(ANS - Rome) - The year 2025 is approaching, the year in which the Congregation will celebrate and commemorate an event so fruitful for so many young people around the world: the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian Missionary Expedition (Turin, Nov. 11, 1875). For this occasion, there will be many initiatives at the local, provincial and congregational levels. Among them, one starts today, March 22, 2023: a contest is open to design a logo that can be used for this special occasion. All Provinces can participate through the Delegates for Missionary Animation, in collaboration with the Delegate for Social Communication and related lay people and graphic designers.
THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
The first Missionary expedition was blessed by the Don Bosco’s tears as he said: “[W]ho knows? This departure [for the missions], this humble beginning may be the seed that will grow into a mighty tree.” That prophecy has come true.
(ANS - Castelnuovo Don Bosco) - He comes from Thailand, is 28 years old, and is destined for South Africa, where, however, he will arrive only in several months, after completing an English course that will adequately prepare him for his new mission land: he is Salesian cleric Boonmee Charusakon, the first Salesian missionary from Thailand and the last to be presented by the ANS as part of the review on the departing missionaries of the 153rd Salesian Missionary Expedition.
(ANS - Castelnuovo Don Bosco) - The excitement and charge of spiritual energy felt yesterday, Sunday, Sept. 25, in Turin-Valdocco, with the missionary sending ceremony by the departing members of the 153rd Salesian Missionary Expedition, are still fresh for everyone, and today to present his story and his hopes to ANS readers is Fr. Tonny Plavilayil, a 45-year-old Indian missionary, destined, like the first missionaries sent by Don Bosco in 1875, to the land of Argentine Patagonia.
(ANS - Turin) - On the evening of Saturday, September 24, in Valdocco, the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, met with the new Salesian missionaries and the new Daughters of Mary Help of Christians missionaries who would receive the missionary cross the following day. It was a frank, passionate and engaging dialogue in which many interesting insights for life in the mission emerged.
(ANS - Turin) - On Sunday, September 25, at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, presided over the Mass with the missionary sending off ceremony of 19 Salesians of Don Bosco and 9 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA). Six Salesian missionaries did not receive their visas in time. For the Salesians, it was the 153rd missionary expedition, while for the FMA it was the 145th missionary expedition.
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
-
United States – INT’L DAY FOR STREET CHILDREN: Salesian Missions highlights programs that provide shelter and support(ANS – New Rochelle) – Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco, joins humanitarian and international organizations around the globe in highlighting the plight of homeless children on the International Day for Street Children. The day provides organizations and the millions of street children in countries worldwide with an opportunity to have their voices heard while ensuring that their rights are not ignored.
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.