(ANS – Rome) – The final plenary session of the General Council before the 29th General Chapter of the Salesian Congregation began on Monday, 2 December 2024, at the Salesian Headquarters at Sacred Heart in Rome. Presided over by Fr Stefano Martoglio, Vicar of the Rector Major (Article 143 of the SDB Constitutions ), the session will conclude after the Christmas break, on 24 January 2025, the feast of Saint Francis de Sales. There will be discussion of all the main issues of animation and governance of the Congregation at a general level.
(ANS – Rome) – Near the opening of the Holy Year, on 24 December 2024, the Salesian San Callisto Community in Rome, responsible for the catacomb complex of the same name, invites the entire world Salesian Family to visit, the Catacombs of San Callisto during the Jubilee Year, a unique treasure chest of hope entrusted to the Congregation.
(ANS – Rome) – The work for Salesian Missionary Volunteering is going on in all Provinces. Guided by the SMV Advisory Team, two meetings were held on-line, one in Spanish and the other one in English, on 25 and 28 November. Around 35 people participated from all over the world: Salesians, lay SMV coordinators, young volunteers and SMV Advisory Team members.
(ANS – Rome) – As part of the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition to be held in 2025, the small group of the Preparatory Team - composed of Fr Pavel Ženíšek, SDB, and Marco Fulgaro, from the Missions Sector, Fr Francesco De Ruvo, SDB, from the Sacred Heart Circumscription of Central Italy, and Fr Marco Cazzato, SDB, from the Piedmont and Valle d 'Aosta Special Circumscription (ICP) - met at the Sacred Heart Headquarters, together with the General Councillor for the Missions, Fr Alfred Maravilla.
(ANS – Rome) – On 25 and 27 November 2024, the first online meeting was held for Leaders and Promoters of the Causes of Beatification and Canonisation belonging to the Salesian Family. Coordinated by Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, Postulator General, it was attended by more than 40 people representing the various Causes scattered around the world.
(ANS - Rome) - The particular Churches, starting from the next Jubilee of 2025, are invited to remember and honour the saints who have characterised the Christian journey and local spirituality every year on 9 November, the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. With the Holy Father's Letter dated 9 November 2024, the Pope urges the particular Churches to remember their Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and Servants of God, as examples and intercessors who have responded to the universal call to holiness.
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."