(ANS – Rome) – In November 2023, three different meetings were held at the congregational level in preparation for the worldwide meeting for those involved in SMV. These meetings brought together participants from various regions to discuss the challenges and expectations related to volunteerism in preparation to the Salesian Missionary Volunteer Meeting in March 2024. The meeting aimed to create a network, foster collaboration, and analyze training opportunities for volunteer coordinators.
(ANS – Rome) – Today, Thursday 30 November, the "COP28" (28th Conference of the Parties) begins in Dubai, in the UAE, which will last until 12 December: an important climate conference attended by representatives from over 190 countries of the world and 200 private companies and civil society organisations. For the occasion, the Sector for Youth Ministry of the Salesian Congregation and "Don Bosco International" (DBI), the body that represents the Salesians of Don Bosco at the institutions of the European Union, join the prayers of Pope Francis so that this meeting is not only an event, but produces important commitments with lasting and sustainable effects for the planet and for all humanity. In addition, they also invite you to pray for the Holy Father who, for health reasons, will not be able to attend the meeting in person, as initially planned.
(ANS – Rome) – For the Christmas greetings 2023 and New Year 2024 by Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, a large detail of a painting by the painter Giuseppe Rollini (1842-1909) depicting the Archangel Gabriel was chosen.
(ANS – Rome) – Ecology and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. The loss of spirituality is also reflected in ecological degradation. There is, in fact, a 'desacralisation' of creation. And in the face of such a great desacralisation of the planet, the universe and the soul, which is at the root of the great ecological outrage, only the recovery of a sense of the sacred can enable us to care for the planet, our common home.
(ANS - Rome) - The sixth video in the series "It's time for Chapter 28", in which Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, illustrates the sixth Programmatic Line delivered after the 28th General Chapter: "TOGETHER WITH THE LAY PEOPLE IN THE MISSION AND FORMATION. The charismatic strength offered to us by the laity and the Salesian Family".
(ANS – Rome) – On 25 November, the day of her birth into Heaven, the Salesian Family around the world remembers the figure of Margaret Occhiena, "Mamma Margaret", as hundreds of children called her when she helped her son Don Bosco at the time of the first Oratory at Valdocco. Declared Venerable by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, the mother of the founder of the Salesians was, without knowing it, the first cooperator in the educational work of the Salesians, who recognise that the Congregation was born also through her accompaniment and thanks to her contribution to the Preventive System.
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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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
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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."