(ANS - Rome) - Today, 17 October, we celebrate World Day for the Eradication of Poverty. On much of the media the tone is depressing, though sadly true: "In the world there are 836 million people who live in extreme poverty ... there are a billion people who do not eat every day, millions of people who lack access to health care or education. Children are exploited ... and yet,” says Ana Muñoz, "we do not want to forget the message that education is one of the keys to escape from poverty, as the Salesians have been demonstrating for over 140 years."
(ANS - Rome) - The Rector Major’s autumn programme continues apace. From Monday until Friday he will be busy with the General Council in the intermediate session. Then he will spend the weekend visiting Moscow and encouraging the Salesians and the Salesian Family there.
RMG - Meeting with the Provincials halfway through their term of office: the Rector Major’s reaction
(ANS - Rome) - "The goal we set ourselves was achieved perfectly." This was the Rector Major’s positive evaluation of the meeting with the Provincials who were halfway through their term of office. Here is how Fr Ángel Fernández Artime described this new initiative:
(ANS – Rome) - "I appeal to the conscience of those responsible for the bombing, they will have to give an account before God!" Pope Francis thundered last Wednesday talking about Aleppo. "When the young people leave, it is like a further bombardment. A society and a church without young people are a society and a church stricken at the heart,” added Archbishop Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Syria, during a symposium in Rome yesterday. The Pope's voice and the voice of his representative in the country remind the world once again of the scandal of a war that, after more than five years, continues without any serious international will to end it.
(ANS - Rome) - There are great expectations in the small but zealous Salesian community in Romania and Moldova for the arrival of the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, scheduled for tomorrow, 30 September. His visit marks the 20th anniversary of the coming of the Salesians to these lands and will be an opportunity for the Rector Major to encourage this pioneering presence on the margins of Europe.
(ANS – Rome) – On the first anniversary of the acceptance by the United Nations of the Sustainable Development Agenda till 2030, Don Bosco Network is launching A Salesian Response to the 2030 Agenda, emphasizing the commitment of Don Bosco organizations to the advancement of “poor and abandoned youth”.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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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
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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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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."