The session was introduced and concluded by the Rector of the Basilica, Fr Michele Viviano, and was moderated by Alberto Chiara, a journalist and editor-in-chief of the Italian popular Pauline Catholic Weekly “Famiglia Cristiana”.
In his precise and well-documented report, Fr Motto cited witnesses, writings and interpretations. "It reappeared, with significant variations, twenty years later at the beginning of Don Bosco’s priestly mission (1844) and again later, up to 1887, at the moment of the celebration in front of the painting of Mary Help of Christians at the Sacred Heart Basilica in Rome, when, a few months before his death, he burst into tears upon seeing the last words of the 'woman of majestic appearance' in the dream come true: 'In due time you will understand everything'. It is therefore a complex vortex of dream-visions scattered throughout his life”.
What remains of that dream today is the ever-present inheritance: the commitment to young people, all of them, but especially those grappling with practical, moral or spiritual difficulties; the preventive system, still valid today, interwoven with 'meekness' and 'charity'; and a faith that is transmitted more by example than by speeches of verbosity.
For those who would like to re-live the evening with Fr Motto, the video of the live broadcast is still available on the basilica's YouTube channel here.
