(ANS - Rome) - The 24th Permanent Formation Course for Missionary Pastoral Care concluded on December 8, 2022. If at the beginning of the three months of study the participants had questions, doubts, and perplexities, at the end the rereading of everything they experienced led them to thank the Lord and all those who contributed to this course’s success.
(ANS - Turin) - "In almost nine years, much of it spent traveling around the world, visiting missions, I have been able to touch with my own hands the tremendous good that our confreres do, together with the whole Church and so many people of goodwill. I say this without triumphalism: I believe that today we are a serene congregation that can look to the future with hope." Thus Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, describes, in a few but very clear lines, the present of the religious family that collects and continues Don Bosco's legacy.
(ANS - Turin) - A time of knowledge, in-depth study, but also of wonder and surprise: for the 30 journalists accredited at the Vatican Press Office and the Italian Foreign Press, the "press tour" on the steps of Don Bosco organized by Fr. Giuseppe Costa, Co-spokesperson of the Salesian Congregation, was an experience rich in discoveries and opportunities to admire up close the beauty, significance and perennial relevance of the Salesian charism, starting from the knowledge of its founder.
(ANS - Turin) - Today, 16 December 2022, in Turin-Valdocco, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major of the Salesians, met early in the afternoon, all the journalists who took part in the “Press Tour” organized by Fr Giuseppe Costa, the Co-spokesperson of the Salesian Congregation. It was a very enriching moment of dialogue and confrontation between the group of 30 journalists accredited to the Vatican Press Office and the Italian Foreign Press. The Rector Major during this occasion illustrated to them the current reality of the Salesian Congregation and answered all their questions with frankness and openness.
(ANS - Rome) - The Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, in the framework of the General Council meeting, and with the consent of the other members of the Council, has appointed Fr. Gianpaolo Roma as the new Superior of the "Don Michele Rua" Province of Southern Italy (IME), for the 2023-2029 term.
Italy - December 2022 - From its origins, St. John Bosco conceived the Association of Salesian Cooperators open to lay people as well as secular clergy. Even today, the Association of Salesian Cooperators counts, among its members, members of the diocesan clergy; presbyters and deacons who, in the exercise of their ministry, are inspired by Don Bosco's pastoral charity, bringing everywhere the commitment to educate and evangelize, with privileged attention to young people. Thus, last December 13, the ASSCC World Council promoted and organized a first online meeting of these members to cultivate and grow a sense of belonging and family spirit. The World Coordinator, Antonio Boccia, the SDB World Delegate, Mr. Duc Nam Nguyen, the FMA World Delegate, Sister Lucrecia Uribe, and some World Councilors attended. The meeting included a brief communication by the Coordinator, a quick passage introducing all those present, a beautiful moment of prayer led by the FMA World Delegate, and then concluded with the agreement for a new meeting set for next spring. A simple but meaningful meeting. "We can say that a seed was sown that, as it grows, will be able to better enhance the presence of this diocesan presbyter and deacon members in the Association," commented the Councilor for Italy, Middle East and Malta Region of the SSCC, Carlo Pellegrino.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG - Preparation, objectives, challenges and perspectives of GC29: in dialogue with the Moderator, Fr Alphonse Owoudou
(ANS - RMG) - Just a few days before the beginning of the 29th General Chapter (GC29) of the Salesian Congregation, Fr Alphonse Owoudou, Councillor for the Africa-Madagascar Region and Moderator of GC29, recounts in detail, through an articulate interview, the work preceding and underlying this responsibility, indicating the spirit that will animate it and the attitudes and conditions to make it truly a Cenacle in which the Holy Spirit can act, for the benefit of the Congregation, the Salesian mission and the youth of the world.
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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Spain – 33rd Edition of the Edebé Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature: Here Are the Winners
(ANS – Madrid) – The 33rd edition of the Edebé Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature has been awarded to Beatriz Giménez de Ory (Madrid, 1972) for her novel Tres niños tristes y medio unicornio (Three Sad Children and Half a Unicorn) and David Lozano (Zaragoza, 1974) for his novel La cacería (The Hunt).
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – CATHOLIC WORLD DAY OF THE SICK: Salesian Missions highlights medical programs for people in need around the globe
(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins Catholic organizations around the globe in honoring the Catholic World Day of the Sick. Every year on Feb. 11, the Pope marks the day with a special message calling for spiritual and physical closeness to all those who are ill. Saint John Paul II instituted the day “to encourage the people of God, Catholic health institutions and civil society to be increasingly attentive to the sick and to those who care for them.”
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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GOOD, FAITHFUL, AND COURAGEOUS SERVANTS
THE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Stefano Martoglio, SDB
During this Jubilee year, in this difficult world, we are invited to rise up, set out again, and, in newness of life, make our journey as human beings and believers.