(ANS - Caracas) - The latest testimony from Venezuela, unfortunately, confirms the local population's extremely weak condition. Msgr. José Ángel Divassón Cilveti, a Salesian, who was Apostolic Vicar in the Amazonian city of Puerto Ayacucho for almost twenty years and who now resides in the country's capital, Caracas, gives voice to the profound unease of these past months.
(ANS - Gracias) - The Honduran people and the Salesian community share the joy of the episcopal ordination of Msgr. Walter Guillén Soto, SDB, as the first Bishop of the new diocese of Gracias. The celebration took place last Friday, June 11, 2021, in the temple of St Mark, the city's oldest, which has now become the Cathedral of the new diocese, and was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Honduras, Mgr. Gábor Pintér.
(ANS - Port-au-Prince) - The Salesians of the Blessed Philip Rinaldi Vice Province of Haiti (HAI) have announced the death of Msgr. Ducange Sylvain, SDB, auxiliary archbishop of Port-au-Prince and titular bishop of Nove. Yesterday, June 8, he reached the University Hospital of Mirebalais, following respiratory complications related to Covid-19.
(ANS – Gracias) – The feet of Mary Help of Christians are the feet of a missionary evangeliser. The Scripture says: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the Good News” (Rm 10,15). Mary is the woman of the Good News; she is the one who gave her life for the Gospel. She is the one who has given life to the one who gives life and will say one day: ‘I am the life’. She is the one who taught how to walk the path of ordinary daily life, the one who will one day say: ‘I am the way’.
(ANS - Gizo) - To prepare to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the diocese of Gizo, (1966-2026) its bishop, the Salesian Msgr. Luciano Capelli, has launched a five-year journey of preparation, which began in recent weeks with an itinerant journey of the paschal candle and a cross through the various parishes and communities. Traveling by ship between the numerous islands that make up the territory of the diocese, the candle and the cross stimulate the pastoral life and rekindle the evangelizing fire of every baptized person.
(ANS - Corumbá) - Archbishop Segismundo Martínez Álvarez, SDB, bishop emeritus of the diocese of Corumbá, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, died yesterday afternoon, Wednesday 21 April. Hospitalized since March 28, he too was a victim of Covid-19. The funeral is scheduled in the shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians in Corumbá, today, Thursday, at 10 am local time, presided over by Msgr. Dimas Lara Barbosa, Archbishop of Campo Grande and President of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference - West Region 1.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
-
RMG – “Do Elderly Salesians have a role in the Digital Culture?”The answer in the letter “Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture” from the General Councillor for Social Communication
(ANS – Rome) – In view of the current digital reality, and due to the presence, especially in some regions of the Salesian world, of a large number of elderly Salesians, the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, has decided to dedicate a special letter to them, entitled: "Sharing wisdom and hope in digital culture". Here is how he explains to ANS readers today the origins, significance and perspectives of this document.
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.