The program started off in Rijswijk, a town right next to The Hague, on the West coast of The Netherlands. A tour of the Don Bosco oratory showed Fr. Gildasio where the Salesians of Don Bosco used to live in this place and how they started working with young people in this oratory over 70 years ago. Nowadays the Don Bosco oratory is still very much alive and is now run by lay people. Most of them are professional youth workers, but there are also many volunteers involved, who grew up in this Don Bosco oratory themselves and are therefore well-known with the Salesian spirit and also very appreciative of it. One of them is Marlies Cuppen, now director of this oratory in Rijswijk (Don Bosco Rijswijk). Her mission is to continue Don Bosco’s work in this oratory and giving back the blessing she herself received as a child. Hundreds of children visit Don Bosco Rijswijk every week, engaging in activities such as sports, games, cooking classes and handcraft workshops.
Mission continues
While enjoying a nice lunchbreak after this tour, Fr. Gildasio summarized his experience. “It’s wonderful to see and feel the spirit of Don Bosco in this Dutch oratory and experience the passion of these youth workers. It gives me hope for the future of Don Bosco in general. His message and mission will continue, also through lay people. After all, we share the same mission, only from a different capacity,” he stated.
After lunch a drive across country brought Fr. Gildasio to Assel, where Dutch Salesians live in a community. This property also has offices for employees of Don Bosco in The Netherlands. Fr. Gildasio was given a presentation by Anja Hoogeveen, who is responsible for the Social Communications of Don Bosco in The Netherlands. She showed him their new and improved Don Bosco housestyle manual, which was recently developed in order to create more unity in the social communications of all the Don Bosco oratory in Vlaanderen (Belgium) and The Netherlands combined. Fr. Gildasio was very pleased with the output of this creative branding process, which includes a refreshed Don Bosco logo, a new pay-off (Don Bosco, a home for young people) and different designs for online tools like the website, social media and print media such as the bulletin and pamflets.
Collaboration expanded
“This housestyle manual also helps the Dutch and Belgian oratory to collaborate on an even deeper level of communication and use it at the service of our shared mission with lay people,” Fr. Gildasio concluded after the presentation.
After dinner it was time round up his visit to The Netherlands and head back to Belgium. We’re very grateful to have had the opportunity to welcome Fr. Gildasio in The Netherlands and of course he is more than welcome for another visit anytime soon!
https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/18071-holland-communications-at-the-service-of-our-shared-mission-with-lay-people#sigProId7f2b50cace
