(ANS - Cova da Iria) - One of the best experiences of the Salesian Family in Portugal is the pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima, in the month that the whole Church dedicates to Mary, and the Salesians in particular to Mary Help of Christians. Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, presided at the closing Mass of the pilgrimage. He urged the pilgrims to live mercy as a fundamental and inherent dimension of the identity of every Christian.

(ANS - Rome) – We are still in Bicentenary time! This year is the 200th anniversary of the first official celebration of the feast of Mary Help of Christians, which occurred on 24 May 1816. The previous September Pope Pius VII had officially established the feast. Don Bosco was among the most active propagators of this devotion: "Confide all things to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament through Mary Help of Christians and you will see what miracles are," he used to say. This year also great celebrations are planned at Valdocco in her honour.

(ANS - Mogliano Veneto) - On the centenary of the First World War, with publications in progress and controversy in the interpretation of the same, the Italian Salesian Family presents the contribution it made to the country, both on the war front where there were dozens of deaths and serious injuries, and in the various hospitals where the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians did charitable works. Tomorrow, Saturday 14 May, in Mogliano Veneto there will be a national study congress on "Salesians and Daughters of Mary Help of Christians during the Great War".