It is a Rector Major visibly recharged by the energy of the young and special recipients of the Salesian mission who in these days is accompanying the Salesian presences of the heart of Africa. Accompanied by the Councillor for the Africa-Madagascar Region, Fr Alphonse Owoudou – also appointed Moderator for the upcoming 29th General Chapter of the Congregation – the Rector Major will continue his journey among the young people of the heart of Africa, arriving on the afternoon of Thursday, May 9, in Goma, and then moving to Lubumbashi on the afternoon of Saturday 11 May 2024.
Already on that same day the program of activities includes an official appointment with the Archbishop of the city, Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu.
Of particular importance will be the following day, Sunday, 12 May, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord: on that occasion Card. Fernández Artime will preside for the first time in his life at an ordination ceremony, conferring the diaconate on 12 Salesians (nine from the Province of Central Africa, one each for the Vice-Provinces of Africa Great Lakes, Africa Congo Congo and Madagascar).
On Monday, 13 May the Rector Major has scheduled a meeting with the Salesian confreres in the Our Lady of the Assumption Province of Central Africa (AFC); and in the afternoon a fraternal meeting with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), on the occasion of the liturgical memory of the co-founder of the FMA Institute, Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello.
On the following day, Card. Á.F. Artime will move further south, almost to the border with Zambia, and visit the city of Sakania, headquarters of a diocese with a great Salesian tradition and which since 2004 has been entrusted to the pastoral care of Bishop Gaston Ruwezi, SDB.
In the same city, the Rector Major will stop for another day and a half (15-16 May), meeting with young people, members of the Salesian Family and the AFC Provincial Council, before leaving for Rome in the afternoon of Thursday 16 May.
As he testified before leaving Rome for Uganda, the meaning of this trip to Africa for the Rector Major can be summarised in three statements: reaffirm the importance of the African Salesian presence; closely accompany the development of this flourishing reality; ensure closeness to African populations, and especially to people who face the greatest challenges.
The Province (AFC) in which Card. Á.F. Artime is about to enter is one of the oldest and most prosperous of the Congregation in Africa. With a Salesian presence that dates back to 1911, erected as an Province in 1959, today it has 25 canonically erected presences, led by about 290 Salesians. The future of the Province is also promising, with 30 novices.
