I believe that this is what we have most at heart, dear readers – to feel that we are living a life that is full. It seems that this is a very human aspiration. It is with this thought that I must tell you that I have come to know in my life many persons who live and have lived full lives. I propose to follow this path myself.
(ANS - Rome) - Gessica Mazza is one of the six secretaries of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) of Central Italy. Young and determined, she has clear ideas when asked to indicate what the needs of today's youth are. She has no doubts in affirming that the primary need of today's youth is that of being listened to, above all by the Church and by the Salesians.
(ANS - Rome) - Over 70 thousand young people met on Saturday 11 August at the Circus Maximus to meet Pope Francis in view of the October Synod of Bishops. The young people, coming from 200 dioceses of Italy, gathered in Rome to greet the Holy Father and, above all, to express their love and gratitude towards him. "We have come so far to tell you that we love you," they told Pope Francis.
(ANS - Vienna) - "Around the world today, there are around 30 million children and adolescents on the run, exposed to dangers in terms of safety and health. In view of the International Youth Day, which is celebrated on 12 August, as a Church we are challenged to help these young people," says Salesian Brother Günter Mayer, SDB, Director of the Salesian Mission Office of Austria.
A few days ago I saw a group of young people in St. Peter's Square in Rome with the flag of one of our Salesian schools. I was struck by the affectionate and cheerful relationship of the children with their teachers and, on the contrary, by the coldness with which they treated the Salesian who was with them: they did not talk to him, they did not approach him ... The Salesian walked alone. For them, he did not exist, he was a ghost.
Krakow, Poland - July 2018 - Like every year, about 300 people take part in the six rounds of the Sailing Holidays organized by the "Yacht Club Saltrom", with Salesian Fr Andrzej Król acting as skipper and captain! Seven sailing boats (three "Lagoon" and four "Joker" class boats) cross the Great Route of the Masurian Lakes. "Thanks to the Eucharist celebrated in the midst of nature, to the songs sang around the fire ... young people experience the presence of the Lord, evaluating their own spiritual dimension, their own life in a different way …," says Fr Król.
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.