(ANS – Catania) – On Saturday, September 27, Fr. Fabio Attard arrived in Sicily for the first time as Rector Major to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Salesian Youth Movement (MGS), which originated on the island and spread throughout the world thanks to the work of the Salesians. With the slogan “You can see it, you can feel it, Don Bosco is here,” Fr. Fabio Attard, Rector Major of the Salesians and 11th successor of Don Bosco, was warmly welcomed in the courtyard of the Salesian community of St Francis de Sales in Catania.
The arrival and greeting of the Salesians of Sicily
The day of September 27 began at the airport, where a delegation of 148 Salesians from Sicily welcomed the spiritual father of the Salesian Congregation present on all five continents. Subsequently, Fr. Fabio was received by Fr. Domenico Saraniti, the Provincial of the Salesians of Sicily, who introduced him to a moment of fraternal discussion with his confreres in the light of the recent General Chapter.
Fr. Saraniti said: “Living the themes of the General Chapter means allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit in our choices and in our educational charity. We need to be able to interpret Don Bosco’s charism in new ways and in new contexts, always cultivating closeness to the poorest young people.”
“We want to launch a project in the historic district of San Cristoforo as an antidote to easy deception. We are focusing on the paths of evangelization, the renewal of pastoral care and Christian initiation, and we want to embark on a specific path for young university students. These are the coordinates that we entrust to your fatherly heart today,” Fr. Domenico Saraniti recalled.
A big celebration at the Institute of St Francis de Sales
Ahead of the official celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Salesian Youth Movement, scheduled for tomorrow at the Metropolitan Theater in Catania, the courtyard of St Francis de Sales welcomed over 1,000 people from various Salesian works in Sicily.
Civil and military authorities were present to pay tribute to the Rector Major, including the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, the Mayor of Catania, Enrico Trantino, and the Archbishop of Catania, Luigi Renna. The presence of Mother Chiara Cazzuola, Superior General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, was particularly significant.
Salvo La Rosa, a former Salesian student, led the evening and introduced the speeches. Before the Rector Major’s lectio magistralis, the President of the Region, Renato Schifani, addressed a message to all those present: “This is a land that seeks to suffer no more and to grow, and this is today’s commitment,” Renato Schifani reiterated. We must work to bring our young people back, and be pilgrims of hope – as the Jubilee reminds us – a leaven for society. Sharing the Salesian educational project means having the capacity to love and always do good. We must start again with the youngest to renew society.”
Furthermore, the president of the Region emphasized that his speech was not just words for the occasion, but a public commitment. “We need to open up to a new ruling class. As a regional government, we are committed to strengthening places of gathering for education. To supporting educational practice with appropriate measures and to guaranteeing resources for third sector organizations.” President Schifani’s words were bombastic, a real public commitment, and it was also pointed out that a significant part of the region’s budget surplus will be allocated to social services throughout the island.
Finally, President Schifani reminded his audience, addressing young people in particular, that “Being together means solidarity, human and international chains, we need to work as a system. Dear young people, it is not worth going alone: we need to work as a team. True solidarity is believing in tomorrow. No political force can take away freedom of expression: we will pass the baton on to you, defend the values of freedom and family. The family generates future, values and hope. This is our commitment to social issues”.
The Rector Major’s keynote address
Before the Mayor Enrico Trantino conferred honorary citizenship of the city of Catania on Fr. Fabio Attard and Mother Chiara Cazzuola, the Rector Major gave his keynote address. It was an intense speech, full of hope and aimed at building new alliances and synergies to make education a truly wide-ranging mission.
“It is urgent to build paths,” Fr. Attard reminded us, “that form young people for the good of society, in an age characterized by a profound search for meaning, marked by indifference and disenchantment. This meeting was appreciated by everyone, even those who do not belong directly to the Salesian movement but share the same passion for education. It is an opportunity to strengthen ourselves in the commitment that Don Bosco entrusted to us: to be servants of young people, offering them hope and meaning for a better tomorrow.”
In his impressive speech, Fr. Fabio invited those present to transform memory into commitment, looking to the future in a positive and proactive way. “Called to be signs of hope” was the title chosen by the Maltese priest. “As educators and pastors, together with many people of goodwill, we want this anniversary to be a testimony of gratitude and responsibility towards young people and their future. In a culture that risks suffocating us with indifference and individualism, we must ensure that our commitment becomes a system, an antidote to what kills hope,” remarked Fr. Fabio Attard.
In addition, the Rector Major re-examined the current educational crisis, emphasizing that “times have changed and this has significant consequences for everyday education. This is why it is essential to know the lives of young people, their history and their environment: it becomes imperative for those who truly want to be close to them.”