From an unforgettable experience is born a message of love and gratitude to the people of Damascus and Aleppo.

My dear friends, I greet you all most cordially as I write this to you – though I am very late as regards preparation of the Salesian Bulletin. (I make the editor sweat because very often the deadline for submission is upon me as I sit down to write my message – which happens with everything else that bears my name and is penned in my own hand.)

“It is she who has done everything!” Don Bosco used to say. Our Holy Mother continues to radiate her motherly tenderness, just as she did today in Beirut. I’ve seen it! From Beirut to Valdocco, our Blessed Lady is always present!