In fact, the Salesian association "Œuvres de Don Bosco Liège," which owns the site, wants to rethink the place to develop it to the fullest. "The buildings are now old and need to be renovated," explains Fr. Xavier Ernst, SDB, president of the association. "It will be an opportunity to rethink an overall project that integrates the existing activities, but in a more collaborative way with the new activities that will arise. All with a focus on ecology and reducing energy consumption."
In addition to the renovation, the Salesians on site want to free up space to devote to new projects: "We are talking about spaces that could become community housing for families or young people in need, or that could also serve for small social enterprises or extracurricular activities," Fr. Ernst said on "Radio-Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française" (RTBF).
The project, entrusted to the "Les Biens Communaux" Cooperative, will be completed by the end of 2023, to be effective by 2027.
This is clearly an important decision for the Salesian Family in Belgium. The Liege work housed the first Salesian orphanage in Liege and its origins date back to 1891, just three years after the death of John Bosco, who initiated the project. At the time, the orphanage took in abandoned youngsters and taught them a trade; and it was none other than Don Bosco's 1st Successor at the head of the Congregation, Fr. Michele Rua, who inaugurated it.
Today the Salesian community in Liege is involved in running an elementary school, a technical school, a center for dual education and training (CEFA), and a general education school, with nearly 1,500 young people attending it, not to mention the parish dedicated to St. Francis de Sales.
