Salesian Missionaries in the World: A Global Commitment
(Rome - October 20, 2017) - There are many people around the world who, inspired by Don Bosco, spend their lives far from their homeland to devote themselves to the mission of evangelization and the human development of other peoples. On the occasion of World Mission Day, celebrated Sunday, October 22, we want to remember some examples.
In the first continent Salesian missionaries reached, the primary goal remains to be among the poor young people to provide educational, human and spiritual support. "I was fortunate enough to know Fr Luigi Melesi, back from the first expedition 'Operation Mato Grosso' in 1967. He would talk about his experience with joy, and my heart would beat with excitement in hearing about it. So I decided to leave as a missionary ... I dreamed of spending my life for the poor," says Fr Ernesto Sirani, today a pastor of 15,000 souls in the Peruvian Andes.
Love for the recipients of one's mission is what is also perceived in an orphanage of Inharrime, Mozambique, where Sister Lucia Teixeira, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), has lived and worked for 42 years. "Our little girls have no mothers or fathers, but they have found a family: they are happy to have us and we are happy to have them, because Salesian life makes sense only because they exist," she says.
Simon Mühlbauer, a 19-year-old German, decided to take part in the "Don Bosco Volunteers" program. Now he invites his German friends to volunteering as missionaries and wants to promote an inverse program where young people from developing countries are sent to Germany as guests of the Salesian communities. Of his experience, he says: "In my service, more than teaching I learned, and learning is something that concerns everyone."
Usually when thinking of missions, the countries of the South of the world come to mind. But there is also a great need for missionary support in Europe. José Liano, a Guatemalan Salesian, is now a missionary in Gjilan, Kosovo. When he decided to leave, some confreres said, "why go away, leave, if we have a lot of work to do here?" "True, there is a lot to do," he replied. "But if the first Salesians had not gone beyond, how would we have known God, Don Bosco and our vocation?"
As Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, and Successor of Don Bosco, has repeatedly stated, "we cannot forget our origins and our charismatic identity," that of a Congregation that is missionary by nature.
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https://www.infoans.org/en//item/4188-salesian-missionaries-in-the-world-a-global-commitment#sigProIdeacaad307b
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.