(ANS – Rome) – In view of the next General Chapter of the Salesian Congregation (GC29 – 16 February - 12 April 2025), and a few days before the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the international Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome has organised a study day entitled "Passionate about Jesus Christ, dedicated to young people". This is the first of two events that will involve some 20 Salesians invited to reflect on the theme of GC29 from a theological, spiritual, youth and cultural point of view.
THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime
The art of being like Don Bosco: “Remember that education is a matter of the heart, of which God alone is the master, and that we can achieve nothing unless God teaches us the art and hands us the key” (The Biographical Memoirs of Saint John Bosco, XVI, 376).
(ANS – Roma) – The new premises of the Salesian General Postulation in the Zefferino Namancurà Community in Rome were opened and blessed on Tuesday 4 June 2024 by the Rector Major, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime. With him were several members of the General Council and others from Salesian Headquarters. The presence of Msgr Maurizio Tagliaferri, speaker at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, and Father Sergio La Pegna, Official and Superior General of the Doctrinars, were significant.
(ANS – Rome) – The Mary Seat of Wisdom Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) Vice-Province Team Visit took place on Saturday, 1 June and Sunday 2 June. The Rector Major, his Vicar, the Sector Councillors and the Delegate for the Salesian Family met with the Superior of the Vice-Province and its Council, the Rector and the Council of the University, Rectors of the communities and some other Salesians, in a climate of serene discussion and serious exploration.
Rome, Italy – May 2024 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Coronation Mass (K317) for choir and orchestra only was performed on Sunday, 26 May at the Basilica of St John Bosco, in the context of the celebrations for Mary Help of Christians, in the presence of Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, 10th Successor of Don Bosco. The event was made possible thanks to the courage of the Basilica Choir, the "COR.MAX" (acronym for choir Mary Help of Christians), which tried a wonderfully complex and difficult program, ultimately victorious in this undertaking. All this thanks to the intervention of the soloists who follow and instruct the choral sections: soprano Fausta Ciceroni, tenor Maurizio Valeri, alto Beatrice Maccaroni and bass Alessio Magnaguagno. The Sabina Wind Orchestra conducted by Maestro Fabio Ginevoli, with an impressive CV of concerts and events, transcribed the Mozart work for his own ensemble and succeeded in being extremely convincing and exciting. And the emotions were the added value of this event that certainly warmed the hearts of the audience and the Rector Major, who at the end of the mass thanked the choir director, Alessio Magnaguagno, for the beautiful concert.
(ANS – Rome) – Rome-Ljubljana-Rome in less than 48 hours: barely two days after the celebration of the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, Friday, 24 May, at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Via Tuscolana, and after his lightning visit to Slovenia the following day for the centenary of the church of Mary Help of Christians in Raknovik Ljubljana, the Rector Major returned to the southeast quadrant of Rome to celebrate the Eucharist on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity with the community of the Parish Basilica of St John Bosco in Rome, and thus conclude a special "triduum" under the sign of Our Lady of Don Bosco.
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.