the message of Fr Guido Errico, director at Mother Mary Help of Christians.
Turin, Italy - December 2017 - Salesian Alessandro Botalla was ordained deacon on Sunday 10 December in the church of Mary Help of Christians of the International Don Bosco Institute in Turin. At the celebration, among others, Msgr. Guido Fiandino, auxiliary bishop emeritus of Turin and parish priest of the parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Grace.
Catania, Italy - 7 December 2017 - Salesians at La Salette in Catania celebrated their 70 years in the working class district of San Cristoforo. They arrived in 1947, after the end of the war, and gave priority to assisting the many young people who lived alone on the city streets, abandoned to themselves, exposed to all sorts of danger. Since then, the apostolate towards the weakest of youths has been lived with faith and perseverance; it now celebrates 70 years with the testimony of five Salesians who described the first steps, the school, the courtyard and reception, the life of the groups involved in formation, the associations, the importance of evangelization and of catechesis – all within a Salesian mission on the outskirts of a city.
Rome, Italy - December 2017 - The directors of 9 Salesian Mission Offices of USA and Europe, accompanied by the General Councilor for Missions, Fr Guillermo Basañes, and the General Economer, Mr Jean-Paul Muller, gathered at the Salesian Pontifical University from 7 to 10 December. Reflection focused on the identity and role of the Mission Offices of the Congregation, strengthening collaboration among them and improving the connection with Salesian Non-Governmental Organizations and Provincial Planning and Development Offices. It was also an opportunity to study the challenges faced by the Congregation in fundraising, and to find answers to the rapid socio-economic and political changes facing donors and supporters of Salesian work.
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."