(ANS – Quito) – On the morning of Saturday, September 13, the Rector Major, Fr Fabio Attard, 11th Successor of Don Bosco, held a meeting with the Salesian Family and the laity in Ecuador. In the Coliseum of the Salesian Polytechnic University (UPS) in El Girón, Quito, more than 450 people gathered to share a space for dialogue, identity, and charism. With his close and profound message, Fr Fabio encouraged the 10 groups present to renew their commitment to the Salesian charism in the current reality of the country.

During his speech, Fr. Fabio encouraged the participants to head towards the future with a clear evangelical identity, profound pastoral understanding, and a proposal capable of dialogue with the current reality. He stressed that fidelity to the Salesian charism requires listening to reality with sincerity and authenticity, recognizing challenges with humility and discerning, even in small ways, how to respond to them.

‘We are often like the Lord’s disciples: we see so many hungry people and we only have five loaves and two fish. And the Lord says to us: “Give them something to eat,” he said, inviting us to trust in God’s action through the concrete gestures of each community.

The missionary dimension of the Salesian charism in Ecuador

Marcelo Farfán, Provincial, asked the Rector Major a question related to the missionary dimension in the context of the upcoming canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti on October 19, and the testimonies on the path to sainthood of Father Crespi, Venerable, and Father Luis Bola, Servant of God.

In his response, Fr Fabio focused on important features of the figure of Sister Maria Troncatti:

“Her life was one of touching simplicity and therefore deeply meaningful. She was a woman with a heart in love with Jesus, and nothing else. She expressed it with freedom, with determination, and with a maternal dimension that made her close and authentic.”

The Rector Major emphasized that mysticism, understood as that inner space where God dwells in each person, was the axis of the life of the future saint: “The moment we realize that the Lord lives within us, we can say: ‘Lord, what do you want of me?’ This is what Maria Troncatti did: she put herself at the service of the voice of God in her life.”

In this context, she emphasized vocation as life’s mission: it is not only about what one does, but also about who one is and what one passes on to others. “Mission is not a one-off task. It is living what the Lord asks of me and sharing it authentically, with serenity, passion, and humility.”

He added that this is the mission: to live what the Lord asks of me, as Maria Troncatti did, giving herself completely and with total freedom. “Father Bola, Father Crespi, and so many Salesians, Salesian Sisters, former students, and cooperators did the same. This is what the Lord is asking of us today.”

Finally, the delegations of the 10 Salesian Family groups in Ecuador expressed their closeness to the Rector Major with signs of gratitude and fraternity. Some gave him significant gifts and others asked for his blessing and prayers. In addition to the photographs shared, the moment reflected the joy of feeling like a family around the Successor of Don Bosco and the commitment to continue walking together in the mission.

Source: Salesianos.org.ec