Brazil – The First Xavante Youth Day in the Salesian presence of São Marcos
São Marcos, Brazil – July 2024 – The First Xavante Youth Day was held on 24 July, at the Salesian Presence in São Marcos, baed on "Your dreams have gone much further", involving 30 young people from the villages of the Indigenous Territory of São Marcos. Salesians Cleiton Cecílio da Silva and Pablo Henrique Gomes Silveiro presented the Rector Major's Strenna 2024 "The dream that makes you dream". The meeting was also attended by the Director of the missionary presence, Fr Douglas Chrystiano, and the pastoral coordinator, Fr Beatus Volkmar Tola, who administered the sacraments to young people. The relationship between the Xavante community and the Salesian Mission begins in the twentieth century when Salesian missionaries arrived in the region with the aim of evangelising and providing social and educational services. The Salesians began to build schools, clinics and community centres, offering formal education and medical assistance to the indigenous people. In addition, they immediately committed themselves to promoting Xavante culture, respecting and enhancing local traditions, helping to integrate the Xavante into the broader context of Brazilian society and preserving important aspects of their cultural identity. The Salesian Mission of São Marcos is still an example of this collaboration.
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