He reached Bilbao on the evening of 2 May and met the local communities of the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), in the presence of Bishop Mario Iceta, bishop of the local diocese.
Fr Á.F. Artime spent 3 May, the fifth day of his visit, at the Salesian house of Deusto. His arrival was awaited also by the nearby Salesian communities: the FMA of Barakaldo, and the Salesians of Barakaldo, Cruces, Deusto and from the House dedicated to Don Rua.
Among the events planned, one of the most important was the meeting with the world of Salesian vocational training at which representatives of business, education and local administration were present. The Rector Major recalled a decisive truth which is valid nowadays as a project and dream: "education changes lives."
In the main courtyard of the institute hundreds of children and young people were waiting to greet him. The Rector Major met them with the affection of a father. Speaking to the educational community and to the Salesian Family at Deusto, Fr Á.F. Artime asked them to "work miracles ", changing the lives of young people through education. He also said that: "we are a great religious family and we have to show it."
In a message to the teachers at Los Boscos in Logroño, he spoke of the educational dreams which are the strength of the Salesians. Teachers and members of the Salesian Family from the centres of Barakaldo, Urnieta, Pamplona, Logroño and Zaragoza had come to hear him and Fr Á.F. Artime did not forget to thank them. Then he told them about the shared mission between laity and religious, and expressed his wish that all the Salesian Houses "be the Valdocco of today, for their spirit and the way of educating."
"The great challenge,” he insisted “is the formation of the new generations."
Further information can be found on the blog https://visitarectormayor.wordpress.com and fore more photos visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/140626487@N08/sets/
