(ANS - Rome) - Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, marks the centenary of the birth of Vera Grita, born in Rome on Jan. 28, 1923, the second child of Amleto, a photographer by profession for generations, and Maria Anna Zacco della Pirrera, of noble origins. The close-knit family also included her older sister Giuseppa (called Pina) and younger sisters Liliana and Santa Rosa (called Rosa). On December 14 of the same year, Vera received Baptism in the parish of San Gioacchino in Prati, also in Rome.

(ANS - Rome) - For a whole generation of Salesians and sympathizers of Salesian work - today's 40-50 generation - when one thinks of Don Bosco the solid, angular face of Hollywood actor Carlo Biagio Anthony Gazzara, better known as Ben Gazzara, immediately comes to mind. The film in which he starred is indeed one of the most beloved, seen and played throughout the Salesian world. It was produced by RAI, Italian public TV, and the Salesian publisher Elledici in 1988 to mark the centenary of the death of the Saint of the Young.

(ANS – Rome) – Thousands of messages reach their recipient every day. Advertising banners on the street, video ads on the subway and bus, requests from homeless people at the train station, e-mails, text messages, shouts in the bazaar, songs on the radio, news on television, texts, pictures, and videos on the Internet. Every person on the globe receives written, audio, and video messages every few seconds, regardless of latitude and longitude. Stakeholders consume content not only through sight and hearing, but also through the senses of touch, smell, and taste.

(ANS - Rome) - St. John Bosco, a communicator saint, was also himself the object of media attention: proof also comes from the numerous photos that were taken of him, at a time when it was already uncommon to be the object of a single shot, let alone many. Of Don Bosco, the first saint in history to be photographed, on the other hand, there are many photos, as many as 42. Among his contemporaries, only Garibaldi and the first King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II, had more. But such a large number of photos, coupled with the still primordial techniques of the photographic instrument, have led to the emergence of various faces of Don Bosco, not all of them perfectly corresponding to each other: what then, is the real face of Don Bosco?

(ANS - Rome) - Interview with the General Councilor for Social Communication, Fr. Gildasio Mendes. The publication of the series of articles by Fr. Gildasio Mendes, General Councilor for Social Communication, on the theme "Don Bosco and digital and virtual reality" continues. In the contribution proposed today, the Feast Day of St. Francis de Sales, the focus is on the Valdocco Oratory: virtual reality and "immersion," a new way of communicating. On January 24 we celebrate with the whole Church the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of Catholic journalists and writers, titular and patron of the Society of St. Francis de Sales. To give even more meaning to this occasion, we interviewed Fr. Gildasio Mendes, General Councilor for Social Communication, who states: "The Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Church was one of the great communicators of the Church and of humanity because he knew how to put the person at the center of the human relationship, listening, dialoguing and creating trust in the relationship with people."  

(ANS - Rome) - Once again this year, on the feast day of St. Francis de Sales, the Salesian Missions Sector is launching Salesian Mission Day with the theme "Care of Creation, Our Mission." In keeping with current events, the care of our Common Home and all aspects related to it is placed at the center of the priorities of today's man and woman, particularly today's Christian. This work is the result of collaboration between the Salesian Missions Sector and the Youth Ministry Sector, a sign of the current relevance of the topic for everyone, no one excluded.