(ANS – Rome) – Don Bosco was a great lover of Our Lady and the "thread" of her strong and discreet presence as a mother, teacher and helper, never failed for each of her children. It is therefore not surprising that so much Salesian holiness is also interwoven with very deep bonds with Mary: every Servant of God, every Blessed and Saint of the Salesian Family has a special, sometimes all-encompassing bond with her, as it was for Fr Silvio Galli, SDB, or Sister Antonietta Böhm, FMA. This 2024 is also marked by two anniversaries directly connected to some figures of Salesian holiness: those of the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Raknovik, Ljubljana, consecrated on 8 September 1924, and that of the arrival in 1924 of the Salesians at the national Marian Shrine in Šaštín, Slovakia, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows.
(ANS – Rome) – With just over two weeks to go until the Extraordinary World Assembly of Past Pupils, scheduled for 2-6 October at the Salesian Mother House in Valdocco, Turin the World Delegate for the Past Pupils of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Salesian Brother Dominic Duc Nam Nguyen, has sent them a brief video-message.
(ANS – Rome) – At the end of the International “Shaping Tomorrow” Communication Conference (Rome, 1-7 August 2024), the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, publicly presented his most recent two literary works, both dedicated to Don Bosco and motivated by the bicentenary of the latter’s famous Dream at Nine Years of Age. They are As seeing him who is invisible and Parallels 15 and 20. Today he shows us in detail the meaning and perspectives of the two books.
(ANS – Rome) – Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime conducted the funeral, on Thursday 12 September 2024 at the Salesian Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, of Fr Alain Anne Robert Pinet, a 65-year-old Belgian Salesian, with 44 years of religious profession and 34 years of priesthood. The Salesian, who died after a long illness on the evening of Tuesday 10th, had resided in the Salesian Headquarters community for just over a year, and had arrived there in order to be cured, after many years of missionary life in the Salesian presences of the Chinese Province.
(ANS – Rome) – The 29th General Chapter (GC29) Pre-Chapter Juridical Commission (GC29) met in Rom from 1 to 10 September 2024. The Chapter is scheduled in Valdocco, Turin from 16 February to 12 April 2025, based on the theme "Passionate about Jesus Christ, dedicated to young people". Involved in the Commission are the Secretary of the General Council, Fr Guido Garino,; Fr Giorgio Degiorgi (Piedmont and Valle d 'Aosta Special Circumscription – ICP); Fr Kevin Mwandha (Pontifical Salesian University – UPS Vice-Province); Fr Arockiam Stalin Dhanaraj (Chennai Province India – INM); and Fr David Albornoz Pavisic (Province of Chile – CIL). The work was coordinated by the Procurator General of the Salesian Congregation, Fr Pier Fausto Frisoli.
(ANS – Rome) - The International Salesian Commission for Artificial Intelligence (ISCAI) held its second virtual meeting on 5 September 2024, following its inaugural session in May. Fourteen members make up the panel, twelve of whom were present. The meeting was chaired by Fr Gildasio Mendes, General Councillor for Social Communication.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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."