NEWS
(ANS - Guatemala City) – On more than one occasion, Pope Francis raised a prayer for all those who work for the sick, especially the medical staff and health workers who are doing everything possible to help patients affected by Coronavirus. “I received a message from a priest from Bergamo,” commented the Pope, “asking to pray for the doctors of Bergamo, Treviglio, Brescia, Cremona, who are at the limit of their work; they are giving their lives to help the sick, to save the lives of others.” The stories of doctors who give their lives to save the sick is a reality. This is the case of Doctor Venancio de León, a past pupil of Don Bosco.
(ANS - Addis Ababa) - To contribute to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and its social consequences, the Salesian communities in Ethiopia identify and support "the poorest of the poor", as expressed by the Planning and Development Office of the Salesians of Addis Ababa, the country's capital.
(ANS – Rome) – The members of the Salesian Family are working all over the world with an unrivaled effort to support those who suffer most from the pandemic. How does a massive organization occupied in multifarious activities in so many countries run a well-oiled operation on such a large scale? In March 2020, Italy and a few other countries of Europe were already in the tight grip of Covid-19 and tied down by lockdowns. On 25 March, 48 persons from various provinces and countries from all continents met online through a video conference. They shared information on what was happening in their own countries and decided on a coordinated response by the Congregation.
(ANS - Rome) - The mosaic behind the altar of the Don Bosco Temple in Rome, depicting Saint Giovanni Bosco in Glory, surrounded by saints and blesseds of the Salesian Family, after a restoration that lasted several months, was returned last Sunday, on solemnity of Pentecost, to the faithful of the Roman basilica dedicated to the Piedmontese saint. Such an event, highlighted Gianpiero Palmieri, auxiliary bishop of the East sector for the diocese of Rome, "gives new hope in such a dramatic moment."
(ANS - Palabek) – The coronavirus emergency is really not all that different from other crises: in the end, the poorest are always the ones who suffer the most. The refugees are far from their homeland and survive on the basis of what is given to them, as they dream of peace and of returning home. They were not born poor and did not live in poverty: they studied, they are educated, but the war has forced them to flee with only the clothes they had on their backs to save their lives.