The PDMAs gathered, from the evening of Monday 14 to Thursday 17 October, together with the team of the Missions Sector and Fr Francisco Cervantes, from the Youth Ministry Sector. Fr Pavel Ženíšek, contact person for the Missions Sector, coordinated the appointment, together with Fr Robert Falzon, Regional Coordinator for Mission Animation (RCMA) for Central-North Europe, and Fr Marcin Wosiek, PDMA of Krakow Province (PLS) who hosted the meeting.
The main theme, chosen by PDMAs during the year, was collaboration and the relationship between mission animation and youth ministry. PDMAs shared the situation in their Provinces, underlining their role in the Province, the role of Mission Animation and the relationship with the Delegate for Youth Ministry and the provincial structure, together with the challenges and strengths. The experiences have been very rich and the sharing has helped PDMAs to open their horizons and learn pastoral practices in a frank and deep dialogue.
On the afternoon of Tuesday 15 October Fr Cervantes, from the Youth Ministry Sector, began his report on the relationship between YM and mission animation with an overview in which each PDMA rated some of the issues raised, in order to get a realistic picture of their position in the Province and their role as the PDMA. Then, after a first sharing, each Delegate presented the missionary dimension in the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Plan for the Province (SEPP), highlighting the processes, problems and best practices. Some parts of the Youth Ministry Frame of Reference were reviewed, underlining the uniqueness of the Salesian mission on behalf of poor young people.
Fr Cervantes concluded his address the next morning, encouraging the PDMAs to continue their work taking into account the different levels (provincial, local...), collaboration with the Provincial and the other Delegates, team work with their collaborators, reference documents, Salesian missionary volunteering, the Salesian Youth Movement and some challenges. It is important, he noted, to look at the constant development of the meaning of some concepts (missions, volunteering...), the diversity of methodologies (animation, organisation, inspiration) and phenomena such as inter-relationality, inter(sub)culturality, inter-generationality and internationality.
Fr Alfred Maravilla, General Councillor for the Missions, then presented the work of the Mission Sector over the last five years, underlining the new paradigm of collaborative animation based on the principles of subsidiarity, shared responsibility and empowerment, with the aim of developing a network of collaborators at Congregational level committed to faithful, creative and collaborative involvement in their Provinces.
In the afternoon the PDMAs, accompanied by Fr Wosiek, visited the city of Krakow.
On the last day, Marco Fulgaro, Secretary of the Mission Sector, presented next year's Salesian Mission Day, on the theme of the 150th anniversary of the first missionary expedition "Thank, rethink, relaunch". The meeting finally ended with an evaluation of the meeting itself and the journey of mission animation over the last five years.
The meeting was attended by Fr Jaroslav Fogl (Czechia - CEP), Fr Albert Kabuge (France and South Belgium - FRB), Fr Tony Fernandes (Great Britain - GBR), Fr Dario Spinella (Italy, Sicily - ISI), Fr Robert Falzon (Malta - MLT), Fr Jacek Zdzieborski (Poland, Warsaw - ple), Fr Marcin Wosiek (Poland, Krakow - PLS), Jan Rešutík (Slovakia - SLK), Fr José Carlos Sobejano García (Spain, Madrid - SSM), Fr Jordi Lleixá i Janè (Spain, Seville - SMX), Fr Pavel Ženíšek (Missions Sector - RMG), Fr Alfred Maravilla (Missions Councillor - RMG), Marco Fulgaro (Missions Sector - RMG), and Fr Francisco Cervantes (Youth Ministry Sector - RMG)
