Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – February 2024 - At 1:20 p.m. on February 13, 2024, the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime and the General Councilors arrived at the Tan San Nhat airport, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam where they were given a warm welcome by different representatives of the Salesian Family. Then they proceeded to the Provincial house of Don Bosco Viet Nam in HCM City, where they were also felicitated and welcome. Then the Rector Major and the General Councilors continued to move to the Retreat Center Don Bosco K'Long, Dalat, Lamdong (about 300 km from HCM City) to prepare for the Team Visit, which is scheduled to begin tomorrow. The Salesian family and young people are filled with enthusiasm and joy to welcome these Salesian Superiors and consider it a moment of grace and blessing for the Salesian Mission in Vietnam.
(ANS – Tirupattur) - In a display of grandeur befitting its prestigious legacy, the Sacred Heart College (Autonomous) celebrated its 73rd College Day. The event, held on February 10th, 2024, at the picturesque College Grounds, witnessed a convergence of students, faculty, esteemed guests, and cherished alumni.
(ANS – Lecco) – Giuliano Maresi and Serafino Ripamonti, two climbers from the "Ragni di Lecco" Rock School – who had participated in the inauguration of the exhibition on Fr Alberto Maria De Agostini promoted by the Salesian Historical Institute (ISS) in 2022 in Rome and in 2024 in Turin – could not help but bring the same exhibition to their city. The great Salesian missionary, the explorer of Patagonia, lies behind the privileged relationship that Lecco mountaineering and the red sweaters of the "Spiders" had and have with those mountains "at the end of the world". The occasion came with the beginning of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Cerro Torre by the "Città di Lecco" expedition (1974) and the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the local section of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI - 1874).
(ANS – Corigliano d 'Otranto) – A socio-educational day centre called "Buona Stoffa" (good material) was recently opened in the Salesian work in Corigliano d 'Otranto. As Giovanna Coccioli, in charge of this work explains, "it aims to support families in education, accompanying children and young people from 6 to 18 years of age who are sent to us by the social services for an educational journey parallel to school, accompanying them in an after-school service and enabling them to study in a beautiful, welcoming context where attention is also paid to their health, with benches and ergonomic chairs."
(ANS – Genzano, Rome) – A Meeting of Provincial Delegates of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) with the Representatives of the other Salesian Family Groups from the Mediterranean Region took place in Genzano, Rome, from 8 to 11 February 2024, as part of the schedule of meetings already underway with Delegates from the different Regions in the Salesian world.
(ANS – Kurla) – Don Bosco Industrial Training Institute (DBITI), Kurla, launched a state-of-the-art facility ‘Don Bosco E-Mobility Centre of Excellence’ on 7 February 2024. This is a joint initiative between DBITI, the Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development - Germany, and Don Bosco Mondo - Germany.
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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Italy – On-Line Course on Integral Ecology 2025: An Initiative of the Alliance for the Care of Our Common Home (Pontifical Universities & Atheneums of Rome)(ANS – Rome) – 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical letter on the Care for Our Common Home, in which he invited all people of good to “a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet” (Laudato Si’, 14). However, as Pope Francis recognizes in Laudate Deum, the apostolic exhortation published on 4th October 2023, “our responses have not been adequate” and “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.” (Laudate Deum, 2).
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."