(ANS - Rome) – Some have come from a journey of total conversion to the faith. Others have waited 20 years from the time they first asked before receiving the go- ahead to become a missionary, and others still were inspired by young volunteers. These are the missionaries of the 147th Salesian Missionary Expedition, who tell the story of their missionary vocation as they are about to leave for their destinations.

(ANS - Rome) - Yesterday, 18 September, marked the centenary of the death of Monsignor Giuseppe Fagnano, missionary in Southern Patagonia, sent by Don Bosco in the first missionary expedition of 1875. The Vicar of the Rector Major, Fr Francesco Cereda, was recently in Chile to attend the beginning of the centenary celebrations. We put some questions to him:

(ANS - Rome) - "Azerbaijan has changed radically in the past sixteen years. It is a whole new country: tall buildings, high technology ... Now when people visit Baku it feels like Dubai." So says Fr Stefan Kormančik, a Slovak Salesian who has been a missionary in Azerbaijan since 2001, that is, practically since the Catholic Church returned to the country. In view of the apostolic visit of Pope Francis to the Caucasus, Fr Kormančik came to Rome to help us learn more about the astonishing reality of Azerbaijan.