In his letter, the Rector Major outlines the biographies of the two Venerable Salesians: “The life of Fr. Convertini is rich of heroic expressions linked to his charity, his penances and his charm as a man of God who brought ‘the water of Jesus who saves’. He conferred Baptisms by the thousands. He deprived himself of everything to donate to the poor (…) He fasted at length. (…) Fr. Francesco Convertini is undoubtedly a model of Salesian missionary life”.
On Fr. Vandor the Rector Major remarks: “He proved he was able to understand the Cuban people, sharing their hopes, their fears, their expectations. He was a ‘messenger of truth and hope’ and a worker for peace. (…) He showed to be a true parish priest with the heart of the Good Shepherd, with the style of the preventive system of St. John Bosco”.
The two religious men constitute valid models especially this year that is particularly dedicated, through the Strenna of the Rector Major, to the family. The pastoral action of Fr. Convertini was marked by his family life, studded with bereavements, faith and affection; whereas Fr. Vandor, born to and brought up in a Christian and hard-working family, always had a special attention to families.
“These two Venerable priests remind the entire Salesian Family that today the family represents a great frontier of our pastoral and educative mission”, the Rector Major asserts, before concluding: “I wish you may really draw inspiration from these examples of Salesian sanctity, knowing their witness and asking through their intercession the grace of the miracle that opens up the way to their beatification”.
The full text of the letter is available on the site sdb.org
