Hundreds of members of the Salesian Family, the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM), the Educative and Pastoral Communities of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) and of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), had gathered over the weekend at the Fatima Shrine.
The FMA Delegate for the Salesian Family, Sister Aldina Grazina, began by thanking the Holy Father for the choice of the Rector Major as Cardinal of the Catholic Church. "We ask Mary, Mother, Teacher and Guide of Don Bosco, as she did 200 years ago with John Bosco in his dream vision at the age of nine, to accompany Cardinal Ángel in the apostolic tasks that Pope Francis will deem appropriate to entrust to him" she said.
Fr Artur Pereira, SDB Delegate for the Salesian Family, delivered a welcome greeting and offered prayers to God. Together, the Salesian Family prayed for the Church and for Pope Francis, that the Holy Spirit may enlighten minds and hearts, for peace and the initiatives that promote this among all the peoples of the world, for Salesian missionaries and for consecrated vocations to the Church and the Salesian Congregation.
After the introductory phase, the meeting of the representatives of the Salesian Family groups with the Rector Major, who presided over all the celebrations, took place in the John Paul II Hall at the Paul VI Centre.
Together with the Rector Major, the meeting was led by the Superior of the FMA in Portugal, Sister Deolinda Teixeira, and the SDB Provincial, Fr Tarcizio Morais. On the occasion, Sister Teixeira thanked the Rector Major for his service to the Church and the Salesian Family over the last ten years. "Thank you for the simple and accessible path of holiness that you have shown us, giving us our dear Mother Help of Christians as a model and teacher. Thank you, Card. Ángel, for having dreamed with us and for having made us dream!"
Fr Morais reiterated charismatic identity, based on spirituality and on St John Bosco's Preventive System, as "a model, style and a dynamic that must help all of us create deep links with what the youth world asks today" to respond to the challenges of education and evangelisation of young people.
And he recalled that "the Salesian Family is also a Marian family and cannot be understood without the presence of Mary. Don Bosco cannot be understood without Mary in all her history, especially as a Helper."
Luís Almeida, Rector of the Salesians in Manique, then gave a spiritual and charismatic interpreation of the theme of the 72nd Pilgrimage: "Behold your Mother" (Jn 19:27).
Cardinal Fernández Artime then spoke, recalling the need for affiliation with Our Lady and the important role of the Salesian Family for the Congregation and the Church.
On his fourth visit as Rector Major to Portugal, the Rector Major said he felt "at home" in the country. "The Salesian Family continues to make a very important journey" he added, expressing his satisfaction for the growth of the movement at the national level. And, referring to the Shrine in Fatima, he said, "You have a holy place where our God wanted to be present through his mother!"
He then recalled the animation visits he made to Salesian presences in about 120 countries during his 10 year term of office, occasions in which he was able to meet the members of the Salesian Family in all kinds of circumstances and witness the prophetic creation of St John Bosco. “It's one of Don Bosco's best inventions” he said.
"Having the opportunity to experience moments like this, to be with people, is very important" said the Cardinal, recalling the witness of faith that the Salesian Family, made up of lay and consecrated men and women, can offer to the world. And he concluded: "We have a very beautiful Salesian Family. Through Don Bosco, the spirit of God wanted us to have a big family."
At the end of the meeting, the Salesian Family gave the Rector Major a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a bouquet of 86 flowers, the same number of years of existence of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Mogofores.
In the afternoon, the Salesian Youth Movement had the special presence of the Rector Major at the SYM Festival. Boys, girls and young people from various Salesian schools and environments brought their interpretation of St John Bosco's Childhood Dream to the stage at the Paul VI Pastoral Centre, through skits, songs and dances.
At the end of the long day, in the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Cardinal Á.F. Artime presided over the Eucharist, and in the homily he reminded the approximately 2,000 faithful present that they are called to make their homes a domestic Church.
In the evening, at 9.30 pm, the Rector Major still had the energy to lead the Rosary and the Procession illuminated by the torches of the faithful through the Sanctuary park, thus concluding the first day of the meeting of the Salesian Family.
On 19 May, at 10 a.m., Cardinal Fernández Artime again led the Rosary and the celebrated the Eucharist on the altar in the square of the sanctuary and, in the homily, recalled God's love for humanity. “Our God loves us. In faith he came to us!" he said.
