(ANS - Rome) - "In the name of the Supreme Pontiff Francis and by the authority granted to me by him, I declare the academic year 2022/2023, the eighty-third since the foundation of the University, open." With these words, last Wednesday, Oct. 19, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesian Congregation and Grand Chancellor of the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS), sanctioned the official start of the new year's activities.
Messina, Italy - October 2022 - The first edition of the University Diploma in Liturgical Catechesis: art, sacred music and religious tourism, in collaboration with the Center for Religious Pedagogy "G. Cravotta" and the magazine Catechesi, begins today, October 21, at the Theological Institute "St. Thomas" of Messina - aggregated to the Faculty of Theology of the Salesian Pontifical University of Rome. More than fifty participants, from various parts of Sicily and the world, begin a journey on the via pulchritudinis that is illuminated by the wonder of the formative dimension of art, music and pilgrimage to the places of life. A kind of via lucis that combines the rigor of the academic dimension with the pastoral interest in the outreaching, outgoing Church, which indeed in the Sicilian context and in favor of the local Churches can fully express its meaning and specificity. The course is also open to those without the entry requirements and is proposed with its Summer Schools planned for next summer as a study-holiday for all animators, catechists and parish workers. The Rector of the course is Fr. Antonino Romano and there are more than 30 teachers, including professors from pontifical and state universities, as well as artists and music teachers, such as Maestro Mons. Giuseppe Liberto, former Director of the Pontifical Sistine Musical Chapel, and Fr. Giuseppe Costa, former Director of the Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican Publishing House, and Co-Director of the Salesian Congregation, among others.
Turin, Italy-October 2022-The Rectors of the 70 Salesian schools in France, French-speaking Belgium and Tunisia met in Turin and Mornese, October 4-7, for their annual seminar, on the theme "Educational Passion: an engine for boldness." Accompanying them were Fr. Daniel Federspiel, Provincial Superior of the Salesian Province France-Southern Belgium (FRB), and Sister Marie-Agnès Chetcuti, FMA Provincial. CNOS-FAP, Centro Nazionale Opere Salesiane-Formazione e Aggiornamento Professionale (Italy's National Center for Salesian Works, Formation, Continuing Education), took an active part in the working sessions. The seminar coincided with the launch of the Salesian consortium "Campus Don Bosco on the Move.
(ANS – Rome) – 20 October 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Servant of God Mother Rosetta Marchese (1922-1984), Superior General of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, 6th Successor of Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello. On the same day, (5 pm, UTC+2) to remember her, a Round Table has been organized, entitled: "Mother Rosetta Marchese: from the heights of the Aosta Valley to the heights of Holiness." It shall also be streamed live.
(ANS - Boretto) - On Sunday, October 16, 2022, the city of Boretto experienced a historic day celebrating thanksgiving for the canonization of fellow citizen Artemide Zatti.
(ANS - Palermo) - "Salesian pedagogy today is in itself, and wants to be everywhere, a pedagogy that prepares and enriches for life." This was affirmed by Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, in his lectio magistralis entitled "La pedagogia salesiana tra attualità e futuro, Salesian pedagogy – present and future" elaborated on the occasion of the conferment of the degree honoris causa in Pedagogical Sciences received from the University of Palermo last Thursday, Oct. 13.
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 SERVANTSTHE 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.