(ANS – Rome) – The Salesians of Don Bosco celebrate 164 years of existence today, 18 December. The Salesian Congregation came into existence on 18 December 1859 in Turin, with seventeen young people in addition to the founder, John Bosco, and with the name of the “Pious Society of Saint Francis de Sales”. Since then it has continued to grow and spread throughout the five continents with a clear educational charism directed to the most disadvantaged children and young people and a missionary evangelising spirit without geographical limits.
(ANS – Rome) – The initiator of the Strenna (New Year Message) tradition in the Salesian Family was, of course, Don Bosco. Already at that time the strenna had a message of pedagogical and educational value and Don Bosco also used to take up the theme during the year, on several occasions, in meetings with his boys, just as today the strenna accompanies the entire course of the pastoral activities of the Congregation.
Madrid, Spain - 1934 - A historical photograph of the Salesian house in Atocha, showing the student band. This band performed during the celebrations in honour of Don Bosco's Canonisation on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1934, in Rome. At the centre we see Blessed Enrique Saiz, the then Rector of the house, accompanied by some Salesian Brothers and Blessed Emilio Arce (far left, seated). The Salesian house in Atocha at that time had three musical ensembles: a band of children's instruments, another of cornets and drums with the older boys, and a small orchestra of violins directed by Fr Juan Beobide, a Salesian priest.
THE RECTOR MAJOR’S MESSAGE, Card. Angel Fernandez Artime, SDB
Two hundred years ago, a little nine-year-old boy, poor and with no future but to be a farmer, had a dream. He recounted it to his mother, grandmother, and brothers in the morning, who found it funny. Grandma concluded, “Pay no attention to dreams.” Many years later, that boy, John Bosco, wrote: “I agreed with my grandmother. However, I was unable to cast that dream out of my mind.”
(ANS – Rome) – 11 November is an unforgettable date for all the Salesians around the world: the day the Congregation began its missionary thrust – a journey that began 148 years ago, on 11 November 1875 with the First Salesian Missionary Expedition, and which it has no intention of stopping. Indeed, the entire Congregation is already looking forward to the 150th anniversary of that date which will be celebrated in two years time in 2025. After not even a century and a half, almost 10,000 Salesians have been sent to mission lands and the educational work that came from Don Bosco extends to over 130 countries on five continents. And the Rector Major's call to send missionaries to places of greatest need continues to be more valid than ever.
There is a statue of Mary Help of Christians which was venerated by two saints: Saint John Bosco and Saint Louis Orione. This is the first statue of the Help of Christians that Don Bosco had in Valdocco and which now belongs to the family of Fr Orione.
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 BORORO
THE 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.