Don Bosco, founder of the Salesian Family, promoted devotion to the Virgin Mary as the Help of Christians. "The Virgin wants us to honor her with the title of Help of Christians: the times are running so sad that we need the Blessed Virgin to help us preserve and defend the Christian faith," Don Bosco wrote to John Cagliero in 1862.
For this reason, and as a tribute to Mary in the sign of Don Bosco, from today the web address is accessible on the web: https://ausiliatrice.org, a new showcase where thousands of faithful can meet to cultivate their devotion to Mary Help of Christians through the sharing of resources, prayers, reflections, messages, and other initiatives.
Behind this project is a large group of the worldwide Salesian Family, the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA), and the direct commitment of Salesian Fr. Alejandro Guevara, ADMA's worldwide Spiritual Animator: "This new space is meant to be a simple way to thank God for the great gift he has given us in the Blessed Virgin Mary, making us all children of Mary; it is an opportunity to renew our Marian devotion, received and transmitted in the style of Don Bosco, and also an invitation to gather around She who gathers us and brings us together," the Salesian shares about this project, which came to life after more than a decade of reflection and implementation, and which celebrates one of the points of contact of all 32 groups inspired by Don Bosco's charism and apostolate. "The Help of Christians serves as a link for all those who feel Salesian, as this showcase is conceived," he adds.
The website, which is launched with a design adapted to new digital trends, features content and sections by thematic blocks to make browsing and use easier and more intuitive. The project also makes use of several working groups engaged in the various areas of the site, made up of a committed group of collaborators who are responsible for enriching the portal with documentation, historical and photographic details, and insights, along with current news from the main Marian and Salesian portals. From now on, there will also be young people who, in time, will take over this corner and social networks, a space conducive to sharing initiatives in the language and style proper to the digital courtyard.
The site is a comprehensive platform designed to be navigated from mobile devices, is available in Italian, and at the same time offers other material in several original languages.
Developed with a modern and visual basic concept, the site immediately puts all the sections of the site at the user's first glance, accessible both from the menus and from the initial "slider" showcase. The three sections it opens with are:
- Mary Help of Christians and the Pastoral;
- Mary Help of Christians and the People of God;
- Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian Family.
In the first section, there will be different types of materials that can help to know, love, and live more of Mary through worship (celebrations and prayers), catechesis, reflection, and art (music, literature, painting, cinema)... to be used on a personal and/or community level.
"Mary Help of Christians and the People of God" will be a section devoted to the experience of the Church at different levels - universal, regional, local - in relation to Mary in the economy of salvation from 1900 onward.
The last section will devote its contents to the "Salesian Marian Magisterium," with writings by Don Bosco and his Successors on Marian devotion and studies on the characteristic elements of the Salesian Family's Marian spirituality, from historical, charismatic, and theological perspectives.
Each quarter, updated content will be uploaded in each section, in the form of a magazine, to refresh the different sections, and new ones will also be launched, such as the one already planned, "Mary Help of Christians and the Word of God."
The launching activity is completed today, the feast day of Mary Help of Christians, with on-site activities from the heart of Turin, in the Salesian cradle of Valdocco. And to kick off the portal in style, live coverage of the day's main events from the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians - starting at 5 p.m. (UTC+2) on the ANS Facebook page - will also be replicated on this new site dedicated to Mary Help of Christians.
Join us at: https://ausiliatrice.org/
