(ANS – Battambang) – Students from the “St. Anne Orphanage” were granted scholarships to attend Don Bosco Vithayalai in Battambang, Cambodia, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. The scholarships were provided in February 2022 and May 2021.
(ANS - Vientiane) - Last Thursday afternoon, June 9, 2022, at the headquarters of the Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union, the Phase IV Agreement between the Salesian Society of Thailand Foundation and the Youth Development Department of the Lao Youth Union was officially signed. Signing the agreement were Mr. Piya Yathotoo, on behalf of the Lao Youth Union, and, on the Salesian side, Fr. John Bosco Dheparat Pitisant, Provincial of the "St. Paul" Province of Thailand (THA) - on which the Salesian presences in Laos and Cambodia also depend. The signing ceremony was also attended by Fr. Patrizio Maccioni, Rector of the "Don Bosco" Vocational Training Center, and Fr. John Paul Vu Van Trung, Economer, as Salesian representatives.
(ANS – Hatyai) – Today, 18 May 2022, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major, concluded his animation visit to the Salesian mission in Thailand. In fact, in the early hours of tomorrow morning, 19 May, he is scheduled to fly back to Italy, nearly after 15 days spent in the country, first preaching the retreat to the Councils of the Provinces, Visitations and Delegations of the East Asia - Oceania Region, and then animating the presences of the Salesian Family throughout Thailand.
(ANS – Surat Thani) – In the morning of 17 May 2022, the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime and Fr. Joseph Phuoc, the Regional Councilor, led by Fr. Dheparat Pitisant, the Provincial, travelled to St. Raphael’s Cathedral, Surat Thani, in order to meet the Salesian confreres working in the pastoral areas of the diocese.
(ANS – Bangsak) The afternoon of 16 May 2022 witnessed the paternal gaze and heart of the Rector Major as he visited the Don Bosco Home, Bangsak along with the Regional, led by the provincial Fr. Dheparat Pitisant.
Khao Lak, Thailand – may 2022 – The visit to the "Surveillance Ship No. 813" and the Ban Nam Khem tsunami memorial by the Rector Major, the Regional Councilor and the Provincial rekindled memories of Thailand’s worst losses from the Tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004. The visit to the Tsunami memorial was part of the itinerary of the Rector Major, on his journey to the Salesian missions in the South of Thailand. It is located at a village along Thailand’s Andaman coast, in the Khao Lak District of Phangnga Province. This “Surveillance Ship No. 813” belonged to the Police department and was aimed at providing safety and security to the people, and was moored in the sea. When the powerful Tsunami waves hit the shores, the ship weighing 60 tons was carried to about two kilometers from the coast. The Ship today remains as a monument in that place, and it is reminiscent of how even a 60 tons ship could not stand the ferocity of nature. The Rector Major also visited the tsunami memorial at Ban Nam Khem, which bears the names and faces of some of the 3,500 Thais and foreigners who lost their lives during this worst disaster. He also visited the nameless cemetery at Ban Maruan as well, where the mortal remains of nearly 400 unidentified victims of the tsunami are kept. It is very significant to note, that this disaster prompted the Salesians of Thailand to establish the Don Bosco Home at Bangsak, to help the poor and orphaned children.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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RMG – 150 years ago Fr. Orione, light of charity in the world, was born(ANS - Rome) - St. Luigi Orione was born in Pontecurone, in the province of Alessandria, Italy, on June 23, 1872. For three years, from October 1886 to August 1889, he was a student at the Valdocco Oratory in Turin. Don Bosco, who soon noticed his human qualities, counted him among his favorites, assuring him, "We will always be friends." During his time in Turin, he also became acquainted with the charitable works of St. Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo, close to the Salesian oratory, until he later started his "Little Work of Divine Providence." On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of "don Orione," as he is universally known, we post an interview with Father Tarcisio Vieira, who has just been confirmed by the General Chapter of the Oriones as the Congregation's Director-General.
EDITORIAL
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Listening With Our HeartLittle John was watching the television and the sight of the African children being shown in utter poverty made him cry, and after sobbing in desperation he got up and pulled out a few slices of bread and went near the television and started pushing those slices in every small little hole on the back of the television. In his simplicity, he thought he was offering a little bread to those hungry children. The little boy expresses best what it means to listen with the heart.
The attentive gaze of a mother by the side of her child, and the slightest cry or movement of the child makes her respond immediately with a gentle touch or a caress, and this too is perhaps another example of what it means to listen with the heart. The mother feels what the child needs.
Listening with the heart is the experience of a noble, loving, compassionate person. Looking around, we see millions of people who suffer in silence every day. Everyone longs to be heard and listened to. But the raging fire and chaos, noise and humdrums have caused so much of deafness within, and we only listen to some sounds. We have lost the quality to empathize, to listen and to feel.
The call to listen with the ear of one’s heart, is the invitation of Pope Francis in light of the 56th World Communications Day, that is popularly celebrated on the Ascension Sunday every year. Are we really truly listening? Why do we struggle to listen? How can we listen with our heart? These can be some areas of introspection as we ponder on this theme of the World Communications Day – “Listening with the ear of the heart”.
EVENTS
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Italy – "Auxilium Faculty: female perspectives for Rome as an educating city"(ANS - Rome) - An event on the theme "Auxilium Faculty: female perspectives for Rome as an Educating City" was held yesterday, Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in the Sala della Protomoteca on the Capitol Hill in Rome, organized by the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences "Auxilium," in collaboration with the Municipalities XIII and XIV of the Municipality of Rome, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (1872-2022).
SPECIAL REPORTS
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RMG – "Communication, Management and Governance": the latest article by Fr. Gildasio Mendes in the series "St. Francis de Sales Communicator. Inner pilgrimage, wisdom in the art of communication."(ANS - Rome) - On the day of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion closely linked to the figure of St. Francis de Sales, we publish the last of six articles written by Fr. Gildasio Mendes, General Councilor for Social Communication, on the theme, "St. Francis de Sales Communicator. Inner Pilgrimage, Wisdom in the Art of Communication."
MESSAGES OF THE RECTOR MAJOR
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«MY NAME IS SEAN CAYD». The Story of an Unimaginable GiftDear Readers, friends and most especially friends of Don Bosco's charism, I send you my affectionate greeting. They always come with gratitude for the sympathy you have towards Don Bosco, the saint of the world's youth, and the closeness, respect, or curiosity you feel towards those of us who try to continue his mission in the Church and the world. With all my heart, I thank you!