Brazil - Preservation of Salesian heritage at the 10th Assembly of the ACSSA-Brazil Salesian History Association
Brasilia, Brazil – September 2024 - From 3 to 5 September, the national headquarters of the Rede Salesiana Brasil (RSB), in Brasilia (DF), hosted the 10th Assembly of the Salesian History Association (ACSSA) Brazil Section. In total, the group has 20 members, with two persons of references: Sister Maria Carmelita de Lima Conceição, FMA, Provincial of Our Lady of the Amazon Province and Fr Natale Vitali Forte, SDB, Superior of the St John Bosco Province. In this Assembly, the new Coordinator of ACSSA-Brazil, Fr Edson Donizetti Castilho, of the Salesian Our Lady Help of Christians was elected, replacing Fr João da Silva Mendonça Filho who leaves the position of Coordinator at the end of his two-year term but continues as an active member of the Association. ACSSA-Brazil, which is part of ACSSA with headquarters in Rome, came into existence under the protection of the Salesian Network Brazil, with the full support of the Provincials, who offer their total and ongoing support, institutionalising the activities of ACSSA-Brazil. This year's meeting took place in preparation for the ACSSA Continental Seminar which will be held in June 2025, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the theme "Salesian Mission in America 150 years – Contents, contributions, challenges". In addition, the team of the Brazil Section now has eight new members: four new Salesians who have joined, two Salesian lay Cooperators and two Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.