Rome, Italy - June 9, 2017 - Chaired by the Rector Major, Don Ángel Fernández Artime, the Plenary Session of the General Council began on 5 June. On the agenda: appointment of 9 new Provincials, reports of Extraordinary Visits, study and analysis of various issues pertaining to the Salesian Congregation, accompaniment of the new Provincials participating in the training course, Spiritual Exercises, and the Joint Meeting with the General Council of Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. The plenary session of the General Council ends 27 July.
(ANS - Rome) - On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of the five young oratorians of Poznań - which took place in Dresden on 24 August 1942 - and as we approach the 18th anniversary of their beatification - celebrated by Pope John Paul II in Warsaw on 13 June 1999 - the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, travels to Poznań to commemorate the martyrs and their testimony.
(ANS - Rome) - In the course of the summer plenary session of the General Council, the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, with the consent of his Council, appointed the Provincials of two Provinces of the Mediterranean region: Fr Giuliano Giacomazzi, for Italy Lombardo-Emiliana (ILE), and Fr José Aníbal Milhais Pinto Mendonça, for Portugal (POR), as well as Fr Timothy Zak for East United States Province (SUE).
(ANS - Rome) - He has been President of Caritas Europa for nearly 3 years, bishop of Gent (Belgium) for more than 13 years, and a priest for over 46; and yet, had it not been for an unexpected visit from a distant missionary granduncle based in China, who knows what the life path of Mgr. Luc Van Looy, SDB, might have been. Years later, the Salesian Bishop, former vicar of the Rector Major between 1996 and 2003, looks back on his life to see "the silent guidance of God", and he has collected the results of this research in a book-interview he presented to the Rector Major.
(ANS - Rome) - The Superiors of seven Salesian Vice-Provinces and Provinces from 4 Regions (Africa-Madagascar, East Asia-Oceania, South Asia and Interamerica) are heading to the General Salesian House in Rome in the next few days for the usual training course reserved for newly-appointed Provincials. Attending the meeting, from 11 to 24 June: Don Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major, members of the General Council, with the teams of various Dicasteres and Salesians responsible for a number of sectors.
(ANS - Rome) - We are now getting used to the fact that in the process preceding the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops not only are the working paper for classroom discussion included, but also a questionnaire that anticipates what the issues on the agenda might be. In this way, one might have the wealth of an ecclesial participation that is greater when compared to only the opinion of the priests and guests of the Synod.
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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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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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.