Campo Grande, Brazil – April 2024 – Discussions, analyses and votes on topics covered in the 29th Provincial Chapter of the St Alphonsus Liguori Province of Campo Grande, Brazil concluded on the afternoon of Thursday, 18 April 202. Having begun the previous Tuesday with Mass and retreat chaired by Fr Assis Moser, SDB, the work was divided into four teams who analysed the texts sent from Rome to all Salesian presences and which had previously been analysed by the pre-Chapter commission on the basis of the contributions sent by the confreres. During three intense days, Chapter members reflected on the centrality of Jesus Christ in the Salesian mission, especially with regard to service to young people; and they elected Fr Adalberto Alves de Jesus, Rector of the Salesian presence in Indápolis, as Provincial Delegate to the GC29 and Fr João dos Santos Barbosa Neto, Director of the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Corumbá, as his substitute.
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.
(ANS – Corumbá) – On Thursday, 4 April, the Salesian Santa Teresa institute in Corumbá celebrated 125 years of presence and commitment to the pedagogical and social formation of its students. The date was marked by a celebration with the students of the school and by the Mass in the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians. During the day there were also sports and recreational activities that involved Salesians, students and teachers.
Campo Grande, Brazil – March 2024 - A Meeting of Pastoral Coordinators from the Salesian Province of Campo Grande Brazil (BCG) began on 19 March with Holy Mass in the chapel at the São Vicente Institute. In the first evening there were also performances by the artistic group Psalmos, the Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Moreninhas) Parish in Campo Grande and a theatrical performance staged by the Salesian postnovices. The first conference had as its theme "I am a Salesian Mission", given by Fr Ademir Lima de Oliveira, Vice-Provincial of BCG Province. The second day of the meeting was entirely dedicated to the presentation by journalist Karina Maia, with the theme "Developing assertive communication", which was followed by a brainstorming by participants to explore and consolidate the topics discussed during the day. The following day the "Fic Retrô" project was presented, a proposal to be carried out in the Salesian presence of the BCG Province as a pastoral activity. The final mass of the meeting was presided over by the director of the Colégio Salesiano Dom Bosco, Fr Wagner Luís Galvão.
(ANS – Cuiabá) – On the last day of engagements in the Saint Alphonsus Liguori Province, Friday, 15 March, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians, offered advice and messages of faith and courage to the participants in the Salesian Missionary Symposium. The event was entitled "From dream to missionary reality in a time of synodality" and took place in the Fazenda Mato Grosso hotel in Cuiabá.
(ANS – Cuiabá) – On his penultimate day of visiting the Saint Alponsus Liguori Province of Campo Grande, Brazil (BCG), the Rector Major, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, met hundreds of young people from different schools in Cuiabá and visited several significant works in the city, Capital of the State of Mato Grosso.
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 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.