Italy – "The Oratory of San Cataldo … Between Memory and Prophecy"

21 March 2025

(ANS – San Cataldo) – The centenary celebrations of the Salesian presence in the Sicilian town of San Cataldo continue with great enthusiasm, enriching this special jubilee year.

Following the first event on December 7, which featured Rector Major Emeritus Fr. Pascual Chávez Villanueva and Fr. Massimo Naro discussing "The Relevance of Don Bosco’s Social Message," a second "moment of reflection" was offered to the entire community and the people of the Diocese on Monday, March 17, at the hall of the Mother Church of San Cataldo. The theme of this gathering was "The Oratory of San Cataldo – Between Memory and Prophecy."

The event featured two distinguished speakers:

  • Fr. Rino Dello Spedale Alongi, a Doctor of Theology specializing in Catechetics, professor at the Theological Institutes of Caltanissetta and Messina, and parish priest of "San Pietro" in Caltanissetta.
  • Fr. Giuseppe Ruta, a Salesian, former Provincial of the Salesians of Sicily (2014-2019), Doctor of Theology specializing in Catechetics, and currently a Professor of Catechetics at the Faculty of Educational Sciences at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome.

Fr. Alongi's talk, titled "A Century of Salesian Presence in the Diocese of Caltanissetta Through the Lens of the Press, Past and Present," retraced the history of the Salesian presence in San Cataldo. He highlighted key moments, from the late 1800s when Bishop Giovanni Battista Guttadauro, the second Bishop of Caltanissetta, personally requested Don Bosco to send Salesians to his diocese, to the ongoing support of the current bishop, Mons. Mario Russotto, who has always been close to the Salesians of San Cataldo.

Fr. Ruta, on the other hand, invited attendees to imagine what San Cataldo would be like today without the Church and the Salesian oratory. His presentation, "Ecclesiality and Salesian Identity in Central Sicily: The Oratory of San Cataldo – Past, Present, and Future," was structured into three phases:

  • Memory (Despite Everything… So Much Grace!),
  • The Present (The Challenges of Today),
  • The Future (Looking Forward with Hope).

He concluded with a hopeful message: "From memory to dream, and from dream to tangible and meaningful signs."

Bishop Mario Russotto provided the closing remarks for the event, emphasizing:
"One cannot imagine San Cataldo without the Salesians; we do not even dare to imagine San Cataldo without them," reaffirming once again that "San Cataldo is Salesian!"

Reflecting on the historical arrival of Don Bosco's followers and the many hidden saints who lived in the town, the bishop added,
"The union between the deeply rooted spirituality and faith of San Cataldo and Don Bosco’s charism was truly a nuptial embrace."

The evening was further enriched by the expert moderation of Dr. Marisa Falzone and the musical interludes performed by the female vocal ensemble "Resonantiæ Camera Chorus." A large and engaged audience attended the event, including Mons. Antonino Migliore, Bishop Emeritus of Coxim, Brazil, Fr. Franco Di Natale, Vice Provincial of the Salesians of Sicily, and other local authorities.

As Bishop Russotto aptly stated:
"The story continues. How it will unfold, we do not know. But one thing is certain: without Don Bosco’s charism and the Salesians in San Cataldo, this story cannot continue as a prophecy … and we want the prophecy!"

 

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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