Valencia, Venezuela – November 2024 – On Friday, November 1, the Casa Don Bosco community in Valencia gathered to celebrate its 40th anniversary on All Saints' Day. A thanksgiving Eucharist led by Fr. Rafael Montenegro, Provincial of the Salesian Province of Venezuela (VEN), marked the start of the day. The Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows was filled with the Casa Don Bosco staff, students, alumni, Salesian Family members, and a large group of friends and collaborators. In his homily, Fr. Montenegro emphasized the meaning of Don Bosco’s sanctity: "to live joyfully and do one's duty." Don Bosco embodied holiness and invited others to do the same, as understood and emulated by Fr. Lorenzo Stocco, who founded Casa Don Bosco 40 years ago to provide a home and education for children in vulnerable situations. Testimonies from former and current students demonstrate Casa Don Bosco’s positive impact on hundreds of young people, proving that education and love can transform lives and build a better future. This celebration also kicked off events commemorating the 130th anniversary of the Salesians' arrival in Venezuela, to be remembered on November 19.
Brazil – November 2024 – An online meeting of Provincial Delegates for Social Communication in Brazil was held on November 6, under the invitation of Fr. Ricardo Campoli, the Salesian Social Communication Coordinator for America from the Salesian Central Office in Rome. Organized by Fr. João Carlos Ribeiro Rodrigues, National Coordinator of the National Council of Provincial Communication Delegates (CONAC) and CS Delegate of the Salesian Province of Recife, the meeting focused on bringing communication activities closer to the Social Works. This initiative follows a request from Fr. Rafael Bejarano, representing Social Works in America from the Salesian Youth Ministry sector in Rome. “The aim is to give greater visibility to our social works and share the life stories within our communities,” Fr. Campoli explained. Another topic was the individual evaluation of activities at provincial, national, and continental levels in line with annual and six-year plans of the Social Communication sector. Delegates must submit the form by the last week of November. Nationally, CS Delegates proposed holding the annual CONAC meeting in Manaus in September 2025 to facilitate Salesian participation in MUTICOM, an event organized by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) that brings together pastoral workers, professionals, students, and communication enthusiasts from across Brazil. This proposal will be reviewed by the Inspectors at the Salesian Inspectorates Conference in Brazil (CISBRASIL).
(ANS - Kapadvanj) – From 3-5 November, 2024, AMRUTDHARA Don Bosco Kapadvanj hosted the SYM (Salesian Youth Movement) Youth Seminar themed “Journeying Towards Holiness.” This three-day event brought together youth from across Gujarat, creating an environment for spiritual growth, faith exploration, and community connection.
(ANS – San Francisco) – The Church of Saints Peter and Paul in San Francisco, a building rich in history and very much part of the national popular culture, is entrusted to the pastoral care of the Salesians of Don Bosco in the St. Andrew Province of the Western United States. This coming weekend it will celebrate the centenary of its reconstruction, after its destruction in the great earthquake of 1906, and after so many years it continues, in its ordinary and extraordinary activities, to be a place where the Christian community can find a space for growth in faith and spirituality.
(ANS – Beirut) – In 2024, Lebanon was showing timid signs of reviving its economy after the previous 4 years of severe economic crisis that brought disastrous consequences for Human Rights and forced more than 80% of the population into poverty. However, on 1 October, the escalation of the war in the Middle East also involved Lebanon and the intensification of violence generated an unprecedented humanitarian emergency, with thousands of deaths and injuries and about 1.2 million people who had to leave their homes in a hurry in search of a safe haven.
(ANS – Campo Grande) – The Extraordinary Visitation by the Regional Councillor for America South Cone, Fr Gabriel Romero, to the St Alphonsus Liguori Province of Campo Grande, Brazil (BCG) continued between the last days of October and the first days of November. The events of the last week explored in particular the houses, social and missionary works in BCG.