The conference is organized by the Messina Theological Institute in collaboration with the SOSCs, the "Giovanni Cravotta" Center for Religious Pedagogy in Messina, and the Salesian Province of Sicily and Tunisia (ISI).
The program of the conference, developed through four separate sessions, will include an initial historical-theological contextualization on the theme of the recognition of holiness, which will provide the background for a more in-depth reflection on the Salesian charism in the light of oblation starting with the experience of the "Calvary of the bishop" Mons. Giuseppe Cognata.
Among the many speakers, the presence of Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, Postulator General of the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family, and his collaborator in the General Postulation, Dr. Lodovica Maria Zanet; Fr. François-Marie Léthel, Carmelite, former Preacher of the Pontifical Household; Fr. Jesús Manuel García Gutiérrez, Professor of Spirituality at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) in Rome; Mother Graziella Benghini, Mother General of the SOSCs; Msgr. Pietro Maria Fragnelli, Bishop of Trapani, the city where the Servant of God Bishop Cognata founded the Salesian institute and church; and several other authoritative lecturers.
The work, coordinated by Fr. Antonino Romano, Director of the Center for Religious Pedagogy "Giovanni Cravotta," will also be attended by a large representation of Oblate Sisters, students of the "St. Thomas" Institute, and numerous people interested in the topic.
The Rector Major of the Salesian Congregation, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, who was unable to attend as he is engaged in the conclusion of his Visit to the "St. Philip" Province of the United States East and Canada (SUE), nevertheless wanted to send a brief message to the "St. Thomas" Institute to praise the initiative of this conference and the opportunity to deepen studies on the figure of Bishop Cognata.
"I rejoice for the conference on our Servant of God Giuseppe Cognata, son of the finest Sicily; Monsignor Cognata is now on his way to the full revaluation of his virtues and merits," wrote Fr. Á.F. Artime.
