(ANS – Rome) – On the 148th anniversary of the Salesian Missionary Expedition, Saturday November 11, 2023, Fr. Alfred Maravilla, General Councillor for the Missions, announced that in the last winter session of the General Council the Rector Major, with the consent of his Council, accepted the invitation of Bishop Petros Stefanou, Catholic bishop of Syros, Santorini and Crete to open a Salesian presence in his diocese. “Greece is the most recent country in Europe where we are establishing a presence after many years. It is the new Salesian frontier in Europe”, Fr. Maravilla explained.

Meanwhile, volunteers to send to Greece are still being awaited. The plan is that the first group of Salesian missionaries will be sent to Athens in September 2024 to study modern Greek for a year. Then around September 2025 the first Salesian community will take up pastoral responsibility in the parish of Pagos, on the island of Santorini.

Gradually, the first Salesian community will assume full pastoral responsibility first of all for the parish of Pagos then, as the missionary pioneers come to a better understanding of the context, they will also take on responsibility for youth ministry in Syros, Santorini and Crete; and then go on to take up other pastoral responsibilities, always in dialogue with the local community.

The General Councillor for the Mission explained that the process of discernment to identify which province to entrust the presence in Greece to is underway. “Personally, I think this new presence in Europe is very important for the entire Congregation, because it emphasizes that here in Europe we are not just about closing presences but are still able to dream about opening something new and transforming that dream into reality”, Fr Maravilla stressed.