NEWS
(ANS - Brasilia) - ‘Our identity and our mission as Salesian Catholic school should motivate us to have clear goals, innovative strategies, principles and values guided by a Christian and humanist proposal, to meet the contemporary youth culture. This is very complex work, which requires great experience and collaboration’. So Sr. Adair Sberga, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, Executive Director of the Salesian School Network (RSE), summarized the meaning of the XIV National Meeting of Network (XIV ENARSE), which took place from April 6th to 8th in Brasilia.
(ANS - Benediktbeuern) - More than 100 participants from various sectors of the Church's work for young people, of Catholic social work and pastoral work for education in Germany met at the Salesian house of Benediktbeuern to discuss the future and challenges of Salesian Youth Ministry. The theme of the meeting was “accepting, trusting, encouraging”.
(ANS – Manta) – The expression “we cannot solve everything” resounds in the hearts of all those who watch the dreadful images of the earthquake in Ecuador. Even though it is not possible to do great things, “we can help in some way”. The post-seism reality is sad and devastating. Mr Marcelo Mejia, the Delegate for Social Communication of the Province of Ecuador, commented on the phone: “I am going to Manta. They asked us to bring masks, because of the sickening smell, due to the dead, the litter, the stagnant water”. We cannot remain indifferent, we must pray, the Pope asked, so that “the help of God and of brethren may give them strength and support”.
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.