NEWS
(ANS – Turin) – The Basilica of Mary Help of Christians is the jewel in the crown of Don Bosco’s original Oratory in Valdocco (Turin), Italy. Built between 1863 and 1868, it was literally a dream come true for Don Bosco. Begun as a worship space for the boys of the Oratory, it became the centre of the newly founded Salesian Congregation and today it is the pulsing spiritual heart of the worldwide Salesian Family. And last March, the Salesian Family Coordinators in the SUE Province (United States East and Canada) asked Fr Mike Pace SDB, Vice-Director, Museo Casa Don Bosco, if he would prepare a video tour of the Basilica. “This was a privileged invitation to make the Basilica and Don Bosco’s Madonna better known and loved,” Fr Pace comments. So a guided tour is now available– in English, and also with Italian and Korean subtitles, but soon in Spanish too – that explores various strands which are woven together to make the Basilica a magnificent tapestry of Salesian history, spirituality and Marian devotion.
(ANS - Rome) – 27 June 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of the martyrdom of four of the twelve Salesians, belonging to the St Hyacinth Province of Krakow, arrested on the night of 23 May 1941 by Gestapo officials. They are Fr Jan Świerc, 64, parish priest; Fr Ignacy Dobiasz, 61, parish vicar; Fr Franciszek Harazim, 56, professor of Theology; Fr Kazimierz Wojciechowski, 37, catechist.
(ANS – Rome) – The Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, sent a message of thanks and encouragement to the Past Pupils who tomorrow and the day after (June 25-26) will participate, in digital mode, in the XII Congress of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco of the Asia and Oceania Region. "We must be moved by hope in all possible senses of this sentence," he says.
PHOTO GALLERY
INTERVIEWS
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.