“I used to tell the young people during the Salesian Goodnight that Don Bosco had a Globe of the world on his desk and a second Globe in his heart. We are children of a man for whom the future was not a threat, but a promise: a source of courage and hope!” – Fr. Fabio Attard

(ANS – Pompei) – With the 11th Successor of Don Bosco, Fr Fabio Attard, the Salesian Family of Southern Italy, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and also Malta experienced a memorable weekend on May 3 and 4, full of grace and authentic Salesianity, in the setting of the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Holy Rosary.

On Saturday afternoon, Fr Attard was welcomed by 450 young people during the Feast of the Salesian Youth Movement. His presence made Don Bosco alive and tangible in an atmosphere of joy, to the notes of the hymn “Hope.” The evening continued with a musical and circus show, followed by an intense spiritual moment in which the Rector Major took part together with the Salesian Provincial of the Southern Italy Province (IME), Fr Gianpaolo Roma, and the Provincial of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), Sr Ivana Milesi, in the Rosary procession which started from the square in front of the event and reached the Basilica where there was the Salesian Goodnight and the missionary mandate involving 34 young people.

Sunday saw the culmination of the event, with the Jubilee of the Salesian Family, which brought together some 2,000 consecrated men and women and lay people belonging to the 13 Salesian Family Groups operating in southern Italy. Alongside the Rector Major, in addition to the FMA and SDB Provincials,  were also Fr Joan Lluís Playà, Central Delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian Family, and Antonio Boccia, World Coordinator of Salesian Cooperators. The morning involved testimonies, artistic performances, while many colored scarves were waved enthusiastically to the sky. The central moment was the Eucharistic Celebration presided over by Fr Attard under the motherly gaze of the icon of Our Lady of the Rosary.

During his homily, the Rector Major emphasized the importance of synodality and collaboration within the Salesian Family and with the local Church. “I encourage the various groups to have a broad vision,” he said. “I used to tell the young people during the Salesian Goodnight that Don Bosco had a Globe of the world on his desk and a second Globe in his heart. We are children of a man for whom the future was not a threat, but a promise: a source of courage and hope! If we stop cultivating it, it will be the young who will pay the price, and this we cannot afford. Inspired by Mary, let us be guided by God’s will and set out today, so that tomorrow will be more dignified for young people.”