(ANS – Rome) – The stage of the preparation in view of the 2025 Jubilee at Rome for the consecrated men and women ended on Sunday, 4 February 2024. Comprising various significant moments, including the pilgrimage to the Salesian Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome, it gathered about 400 religious from all over the world, who received from the Holy Father the specific mandate to be “signs of reconciliation among people” where God has called them to work.
(ANS – Rome) – The Sacred Heart of Jesus Basilica in Rome is preparing to receive, on Saturday, 3 February 2024, over 400 religious from all over the world who have come to Rome to participate in a pilgrimage "on the path of peace" – aimed at renewing the commitment of religious for reconciliation and peace. The pilgrimage will start and end at the Salesian Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and will be carried out on the sidelines of the 28th World Day of Consecrated Life (2 February 2024) and as part of a broader process of preparation of consecrated men and women for the Holy Year of 2025.
(ANS – Rome) – The Feast of Don Bosco is a day of celebration in all Salesian communities around the world. Great celebrations were also held at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Rome, a church Don Bosco strongly and which he had built at the expense of his own health. The climax of the feast came with the solemn afternoon Eucharistic concelebration, presided over by the titular Cardinal of the Basilica, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi.
(ANS - Rome) - On Sunday 28th January 2024, the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, blessed and inaugurated the new Chapel of the Word of God at the Salesian Headquarters - which has undergone extensive renovation work in recent months. It was a very simple and at the same time a meaningful rite, during which the community of the Salesian Headquarters could rejoice in the dedication of this space for prayer, and a space for fraternal communion at the table of the Divine Word.
(ANS - Rome) - In view of Jubilee 2025, which will involve the whole Universal Church, the Salesian Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome is preparing to become a nerve centre both for international devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and for men and women religious from all over the world. As a prelude to the Jubilee 2025, the Salesian community that animates the basilica, the heart of the Congregation in the Eternal City, prepares to welcome, the pilgrimage of about 400 consecrated men and women, from all over the world on Saturday 3rd February 2024.
(ANS – Rome) – In the year in which the entire Salesian Family focuses on Don Bosco's Dream at Nine Years of Age, many other small dreams are arising in the Salesian world, carried out by those who call on him for the education and evangelisation of young people. This explains, for example, the new initiative that is being developed at Sacred Heart in Rome: the first Salesian Symphony Orchestra (OSS), a project, moreover, still in its embryonic phase, but which has already received the blessing and explicit support of Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, Rector Major of the Salesians.
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.”