The 9th International Congress of Mary Help of Christians, a Salesian Family event, is promoted by the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA) in agreement with the Secretariat of the Salesian Family and with the Salesian Family of Argentina.
It is a recurring event in the recent history of the Salesian Family, and able in every circumstance to deepen and revitalise a special and essential aspect of the spirituality of Don Bosco and his followers: devotion to Mary as the Help of Christians.
Eight International Congresses have been held since 1988. It has been a special journey uniting the Salesian Family under the mantle of Mary:
1988 – Valdocco, Turin (Italy), on the occasion of the Centenary of Don Bosco’s death;
1995 - Cochabamba (Bolivia);
1999 - Seville (Spain);
2003 - Valdocco, Turin (Italy), for the centenary of the crowning of Mary Help of Christians;
2007 - Mexico City (Mexico);
2011 - Czestochowa (Poland);
2015 - Valdocco Turin/Colle Don Bosco (Italy), Bicentennial of Don Bosco's birth;
2019 - Buenos Aires (Argentina), on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of ADMA.
At the end of the congress in Buenos Aires in 2019 the Rector Major said “We must be more and more Marian, more and more of Mary. Without Mary we are not the sons and daughters that Don Bosco dreamed of (we will be something else, but not Don Bosco’s dream). We have the duty to proclaim and propose Jesus and his Mother Mary without fear and shame . Mary cannot be a decorative element in our journey. She is essential. Without her, our education and our pastoral care will be empty, poor and without substance. Let us make more explicit proclamation of Jesus and keep more Mary on our lips.”
2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the Dream at nine years of age. A dream that the Salesian Family has always considered to be a fundamental reference for the meaning, style and performance of the Salesian mission in the world, so much so that it remains a permanent inspiration for the charism.
In Mary, a Mother and a Teacher are given to John in the order of grace. His task is to introduce it and accompany it in authentic obedience of faith, in a “discipline of faith” that, contrary to the common sense of modern times, achieves the highest freedom and the greatest fruitfulness.
A formation course will be offered on www.admadonbosco.org/adma-on-line in preparation for the Fatima Congress. It starts from July.
All the information for registration (including costs and elements included) is published on www.mariaauxiliadora2024.pt registrations for which will open from 24 September 2023.
