Rome, Italy - 13th November 2023 - To celebrate the liturgical memory of St. Artemide Zatti, and just over a year after his canonization, the Salesian Headquarters, the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) and the Salesian Circumscription of Central Italy (ICC) organized an afternoon of festivities in his honour at the Sacred Heart basilica in Rome - a place that Br. Zatti himself visited when he returned to Italy in 1934 for the canonization of Don Bosco. The event was attended by the Director of the Salesian Headquarters, Fr Francesco Marcoccio;dd the Superior of the UPS Vice province, Fr Aníbal Mendonça; the entire community of the Salesian Theological Studentate "Blessed Zeffirino Namuncurà" of the UPS, led by its Director, Fr Silvio Roggia, and many Salesians from the houses in Rome. The event opened with a Rosary animated by the Salesian coadjutors and continued with the Mass presided over by Fr Marcoccio, who, in his homily, recalled Zatti's biography, his youthful illness and his Salesian lay vocation, as well as his spirit of service and serene acceptance of God's will until the end of his life. After the sharing of seven different testimonies on various aspects of Zatti's holiness - through which his being a 'Good Samaritan' to all was recalled - the afternoon celebration concluded with a moment of fraternal agape.
Italy - October 2023 - Two sessions were held from 17 to 27 October, one in Florence and the other in Genzano Rome, for the training of the Universal Civil Service Volunteers from the Salesian Central Italy (ICC) Province. The two sessions hosted a total of about 150 volunteers aged between 18 and 28, who are serving in various Salesian works in the eight regions which make up the ICC. On the last day, they were visited by the 'Ladri di Carrozzelle' (wheelchair thieves), a 30-year-old Italian musical group known for being made up mainly of artists with disabilities. Paolo Falessi, their founder and former pupil of the Salesian Oratory in Frascati, spoke about how during his Civil Service in the Salesian Borgo ragazzi Don Bosco Oratory in Rome, in the early 1990s, his musical adventure took shape. Over the years, the group has released countless albums and performed thousands of concerts at important national and international events, as well as appearing on television programmes. Paolo Falessi invited the young people present to treasure, as he has always done in his life, three characteristics of Don Bosco: to be able to dream big, to believe in the potential of young people and to apply the preventive system.
(ANS– Rome) – More than a hundred people from Portugal, Spain, Italy and the Middle East took part, from 12 to 15 October, in Malaga at the International Seminar on the Reception of Migrants and Refugees, to reflect on Salesian activity in this field, starting with the recognition of the considerable increase in initiatives dedicated to the reception and integration of migrants and refugees, especially in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Fr Emanuele De Maria, SDB, Youth Ministry Delegate for the Salesians of Central Italy (ICC), and Alessandro Iannini, Delegate for Marginalisation and Hardship in ICC, who attended the seminar, now share their impressions on the subject.
Rome, Italy - October 2023 - From 24th to 27th October, the Regional Formation Commission meeting for the Mediterranean Region was held at the "San Tarcisio" postnovitiate community in Rome. The Provincial Formation Delegates of the Salesian Provinces of Portugal, Spain and Italy participated. The UPS Vice Province was also present for the meeting. The Delegate of the MOR Province should have been present, but was unable to attend because of the war situation in the Holy Land. Among the topics discussed were: a reflection on Salesian holiness starting from the canonisation of Artemide Zatti, led by Rector Major Emeritus, Fr Pascual Chávez; the sharing of provincial initiatives linked to the figure of Zatti and the 200th anniversary of Don Bosco’s dream at the age of 9 in 2024; an evaluation of missionary formation initiatives carried out in dialogue with the Missions Sector; and the revision of the Commission's Regulations. The participation in the community life of the post-novitiate and the animation of young Salesians, who enriched some moments of the meeting, were also greatly appreciated.
(ANS - Rome) - Wednesday, 18 October 2023 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Venerable Salesian Bishop Luigi Olivares, SDB (Corbetta, Italy, 18 October 1873 - Pordenone, Italy, 19 May 1943). To mark the occasion, a concelebrated solemn Mass was celebrated, presided over by Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, the Postulator General for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family at the church of Santa Maria Liberatrice in the Testaccio district of Rome, of which Olivares was the first parish priest.
Livorno, Italy - September 2023 - Fr Stefano Aspettati, Superior of the Special Circumscription of Central Italy (ICC), presided over the Eucharistic celebration during which one Salesian of Don Bosco and five Daughters of Mary Help of Christians made their perpetual profession on 24th September in the Salesian Church of the Sacred Heart, in Livorno.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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Democratic Republic of Congo – Fr Owoudou on the situation in the eastern parts of the country: “No matter how dark the night may seem, dawn will inevitably come”
(ANS - Goma) - During his latest phase of the Extraordinary Visit to the "Mary Most Holy Assumption" Province of Central Africa (AFC), Fr. Alphonse Owoudou, Councillor for the Africa Madagascar Region, conducted an interview with the magazine "JAMBO VIJANA," representing the youth engaged in the Salesian works of the Province's Eastern Delegation. Addressing the ongoing violence and conflicts in the region, Fr. Owoudou expressed hope, saying: "No matter the length of the night, dawn will inevitably come."
EDITORIAL
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“Speaking with the Heart”: A great Antidote for the Ills of today’s world
‘Revolutionize the world with your kindness, by speaking with your heart’, is the dream that Pope Francis envisions for humanity through his 57th World Communication Day message, that falls on this Ascension Sunday, 21st May 2023. ‘Speak with your heart in truth and charity’, and this is the best antidote that can cure the ills of today’s society.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Labs To Future": the final event of the "Labs To Learn" project in Valdocco
(ANS – Turin) – The final event of the "Labs to Learn" project was held on Tuesday, 5 March 2024, entitled "Labs To Future: The path – The results – The challenges" . The project was selected by the "Con i Bambini" social enterprise within the framework of the Foundation for the Fight against Child Educational Poverty and came into being with the intention of combating early school leaving and preventing educational poverty, increasing the number of young people with difficulties who fulfil their school obligation, access higher education and/or job placement, and opening the way for personal growth according to their inclinations and aspirations.
SPECIAL REPORTS
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Peru – Centenary of the High Altar of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Lima
(ANS – Lima) – The centenary of the consecration of the high altar in the Crypt of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Lima was celebrated on 19 March, on the feast of St Joseph and in homage to Fr José Calasanz Marqués, then Provincial of the Salesians in Peru and Bolivia – now recognised as Blessed by the Church – on account of his name.
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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DREAMS THAT KEEP COMING TRUE!
THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Card. Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
When reflecting on all this, I feel I have a little authority to say: “Dear Don Bosco, your Dream is still VERY ALIVE.”