Turin, Italy – November 2023 – The "Le Valdocco" Association, founded 30 years ago in Argenteuil and now to be found in seven large French cities, held its first National Days in Valdocco, Turin, on 6 and 7 November. About 80 collaborators from the "Le Valdocco" institutes in Lille, Val d'Oise, Saint-Dizier, Lyon, Marseille and Nice met in Valdocco for two days of formation and to visit the most significant places, such as the Casa Don Bosco Museum and the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians. It was an opportunity to meet and, as explained by Nicole Maillard, President of the Association, to live together and rediscover the roots of Salesian pedagogy.
(ANS - Turin) - A look around one's self to compare and echo together the echoes of the day's speeches, and a look above one's self to fix one's gaze on the origin and the protagonist of every story of holiness, the Holy Spirit: along these two tracks proceeded the afternoon of Friday 8 September, the third day of the seminar for the promotion of the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of the Salesian Family.
(ANS – Turin) – With the intention of offering a guided and complete process for the promotion of the Causes of Beatification and Canonisation, the seminar organised in Turin by the General Postulation for the Salesian Family placed two other essential elements at the centre of activities in the afternoon of Thursday, 7 September 2023: an attentive and prayerful visit to the actual places where holiness took shape, and the reputation for holiness and signs requested by the Church for the opening of any Inquiry.
(ANS - Turin) - If it is true that holiness is first and foremost an ecclesial fact, it cannot be the case that the liturgy, the true teacher of Christian life, the source and summit of the Church's life, neglects to take care of it and make the most of it. But even to harmonize the richness of the variety of holiness, that is so well organized and clear is not an easy task, as the liturgy must primarily express the primacy of Christ. Sr Elena Massimi, FMA, shed light on this in the second session of the second day of the seminar on the promotion of the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of the Salesian Family, through a detailed and brilliant talk.
(ANS– Turin) – What do a missionary from the southeast of Italy in northeast India (the Venerable Francesco Convertini, SDB), a young Milanese from a wealthy family who became a Sister of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (the Venerable Sister Teresa Valsé Pantellini, FMA), the leader of the oblative dimension of the Salesian charism (the Venerable Fr Andrea Beltrami, SDB), and a Slovenian Salesian, missionary in China and founder of the Salesian mission in Vietnam, as well as a highly respected confessor at home (the Servant of God Fr Andrea Majcen, SDB) have in common? Nothing, apart from having corresponded in a special way to God's initiative in their lives.
(ANS - Turin) - 'Here we make holiness consist in being very cheerful', said St Dominic Savio, one of the first fruits of holiness that blossomed from Don Bosco: a dictate that the Salesian Family made its own and manifested clearly in the climate of serene and joyful conviviality with which it gathered in the Mother House of Valdocco on the afternoon of Wednesday 6 September for the opening of the 3rd Seminar for the Promotion of the Causes of Beatification and Canonization of the Salesian Family.
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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Latin America – Strengthening Vocational and Educational Commitment Today: 30 Years of the Salesian School in Latin America(ANS) – Since the first meeting in Cumbayá (Ecuador), 30 years ago, educational processes on the continent have found a collaborative epicentre which has given rise to the Salesian School in (Latin) America – ESA, in Spanish – as a forum for reflection and a common path. Many Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) and other groups of the Salesian Family (SF) have enriched this synodal journey, focusing on young people and their integral development. What are today's demands of us in the educational field? How are we building the Salesian School of the future? Can we further strengthen this great Salesian educational network in America? Some FMAs and Salesians who were at the first meeting in 1994, share their experience and their vision of how this journey has allowed a growth in the understanding of the youth reality, in the strategic decisions within the Provinces themselves and in the challenges that emerge for Salesian education.
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.