(ANS – Messina) – The Salesian San Tommaso Theological Institute in Messina and the School of Specialisation in Bioethics and Sexology continue their formation and academic work. The new 2023-2024 academic year was opened on Friday, 24 November 2023, at 4 pm. The solemn academic event was held in the Don Conti great hall at the Theological Institute.
(ANS – Capriglio) – A Mass in memory of the Venerable Margaret Occhiena, St Jon Bosco's mother, was celebrated on the anniversary of her entry into eternal life, Saturday, 25 November, at 8:30 pm, at the parish of San Martino in Capriglio. Margaret Occhiena, generally known as Mamma Margaret, died in Turin at the Oratory in Valdocco on 25 November 1856, and was declared Venerable on 23 October 2006.
Rome, Italy - November 2023 - The TGS Experience formation weekend - "#SULLASTRADADEISOGOGNI", promoted by the national Youth and Social Tourism APS association took place from 10 to 12 November at the Centro Nazionale Opere Salesiane in Rome. The event was attended by TGS young people coming from different parts of Italy. The first part of the formation workshop on how to "build a journey, an itinerary" took place on the first day. Each group will be able to take this experiene and transfer to its local area to propose/activate new initiatives and proposals. On Saturday there was a visit to institutional and historical sites, followed by a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and a guided tour of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Don Bosco’s rooms, with Mass. On Sunday, Fr Elio Cesari, SDB, President of the National Salesian Works Centre, presented the Pastoral Proposal 2023/2024, entitled: "You see further than I do. Signposts to return to dreaming #sullastradadeisogni (on the road of dreams)". The second and final part of the workshop provided for the construction, by working groups, of a possible "itinerary" with specific information to test the participants in the organisation of formation/sightseeing routes, tourist initiatives under the banner of knowledge, and environmental appreciation of the territory in the context of formation activities.
(ANS - Rome) – According to data released by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), in Italy in 2022 13.4% of minors were in absolute poverty, equal to 1,235,325 children and adolescents (people under 18 years of age), with a percentage increase of almost one point compared to the similar figure of the previous year, when this value had reached 12.6% of the total number of minors. In addition, again looking at 2022, we must add that 23.5% of children are in a condition of relative poverty, that is, another 2,166,429 children and adolescents.
Turin, Italy - November 2023 - Hundreds of young people from the various Salesian places around the Piedmont and Aosta Valley Special Circumscription (ICP) gathered in Valdocco on 19 November to take part in the "SYM DAY". The event was attended by a special guest, Fr Claudio Burgio. In his speech, he explained to the young people present that "There are no bad boys", offering his testimony as Chaplain of the Beccariac juvenile prison in Milan and founder of the Kayros Shelter Community. Fr Burgio met the young people first all together in a packed Teatro Grande Valdocco, then in groups divided into two and three years, with the opportunity to ask some questions. This was followed by time for confessions. After lunch and time for play, the day ended with the Eucharistic celebration all together in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians.
Salesianipiemonte.info
Turin, Italy – November 2023 – The "Le Valdocco" Association, founded 30 years ago in Argenteuil and now to be found in seven large French cities, held its first National Days in Valdocco, Turin, on 6 and 7 November. About 80 collaborators from the "Le Valdocco" institutes in Lille, Val d'Oise, Saint-Dizier, Lyon, Marseille and Nice met in Valdocco for two days of formation and to visit the most significant places, such as the Casa Don Bosco Museum and the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. It was an opportunity to meet and, as explained by Nicole Maillard, President of the Association, to live together and rediscover the roots of Salesian pedagogy.
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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India – INS youth solemnise Don Bosco’s Feast Day with ‘Ka Sur Kynud S-3’ Grand Finale(ANS – Shillong) – The Youth of St John Paul II, Shillong Province, celebrated the Feast Day of St. John Bosco with the Grand Finale of “Ka Sur Kynud, Season 3.” Organised by Don Bosco Media Network Television, the Social Communication Department of the Province, at Don Bosco Youth Centre, Laitumkhrah, Shillong, this two-month-long singing competition, which imitates the global singing competition The Voice, concluded on 31 January 2025, coinciding with the Solemnity of St John Bosco.
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."