(ANS – Vatican City) – On the fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Exhortation ‘Christus vivit’, Pope Francis invites young people to “make their voices heard” as they “bear witness before everyone to the joy born of friendship with Christ.”
(ANS - Vatican City) - Fr Giuseppe Costa, SDB, Co-spokesperson of the Salesian Congregation, edited the book "Chiamati all’amore con speranza. Strenne salesiane di don Ángel Fernández Artime” (Called to Love with Hope: Salesian Strennas of Fr Ángel Fernández Artime), which collects in a single volume, strenna messages and quotes from the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, created a Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023.
(ANS - Vatican City) - During the audience granted on Thursday, March 14, 2024, to Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the same Dicastery to promulgate the Decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Camillo Costa de Beauregard, a Diocesan Priest born in Chambéry (France) on February 17, 1841, and died there on March 25, 1910 - whose Cause is entrusted to the Salesian Postulation.
(ANS - Rome) – On Tuesday, 5 March 2024, the Holy See Press Office announced that the Holy Father Pope Francis has assigned to Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB, the Rector Major of the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco, the titular See of Ursona, with archiepiscopal dignity, in view of his episcopal ordination scheduled for coming 20 April.
(ANS – Vatican City) – Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for March, asking for prayers for the martyrs of our day, and recalling a story he was told by a widowed Muslim man who recounted the martyrdom of his Christian wife as she defied terrorists. In the video, in which the Pope tells the poignant story of a woman martyr in our times, there is also a reference to Akash Bashir, a former pupil of Don Bosco and the first Servant of God in the history of the Church in Pakistan.
(ANS - Vatican City) - The entire universal Church is preparing for the Holy Year of 2025, a Jubilee year in which each person can realize and experience even more powerfully, that God's holiness is able to transform the life of every person. Although all the faithful will be able to receive the grace of the Jubilee in the myriad of initiatives that will be carried out in dioceses around the world, there will certainly be many pilgrims who will travel to Rome for the occasion, to meet the Successor of Peter. As in the past, the organizing committee of the Jubilee 2025 has planned specific moments to experience and celebrate the Jubilee pilgrimage in the various groups and social segments.
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.”