Rome, Italy - April 2019 - On 30 April, in the Don Rua hall of the Salesian Central Office, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, received the Salesian novices of the Salesian Novitiates of Italy, Pinerolo and Genzano, and the prenovices of the Italian Salesian provinces. Also present was Fr Ivo Coelho, General Councilor for Formation.
(ANS - Córdoba) – The Salesian Constitutions express the responsibilities of the Salesians of Don Bosco. "Everyone - brothers and priests - is responsible for the common mission, and participates in it with the richness of his gifts and the lay and priestly characteristic of the one Salesian vocation." On this day, when the institution of the Eucharist is celebrated and the priests are remembered, the mystery and service of this vocation cannot be forgotten. For Giovannino Bosco, the priests of his time were sometimes indifferent and distant, too busy and important to devote time to children. This is why he said to himself: "If I were a priest, how I would like to approach children, talk to them and help them! I would feel very good if I could converse with my parish priest."
(ANS - Rome) - On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major, sent his greetings and a message to ADMA members and to all the members of the Salesian Family, highlighting the value of the Eucharist and entrustment to the Help of Christians in Salesian spirituality.
(ANS - Rome) - "The undersigned humbly exposes to your Most Reverend Excellency that for the sole desire of promoting the glory of God and the good of souls a pious union of the faithful should be started under the name of Association of the Mary Help of Christians in the Church of Mary Help of Christians which thou consecrated a year ago; its main purpose would be to promote veneration of the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to Mary Auxilium Christianorum: a title that seems to return with vivid pleasure to the august Queen of Heaven."
Rome, Italy - April 14, 2019 - In the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, presided over the celebration of Palm Sunday, concelebrated by his Vicar, Fr Francesco Cereda, several members of the General Council and by Fr Stefano Aspettati, Provincial of the Salesian Circumscription of Central Italy (ICC).
In January we celebrated the Salesian Family Spirituality Days with people from 28 nations. These are formation days for the entire Family that have been held for the last 37 years; they become more significant each time. Just as was the case last year, the Days took place in Valdocco, in Turin, i.e., in our Salesian holy places. These are sites filled with the Holy Spirit, where everything speaks to us and reminds us of Don Bosco and the charism which he received from that same Spirit in behalf of the boys and girls, teenagers, and young adults of our world.
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.