The Soggiorno Proposta is a Salesian educational and rehabilitation community that deals with the recovery and social reintegration of young people in difficulty, animated and centred on the Salesian charism.

Last Saturday, at the ‘Palmira “ auditorium in Ortona, a conference entitled ”Towards a new life’ was held, which saw the participation of two illustrious guests from the Salesian world: Fr Rafael Bejarano Rivera, head of the Social Works of the Salesian Youth Ministry Sector worldwide, and Prof. Giancarlo Cursi, professor of sociology of marginalisation and deviance at the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS). Also present were the entire Soggiorno Proposta Board of Directors, which includes Fr Massimiliano Civinini SDB, and founder Fr Gigi Giovannoni, currently Chaplain at the San Pio Civil Hospital in Vasto.

The president of the Soggiorno Proposta APS, Fr Daniele Pusti, SDB, welcomed the participants, emphasising the importance of continuing to celebrate these forty years without stopping in the face of the difficulties that the social sector faces on a daily basis.

The meeting, moderated by the centre's director, Antonio La Monica, highlighted how the path in the community opens the way to a new life. Indeed, the title of the event reflected the concept of Don Bosco's Preventive System as an instrument of change. ‘The Preventive System must accompany this change, which is necessary for every young person, especially when they find themselves in difficult situations. The Centre is not just a social experience, but a real vocational experience,' said La Monica.

Fr Bejarano, for his part, focused his speech on the Oratory Criterion as the inspiration and paradigm of all Salesian activities. ‘We are sons of Don Bosco, born in the heart of the Gospel, and our pastoral task is to evangelise,’ he said. He then stressed that the 40th anniversary of the Centre coincides with the Jubilee of Hope, a sign of the Holy Spirit inspiring renewed initiatives. ‘What happens here is not magic, but a process that, thanks to the help of many people, leads to a Resurrection, like that of Lazarus. The real miracle is not just a young person returning to life, but a community that transforms hearts by joining forces to develop people as selfless men and women’.

Fr Bejarano went on to recall Article 118 of Pope Francis' encyclical “Brothers All”, linking it to Article 33 of the Salesian Constitutions, which states: ’Don Bosco clearly saw the social significance of his work. We work in popular environments and in favour of poor young people, educating them in moral, professional and social responsibility, collaborating with them'. It is precisely this spirit of collaboration that is the strength of the Soggiorno Proposta. ‘The boys are not treated, but are accompanied towards a growing education and respect, with shared and attainable goals. The Don Bosco experience was born in the local reality and still develops on a local scale, even though it is present in more than 135 nations around the world’.

‘The Preventive System is at the heart of the Salesian educator, who must ensure its application as a practical pedagogy,’ concluded Fr Rafael. ’Every Salesian environment must be a home that welcomes, a parish that evangelises, a school that initiates to life and a courtyard to meet. The Soggiorno Proposta must also continue to work in this direction, working in community, listening to the territory and facing current challenges, always inspired by the Educational Project'.

The event then had a special moment with the unexpected arrival of the Bishop of the Diocese of Pescara, Bishop Tommaso Valentinetti, originally from Ortona, who recalled the origins of the Centre. ‘Forty-five years ago, an extraordinary woman like Palmira asked the then Archbishop to start an activity in favour of young people with her property in Ortona, later entrusted to the Salesians. I met Fr Gigi at a catechists' retreat and we started a small collaboration here at the Centre. Today this reality, fruit of the Holy Spirit, is one of the most important in the social field for the Diocese'.

After the Bishop's greeting, the floor was passed to Prof. Giancarlo Cursi, who highlighted the importance of experiencing social life, as Don Bosco did by asking for a piece of land in Valdocco to offer a new opportunity to abandoned young people. ‘There is a similarity with what happened here in Ortona 40 years ago,’ he noted. His speech emphasised the essential role of training environments, which risk losing the values of inclusion and respect. ‘Don Bosco started from others: with Bartolomeo Garelli he began with a simple ‘Do you know how to whistle?’ and then led him to an environment that offered him a different horizon of life’. The starting point is the resources of each individual, considered as potential for the integral development of the person. ‘This is the method,’ concluded the professor, ‘in which each individual becomes valuable for society and others become valuable for him.

The afternoon ended with a series of speeches by those present and two touching testimonies by the young people of Soggiorno Proposta, who wanted to share the joy of being part of this educational pathway that allows one to develop one's potential.

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