(ANS - Kunkujang) – The visit of Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, to Our Lady of Peace Province of North West Africa (AON) continued on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 November 2023 with the second stage planned in the program: getting to know and animating the small Salesian presence in the Gambia, just one started in Kunkujang in 2018, and dedicated to the Venerable Simon Srugi.
(ANS - Rome) - Card. Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major of the Salesians, will make an animation visit to one of the most recent provinces erected in the Salesian Congregation, the one dedicated to Our Lady of Peace and named "North West Africa" (AON), from 14th to 19th November 2023.
Banjul, Gambia - June 2019 - On 13 June, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Salesians of Don Bosco in Gambia and the Catholic diocese of Banjul. The document was signed by Msgr. Gabriel Mendy, bishop of Banjul, and Fr José Elégbédé, Superior of the Salesian Province of Francophone West Africa (AFO). According to the established terms, the agreement will last three years and will be reviewed for another three years, before finally deciding for a longer period. The event was attended by the Vicar General of the Diocese of Banjul, Fr Anthony Sonko, the parish priest of the church "St Teresa", Fr Anthony Gabisi, and the four Salesians who make up the Salesian presence in the Gambia: Piotr Wojnarowski, Juan Carlos Valdiviezo, Peace Ike and Sheldon Dias.
(ANS - Kunkujang) - He is one of the four Salesian pioneers in the most recent missionary outpost of the Congregation, in Kunkujang, Gambia. Yet as a boy he just wanted to play football and even as a Salesian some times passed before he felt the spark of missionary activity within. Fr Piotr Wojnarosky, a Polish Salesian, testifies today how willingness to follow God's summons can change perspectives and life.
(ANS - Kunkujang) - “Teenagers and young people are still waiting for us, and among them the poorest, abandoned and unsafe ... Malaysia and Gambia will be spaces for our presence shortly. From many other countries where we are already present, we are called to go to other areas that are authentically missionary.” Thus wrote wrote the Rector Major, back in December 2017, in his missionary appeal for the following year. Today the Salesian mission in Kunkujang, Gambia, is a reality, which a few days ago celebrated its first seven months of service to young people and people in need.
(ANS - Kunkujang) - The Salesian mission in Gambia, specifically in Kunkujang, in the west of the country, is among the most recent of the Congregation, having been launched not even a year ago, in October 2018. Following the example of Don Bosco, Salesian missionaries decided to place the nascent work under the mantle of Mary Help of Christians, dedicating a chapel to the Virgin so venerated by the Turin saint.
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.