Manila, Philippines - August 2024 - Salesians in the Northern Philippines  Province (FIN) gathered on 26 August at the Don Bosco School of Theology in Bicutan for the first retreat of the Pastoral Year 2024-2025. The meeting focused on the preparation for the Jubilee Year 2025 and began with a prayer led by Fr Andrew Wong, INA Supoerior, followed by the Mass celebrated by Fr Gerardo Martin, FIN Provincial. During the Mass, the new members of the Province were presented, including missionaries, newly professed Salesians and those who will stop for studies. The Salesians who are candidates for the ministries of Acolyte and Reader then delivered their letters to Fr Martin. The retreat ended with a community sharing on the state of personal and community prayer life, marking a unified beginning of the new pastoral year.

Gatchina, Russia – August 2024 – From 18 to 23 August last, Leaders at the Salesian Oratory in Gatchina went to the countryside, to the  house, for the eighth traditional annual meeting. 12 Leaders and Fr Andrej Porubchin, SDB, participated. During the six days, the Leaders carried out cultural activities, especially in the field of art and philosophy, and reflected on Saint Francis de Sales' "Introduction to the Devout Life". Quizzes, workshops, team games and much more were then held to increase the sense of unity among the Leaders. During the first and last evening there were also special moments of sharing, with songs around the fire and shared meals. 

Ressins, France – August 2024 – Three hundred participants, including young people and adults, took part in the "Campobosco", the great late summer gathering of the Salesian Family, held in Ressins, in the Loire, from 20 to 24 August, under the theme: "Hope makes free". The theme was designed by the staff who organised the event, to give a message of hope even in these difficult times marked by global warming, armed conflicts, ecological and social crises and much more. During the four days of Campobosco, marked by moments of reflection, play and sharing, Dr. Marie Clergeau, a well-known psychologist at the "Reborntrauma" Brussels, a mental health centre specialised in overcoming trauma, also spoke. The latter said that: “Hope is the certainty that God never leaves us alone”. Mass was celebrated at the end of the "Campobosco", presided over by Fr Xavier Ernst, Youth Ministry Delegate of the Salesian Province of France and Southern Belgium (FRB).