Also present were the Vice Provincial of MOR, Fr Emanuele Vezzoli, the Bursar Fr Pietro Bianchi, the rectors and a representation of the Salesians from the SDB houses in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Cremisan and Bethgamāl, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Salesian Cooperators, Past Pupils and friends. The large basilica was full of lay faithful, many families with children and religious.
The Saturday night prayer vigil, animated by a youth group in an atmosphere of recollection and artistic music and songs, took place as a sequence of short meditations and 'personal resonances' on the virtues typical of Jesus during his years in Nazareth (prayer, work, humility, obedience, purity).
The Rector Major, due to a delayed journey, was only able to address a quick greeting to all those present after the vigil, and during dinner he interacted with all the Salesians with great familiarity.
Giving the "good morning" talk on Sunday morning, he touched on these points: the joy of being there, Gratitude to the Lord and to those - consecrated and lay - who have been his ministers-instruments in these 127 years of Salesian presence in Nazareth; the encouragement to look beyond the current contingency, marked by the contraction in the number of personnel - which nonetheless invites humility; the importance of the significance of the presence.
In this regard, he confided the following detail: "When I was a student of theology in Santiago de Compostela, the then Rector Major Fr Egidio Viganò came to visit and said that the Congregation would always do everything to maintain its presence in three places of absolute value: Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago. Today I wanted to be here among you to reiterate that same decision; I would add that for us Viedma, in Argentina, where the tombs of Cardinal Giovanni Cagliero and Saint Artemide Zatti are located, is also of similar value".
The solemn morning concelebration in the basilica gave prominence to the white statue of the Jesus the Adolescent and liveliness to the polychrome stained glass windows. Songs and prayers rose up from the white pillars of the building and came down from the pointed arch vaults. The Rector, Fr Munir Al-Ra'y, extended cordial words of welcome to the Rector Major, the Latin Bishop of Galilee, Mgr Rafiq Nahra, the Greek-Melkite Bishop, Mgr Yusef Matta, and all those present, and invited everyone to remember the great founders and benefactors of the basilica, in particular Mr and Mrs Foäche and Abbé Caron.
In his homily, the Rector Major, with a tone of great spontaneity, joy and simplicity that struck everyone, expressed the joy of being together as a large Christian family around the Adolescent Jesus.
In the First Reading (1 Kings 7-12) the young king Solomon asks God for prudence and wisdom to carry out his task, in the service of God and his people. This is what every Christian, every young person must ask for in prayer, he observed. Today, unfortunately, many leaders seek only power, and lack true wisdom. The Gospel passage of the twelve-year-old Jesus among the doctors in the temple (Lk 2:41-52), then invites us to always be ready for God's surprises and above all to take Jesus' answer as addressed to each one: "Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?", that is, "that I must do his will?" Each person, Fr Á.F. Artime exhorted everyone to ask themselves in all circumstances what was God's plan for them. "If we maintain this attitude, we are sure that in 100 years' time the Christian family, together with the Salesians and the Salesian Family, will be here celebrating its second centenary".
For his part, Mgr Rafiq Nahra expressed his gratitude for the Salesian educational and pastoral action in the 5 presences of the Salesians and the 3 of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in the Holy Land, which he had the opportunity to personally appreciate, and he hopes that they will continue, with the effectiveness of Don Bosco's pedagogical and spiritual system, to serve the youth in Israel and Palestine, so much in need. He also congratulated the Rector Major on his appointment as Cardinal, announced on the same day as the similar appointment of the Patriarch of Gesuralemme, Bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
At the close of the celebration, the MOR Provincial addressed words of gratitude and good wishes, ending with a reference to the apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, in which Pope Francis points to the example of the holy imitators of the Adolescent Jesus, including Teresa of Lisieux and Dominic Savio.
A festive reception followed under the portico, open to the wonderful panorama of the city of Nazareth, with souvenir photos, the moving reunion of former students from the 1970s with the directors at the time, Fr Vittorio Pozzo and Fr Gianmaria Gianazza. In the theatre hall, 'Cançao Nova' projected a video on the history and spirituality of the centenary event, following the track of the booklet edited by Fr Gianni Caputa.
