(ANS – Rome) – Ecuadorian on mission in Ecuador, but among the indigenous Shuar: the missionary path of Fr Jorge Eduardo Loaiza Galvan is similar to that of another of the participants in the Return to the Sources organised by the Mission Sector – Fr Segundo Manuel Cabrera Arevalo; yet, each life story is always unique and unrepeatable. Today, therefore, it is Fr Loaiza who recounts the birth of his own vocation and his missionary experiences.
(ANS – Rome) – Don Bosco had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart and he recommended it to his boys. This devotion was displayed in many forms and expressions during his life: writings, prayers, good advice and recommendations, and even churches. And his devotion was so compelling that it became part of the Salesian Charism itself, being spread by his Successors and Spiritual Sons to this day.
(ANS – Rome) – Resilience, humility and abandonment are qualities that Fr Severino Laredo Neila has made his own in his life, resources that have often come in handy in the many circumstances in which he had to change his plans to rely on those of Someone greater than himself. The "Return to the Source Course", organised by the Mission Sector for elderly and long-term missionaries, gave a rich testimony, which we share here.
(ANS – Rome) – A life on three continents rich in stories and events, meeting so many people and with so many experiences, in his native land in Spain, in Africa, ranging through various countries of West Africa, and now in Brazil, in contact and service with the indigenous peoples: the 71 years of life of Fr Juan Carlos Ingunza Uscola, one of the ten missionaries who took part in the "Return to the Source Course" promoted by the Missions Sector to bring missionaries ad gentes who have reached old age back to the charismatic source.
(ANS – Rome) – Portuguese, 78 years old, active for more than half of his life – 41 years – in Mozambique: this is, in a nutshell, the identity of Fr Francisco Gonçalves Lourenço, Salesian of Don Bosco and missionary, who in May was among the first 10 participants in the "Return to the Source Course" designed by the Missions Sector to encourage the return "to the source" for elderly Salesian missionaries. Yet, there is much more to say about Fr Lourenço, as he tells us today.
(ANS – Rome)– The fourth missionary who shared his vocational and life experience at the "Return to the Sources" course for senor missionaries was Fr Michele Gentile, 84 years old from Puglia, who has been active in Albania for 33 years, a country where he was one of the pioneers of the Salesian mission, and where he continues to work.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – Fr Gildasio Mendes, General Councillor for Social Communication, talks about his two new books on Don Bosco(ANS – Rome) – At the end of the International “Shaping Tomorrow” Communication Conference (Rome, 1-7 August 2024), the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, publicly presented his most recent two literary works, both dedicated to Don Bosco and motivated by the bicentenary of the latter’s famous Dream at Nine Years of Age. They are As seeing him who is invisible and Parallels 15 and 20. Today he shows us in detail the meaning and perspectives of the two books.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – The chapel of the relics at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin celebrates 90 years and celebrates them with an exhibition on the Shroud(ANS – Turin) – Again this year, on 14 September, on the occasion of the liturgical feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the day of the Opening of the Crypt, the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Turin hosted an evening dedicated to the Shroud,, as part of the "Culture in the Basilica" exhibition, entitled "The Shroud: witness of great love".
SPECIAL REPORTS
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RMG – 100 years of Salesian holiness in the shadow of Mary: 8 September 2024 in Slovenia and Slovakia(ANS – Rome) – Don Bosco was a great lover of Our Lady and the "thread" of her strong and discreet presence as a mother, teacher and helper, never failed for each of her children. It is therefore not surprising that so much Salesian holiness is also interwoven with very deep bonds with Mary: every Servant of God, every Blessed and Saint of the Salesian Family has a special, sometimes all-encompassing bond with her, as it was for Fr Silvio Galli, SDB, or Sister Antonietta Böhm, FMA. This 2024 is also marked by two anniversaries directly connected to some figures of Salesian holiness: those of the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Raknovik, Ljubljana, consecrated on 8 September 1924, and that of the arrival in 1924 of the Salesians at the national Marian Shrine in Šaštín, Slovakia, dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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On WINGS of HOPETHE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Father Stefano Martoglio
While continuing my service as Vicar in the coming months, quietly, very simply, and completely in continuity, I’ll replace the Rector Major in leading the Congregation to the General Chapter, the 29th, in February 2025.