Amatitán, Mexico – April 2024 - The Salesian Province of Guadalajara, Mexico (MEG), held its 2024 Provincial Chapter from 1-5 Apri in the Casa Betsaida in Amatitán Jalisco . The Provincial Chapter was attended by 51 Chapter members with voting rights, in addition to nine lay people, members of the Salesian Family and Salesians invited in order to accompany the discernment. Fr Filiberto González Plasencia, Superior of MEG Province, chaired the Provincial Chapter, and presented his report on the state of MEG Province in light of the indications of the recent Extraordinary Visitation. Fr José Luis Plascencia led the retreat on the first day and the Chapter Moderator, Fr Ernesto Sandoval, presented the material and dynamics for each of the sessions. The Chapter work focused on the 3 core areas of GC29.

Manouba, Tunisia – April 2024 – The second session of the first Provincial Chapter of the St Augustine Special Circumscription of North Africa  (CNA) took place on 9-10 April at the headquarters of the Circumscruption in Manouba in Tunis. This session allowed the Salesians, through the work of the various commissions, to draw up the Provincial Directory and the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Project (SEPP).

Rome, Italy – April 2024 – Students from the Institute of Spiritual Theology of the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) who specialise in the history and spirituality of St John Bosco visited the offices and archives of the Postulation for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian   on 9 April. They did so as part of the course/ seminar on the holiness of the Salesian Family. They were accompanied by Fr Gabriel Cruz Trejo, collaborator of the Postulator Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, and Spiritual Animator for the primary ADMA. In Salesian Studies curriculum, students delve into various aspects of the history, spirituality and pedagogy of St John Bosco. Taken into account are aspects of the spirituality and history of St Francis de Sales, of St Mary Mazzarello, of the groups of the Salesian Family, of Salesian pedagogy and the preventive system, of Don Bosco's spiritual proposal for young people, the development of the Salesian Congregation. During the seminar on the holiness of the Salesian Family, students learn about the progress of the processes leading to canonisation; together they study the case of Don Bosco's canonisation. Students from Japan, Angola, Papua New Guinea, India and Congo, individually delve into the case of one of the holy candidates: Blesseds, Venerables and  Servants of God of the Salesian Family. A tradition that has disappeared for some years has thus been recovered thanks to the new headquarters at the Zefferino Namuncurá community in Via della Bufalotta in Rome, a few kilometres from the UPS.

Bahía Blanca, Argentina – April 2024 - At the headquarters of the Salesian University (Unisal), in Bahía Blanca, on April 3 and 4, the second meeting was held involving the organising committee of the Salesian "Weaving Paths" Missionary Congress for a missionary rebirth starting from interculturality, which will take place from 5 -8 May  2025 in Buenos Aires. Led by the Provincial Delegate for the Missions in Southern Argentina (ARS), Fr Francisco Chimento, the committee – appointed by the Provincial Fr Darío Perera – is organising the Congress and pre-congress, called "Previous Dialogues", which consists of five virtual presentations that will address specific aspects. The committee will shortly launch the call for participation. As part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first missionary expedition to arrive in Argentina, which will be commemorated in 2025, the Congress aims to merge the rich missionary history with reflections of self-criticism to promote a more effective cultural evangelisation in America. In addition, an attempt is made to explore the critical perspective by analysing the history of evangelisation and inculturation of the Gospel in Latin America, identifying challenges and opportunities. The organising committee focused on the visual identity of the Congress, the contents and issues to be addressed, specialists who will participate, work and logistics committees and, above all, on the organisation of the "Previous Dialogues" and the convening of missionaries. The UNISAL and the Juan XXIII Higher Institute were involved in accompanying the Congress at the level of academic animation, since the scientific world, through the social sciences, has much to offer to evangelisation in the mission.

Sumba, Indonesia – April 2024 – During the Easter Octave, the St Yusuf and St John Bosco technical-vocational schools  in Blitar and Sumba respectively held an Easter celebration in the presence of numerous teachers and students, who also took care of the Liturgical Service and choirs. During the homily, the importance of welcoming the Risen Lord and that Jesus is the Saviour of all humanity was stressed. After the Eucharistic celebration, teachers, students and school staff gathered for a moment of conviviality and to exchange gifts and traditional decorated Easter eggs.

Rzeszów, Poland - April 2024 – A meeting of young people from Salesian oratories in the Province of Krakow (PLS), called the "Oratoriada", took place from 5 to 7 April at the Salesian St Joseph parish in Rzeszów. For many of them, it was an opportunity to visit the "Capital of Innovation" for the first time and see the local Salesian Oratory. There was no lack of spiritual elements, such as the "Via Lucis" and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, or formative elements such as the conferences by Father Paweł and the Kościelniak couple, but above all a lot of fun. Saturday's "Oratoriada Party", sports competitions and urban game showed all the joy of the meeting during which the young people were also able to share with the inhabitants of the city during the Sunday procession, and then participate in Holy Mass. All this has certainly reinforced the enthusiasm in view of the upcoming "Savionalia", a youth celebration in the Krakow province which will take place from 10 to 12 May 2024.

Text and photo: Facebook PLS