Genzano di Roma, Italy - November 2017 - From 9 to 12 November, the Regional Meeting of Delegates for the Salesian Family (SF) took place. Convened by the Provincial delegates for SF together with Salesians working with SF groups, the meeting was attended by 26 Salesians from Italy, Portugal and Spain, alongside members of the Secretariat of the Salesian Family. Fr Eusebio Muñoz, Delegate of the Rector Major for SF, conducted the meeting focused on the reality of the Salesian Family in the world, deepening the figure of the SF delegate, strengthening the SF's work in the Region and the Province, reflecting on the current state of the SF.
Grottaferrata, Italy - October 29, 2017 - At the end of October, the project "Oratorio on the road" was launched in the pastoral unit of Grottaferrata, near Rome, which aims to raise children in the style of Don Bosco. The initiative was launched by several Salesian Cooperators of the “Sacro Cuore” parish, one of three constituting the pastoral unit which until the 1960s was a Salesian parish; now diocesan, it has maintained the charism.
Turin, Italy - 1910 - In 1852 Don Bosco began hosting many poor and abandoned boys and felt the need to create and offer laboratories for their formation. Thus, in 1853, he started his first footwear and tailoring workshop.
(ANS - Rome) - Today, November 2, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, Pope Francis celebrates Mass for those fallen in all wars at the American Cemetery of Nettuno, and then visits the Shrine of the Fosse Ardeatine for a prayer for the victims of the 24 March, 1944, massacre. A massacre of which the Salesians were the first, horrified witnesses.
(ANS - Rome) – "The Race of Saints" enjoyed a record 10th edition. First, the number of registered participants, up this year, exceeded 7,500 runners in the three different classes - 10 km for professional athletes; 10 and 3 km for amateurs. But also for the increased and growing attention the event has received from athletes, press and media, and the world of solidarity. An event that, as the Pope said after the Angelus, succeeds in offering "a dimension that is a popular celebration to the religious celebration of All Saints," and "combines the joy of sport with support for the less fortunate."
Rome, Italy – October 2017 - From 22 to 25 October, the XV Congress of the World Organization of Former Students of Catholic Schools (OMAEC) met on the theme "People and Values to Transform Society" for what was the 50th anniversary of its foundation. Founded in 1967 at the invitation of Paul VI, the OMAEC brings together the world confederations of Past Pupils of various congregations, continental unions and associations, and the national federations of the past pupils of the Catholic schools of four continents. SDB and FMA alumni were among the OMAEC's founding members. Among the participants, Angel Gudiña, GEX Vice President, and 15 SDB and FMA past pupils.
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."