(ANS - Viedma) - On Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19, under the motto "Like Br. Zatti, let us not leave to tomorrow the good we can do today," the IX Pilgrimage to Viedma in honor of Artemide Zatti, SDB, the first following his canonization, was held, carried out in commemoration of the 72nd anniversary of his death on March 15, 1951. The first day began after noon, when the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, arrived in Viedma accompanied by the Superior of the Province of Argentina South (ARS), Fr. Darío Perera SDB, to thank God for the sanctification of Br. Zatti.
Ramos Mejía, Argentina - 1949 - Today we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Francis, who was elected to the See of Peter on 13 March 2013. In this photo we see the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the days when he attended the Salesian boarding school in Ramos Mejía, Argentina. It was 1949 and he was 13 years old.
(ANS – Vatican City) – Ten years have passed since 13 March 2013, the day Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to the See of Peter. Pope Francis' pontificate has been marked by a passion for evangelisation and a constant journey to reform the Church to make her more missionary. A decade during which time has taken on two different dimensions: the progressive one, to initiate processes, and the circular one, to go out to meet others and return enriched in thought and heart.
(ANS – Vatican City) – We publish Pope Francis' preface to the volume "More Women's Leadership for a Better World: Caring as the Engine for Our Common Home," edited by Anna Maria Tarantola, published by "Vita e Pensiero." The text is the result of joint research of the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation and the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities (Sacru).
(ANS - Kinshasa) - A few days have passed since Pope Francis' visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a trip that has renewed the Congolese Church and society by strengthening it in its desire for peace and progress. But the challenges to overcome are still all on the ground, especially in North Kivu Province, where, caught between war and violence, there are still thousands of people displaced and in need of everything, people to whom the Salesians are trying, with the means at their disposal, to provide answers and support.
(ANS - Kinshasa) - The young people’s warm embrace of Francis in Kinshasa's Martyrs' Stadium opened the third day of the 40th apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. It was a celebration marked by music, choirs, acclamations in a packed Martyrs' Stadium in Kinshasa. Many hands raised to the sky acclaimed the Bishop of Rome in the crowded stadium: over 65 thousand people were present, including many young people belonging to the Salesian Family. A meeting also marked by the Pope's strong appeal not to give in to corruption and to choose the good, without "letting oneself be swallowed up by the swamp of evil."
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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.