(ANS - Vatican City) - When the pandemic will finally be behind the whole world, there will be a need for a world of work that is different from what it was before, that knows how to start from the discarded, those set aside, left behind, and that knows how to value and appreciate the dimension of caring. These two ideas, taken from the message that Pope Francis sent to the 109th International Labor Conference, are analyzed by Sister Alessandra Smerilli, religious of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, undersecretary for faith and development to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the coordinator of the Vatican's COVID-19 commission's economic task force. Below, a summary of her reflection.
(ANS - Rome) - On Wednesday 23 June 2021, the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, received a Maltese delegation at the Salesian Headquarters in Rome: the Minister for Tourism Hon. Clayton Bartolo, dr. Frank Zammit, Ambassador of Malta to the Holy See, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Tourism, dr. Ronald Mizzi, and the Head of Cabinet.
(ANS – Rome) – Dear friends! I ask two teenagers which online programs they like the most. They immediately answer: listening to music, talking to friends, and playing games. Art, interactivity, and games! Some of the many activities that are part of any 24 hours of the digital generation.
(ANS – Rome) - Every 24th of June, the Salesian congregation celebrates the figure of the Rector Major, Successor and Continuer of the person of Don Bosco. With the participation of all the confreres from the communities belonging to the RMG, the feast took place in the evening at the Generalate, with the Holy Mass in the Sacred Heart Basilica, followed by felicitations and moments of fraternity.
(ANS - Rome) - As per tradition, the work of producing the Salesian Map, presented by the General Councilor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, has also been renewed this year. The map, Fr Mendes himself underlines, is formed first of all by Salesians from all over the world, individuals consecrated to God and to the service of young people.
(ANS - Rome) – 27 June 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of the martyrdom of four of the twelve Salesians, belonging to the St Hyacinth Province of Krakow, arrested on the night of 23 May 1941 by Gestapo officials. They are Fr Jan Świerc, 64, parish priest; Fr Ignacy Dobiasz, 61, parish vicar; Fr Franciszek Harazim, 56, professor of Theology; Fr Kazimierz Wojciechowski, 37, catechist.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG - Preparation, objectives, challenges and perspectives of GC29: in dialogue with the Moderator, Fr Alphonse Owoudou(ANS - RMG) - Just a few days before the beginning of the 29th General Chapter (GC29) of the Salesian Congregation, Fr Alphonse Owoudou, Councillor for the Africa-Madagascar Region and Moderator of GC29, recounts in detail, through an articulate interview, the work preceding and underlying this responsibility, indicating the spirit that will animate it and the attitudes and conditions to make it truly a Cenacle in which the Holy Spirit can act, for the benefit of the Congregation, the Salesian mission and the youth of the world.
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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Spain – 33rd Edition of the Edebé Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature: Here Are the Winners(ANS – Madrid) – The 33rd edition of the Edebé Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature has been awarded to Beatriz Giménez de Ory (Madrid, 1972) for her novel Tres niños tristes y medio unicornio (Three Sad Children and Half a Unicorn) and David Lozano (Zaragoza, 1974) for his novel La cacería (The Hunt).
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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GOOD, FAITHFUL, AND COURAGEOUS SERVANTSTHE MESSAGE OF THE VICAR OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Stefano Martoglio, SDB
During this Jubilee year, in this difficult world, we are invited to rise up, set out again, and, in newness of life, make our journey as human beings and believers.