(ANS - Mandaluyong) – Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) in Mandaluyong welcomed Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, on January 26, 2024. Cardinal Grech plays a vital role in the ongoing Synod on Synodality.
(ANS – Hyderabad) – From 28 December 2023, to 6 January 2024, Fr Sami Ghouri, SDB, Rector of Don Bosco Quetta, and Brother Francis Nhat, SDB, undertook an 800-kilometre journey from Quetta to Hyderabad City. The primary purpose was to meet Bishop Samson Shukardin, OFM, the Bishop of Hyderabad Diocese, and attend the annual retreat for the upcoming year, 2024.
(ANS – Guwahati) – Lead Academy Bangalore, co-founded by the motivational speaker Father Vattathara (V. M.) Thomas, Salesian, and Corporate Managing Director and Social Entrepreneur Mr John Benedict launched the Institutional Leadership Programme for mid-level managers in Guwahati on January 8, in collaboration with Don Bosco Institute of Management, Guwahati.
(ANS – Rome) – A study seminar on the Salesian parish entitled “The parish for those without” was held from 14 to 16 November 2023, in Rome, at San Tarcisio. This term, “of those without”, comes from the experience of Don Bosco in 1847, when Archbishop Luigi Fransoni issued the formal decree authorising him “to instruct and admit to First Communion those young people who come his pious institution”, specifying to confer on Don Bosco the possibility of admitting the same young people to the Sacrament of Confirmation. In another place the good Archbishop went even further, going so far as to say in the presence of his priests that “the chapels of the Oratories will be the parishes for those children who attend them.” Faced with such clear indications, “Don Bosco was pleased to call the Oratory ‘The parish of abandoned boys’” (BM III, 135). In other words, the parish of young people without a parish, without a community of reference.
(Vatican City) - The Synthesis Report at the conclusion of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality is published. Looking ahead to the second session in 2024, the text offers reflections and proposals on topics such as the role of women and the laity, the ministry of bishops, priesthood and the diaconate, the importance of the poor and migrants, digital mission, ecumenism, and abuse.
To commemorate the 97th World Mission Day, celebrated on 22 October, the Fides Agency presented some regular statistics, taken from the latest "Statistical Yearbook of the Church" (updated up to 31 December 2021) to offer an overview of the Church in the world.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Italy – A Salesian on the front line of the war in Ukraine: "Being close counts, words come later"(ANS - Rome) - As he tells with a gentleness that does not seem to come from horror, he is "resting a little bit" in Rome these days. Fr Oleh Ladnyuk is a Ukrainian Salesian priest who is a military chaplain at the front, among the soldiers who fight in defence of their country and among the civilians who for over two years have seen their lives wiped out. He brings humanitarian aid where the missiles fall and from those places he helps with the evacuation of young people and adults - so far at least 500 people, but there are probably many more. These days the Salesian – who carries out his ministry in Dnipro and teaches History in a state school in the city – is in Rome to take part with two other priests and a dozen lay people from his country in the "Accompanying when Trauma Hits" course hosted by the Pontifical Salesian University in collaboration with the Faculty of Educational Sciences, with the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation and the Don Bosco Network. A project that aims to provide theoretical and methodological tools to deal with the traumas caused by war.
EDITORIAL
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Myanmar – Tragedy of Innocent Children in the midst of Armed Conflicts(ANS – Naypyidaw) - Myanmar finds itself immersed in profound grief and anguish as innocent lives, particularly those of children, continue to be mercilessly lost in the enduring armed conflicts. Families are left devastated by the tragic loss of their loved ones while the relentless violence shows no signs of abating. This week, a heartfelt plea from Myanmar reached our community, shedding light on the heart-wrenching death of a young girl Juliet in a military airstrike, prompting a unified call for prayers and action.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of protection and prevention models": PGS conference with UPS(ANS – Rome) – The synergy between the Salesian Youth Sports Centres (PGS) and the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome gave rise to the conference on "Education and culture of safeguarding in sport. Towards the establishment of models of protection and prevention", which will take place on 13 April, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., at the UPS facilities in Rome.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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United States – INT’L DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian Missions highlights programs that provide shelter and support(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and international organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight of homeless children on the International Day for Street Children. The day provides organizations and the millions of street children in countries worldwide with an opportunity to have their voices heard while ensuring that their rights are not ignored.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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I’M A SALESIAN AND I’M A BOROROTHE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
Diary of a Happy and Blessed Missionary Day
Dear friends , I’m writing to you from Meruri in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. I write this greeting almost as if it were a journalistic report, because it has been only 24 hours since I arrived in the middle of this Brazilian state.