Much to the surprise of the organizers, 145 people joined, including 71 Salesians from four Provinces and six nations, 45 lay people, 11 FMA, and 19 people belonging to Salesian Family groups.
The recipients of the diploma are consecrated Salesians, consecrated women, and lay people who wish to be trained in the accompaniment of young people to learn to discern God's will in their own lives first of all, but also to grow in the ability to be accompanied to accompany others, to learn the art of accompaniment, to be formed in listening through attention to the person, learning to discern, listening to the impulses that the other experiences "forward," to measure one's own weaknesses and frailties, and to experience the Salesian style of accompaniment.
The contents of the diploma touch various areas and are developed by very competent teachers, divided as follows: human skills for accompaniment (Ignazio Punzi and Annerita Colasanti); accompaniment in Salesian style (Fr Carlo Maria Zanotti); enabling discernment (Fr Jack Finnegan and Fr Silvio Roggia); the art of accompaniment in St Francis de Sales (Fr Wim Collin); spiritual accompaniment in some figures of holiness in the Salesian Family (Lodovica Zanet); accompaniment in the history of spirituality (Fr Fabio Attard); and a practical workshop on spiritual accompaniment.
It is a three-year course and has a monthly online appointment lasting three hours.
What is important on a personal level, in addition to studying the suggested material, is to have or find a spiritual guide, to give God a daily contemplative space, to devote a monthly prayer day for discernment of God's will in one's life, to choose an annual round of personally or partially guided spiritual exercises.
