{"id":6925,"date":"2023-06-14T13:03:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T20:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=6925"},"modified":"2025-04-25T18:50:59","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:50:59","slug":"the-charism-of-presence-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2023\/06\/14\/the-charism-of-presence-and-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"The Charism of Presence and Hope – \u201cA Book that Gives an Account of the Salesian Vitality in the World\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(ANS – Vatican City) – A diverse gathering took place recently among Salesian cardinals and bishops, international journalists, personalities from the field of communication, from the publishing world, religious men and women, and other special invitees who all participated with true attention and lively involvement in the presentation of the book \u201cThe Charism of Presence and Hope: A Year Traveling with Fr. \u00c1ngel Fern\u00e1ndez Artime\u201d, at the Teutonic College in the Vatican City. A text which, \u201cthrough the travels of the Rector Major, reveals the uniqueness of the Salesian charism and mission\u201d, as the editor of the book and Co-spokesperson of the Congregation, Fr. Giuseppe Costa, stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in front of the 60 plus guests gathered for this occasion, Fr. Costa thanked the Rector Major for having given the opportunity to prepare this book, the various speakers who had agreed to present it, as well as all the guests present, starting with Cardinals Tarcisio Bertone and Raffaele Farina; and Bishops Calogero La Piana and Enrico dal Covolo. Special mention was also made of the presence of Fr. Pascual Ch\u00e1vez, the 9th Successor of Don Bosco, \u201ca sign that there is a baggage of tradition that pushes us forward,\u201d as Fr. Costa remarked; and among those present were also the General Councillor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, as well as the Superior of the Vice province of UPS, Fr. Maria Arokiam Kanaga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introducing the proceedings, the Director of ACI Stampa, Angela Ambrogetti, described the volume as \u2018a new handbook, with names, dates, figures, places, people\u201d which, accompanied by vivid pictures of the journeys, recount the relevance of the Salesian charism in its many presences around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, the first of the speakers, Domenico Agasso, the La Stampa journalist , cast a Piedmontese eye over the book. Even in a context of constant secularization, in the land that was once of the Saint of Youth, \u2018Don Bosco is still an untouchable point of reference,\u2019 he pointed out. Then, delving between the pages of the text, he spoke of the book as a \u201cprecious and compelling volume, which makes us explore the world through the eyes of Fr. \u00c1ngel, and bears witness to the enormous vitality that is on the planet, and is often ignored\u201d. Leafing through it, the journalist traced the relevance of Don Bosco\u2019s paradigm that in every young person he sought \u201cthat point accessible to goodness\u201d. He praised the Rector Major\u2019s commitment to continue his mission in the world, seeking out the distant young person and the needy in order to give  them social and occupational redemption, through dignity, education, joy… and without ever forgetting that the true meaning of existence requires an openness to the transcendent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On her part, Eva Fern\u00e1ndez, Cadena Cope\u2019s correspondent for Italy – the media platform of the Spanish Episcopal Conference – pointed out two key verbs that sum up all the journeys: \u201cSustain and animate\u201d, referring to those presences \u201cthat continue to breathe the spirit of Don Bosco\u201d. She listed the various places touched by the Rector Major and depicted in the book, ranging from the humble \u201cfamily visits\u201d to the profoundly poignant moments: she recounted his visits to the Tsunami orphans in Thailand, the \u201cFerrante Aporti\u201d juvenile prison in Turin, the relic of the Salesian martyr Stephen Sandor in Budapest, and how he met with little Sean Cayd in Zimbabwe, who wholeheartedly presented a stone as his offering. The value of the text, the journalist emphasized, lies in the fact that the images really do speak of the strength of a charism of \u201cunwavering and untiring enthusiasm\u201d and the continued presence of so many Salesians, so that it can be said that \u201cby the works of the children we know the father\u201d. The journalist concluded by saying: \u201cReading this book will not leave you indifferent, because it shows us that in some corner of the world there will always be some son of Don Bosco to give lessons in hope\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was then the turn of former student Gianni Cardinale to express his views on the book. With references to his youth and journalistic experience, he recalled the Salesian presence in Rome and the influence of the Salesians on the city and in his life. He praised the courageous and interesting experiment mentioned in the text of the school in Alassio, run by the laity, and the many details and anecdotes that emerge from reading the book: from the presence of the Salesian world map of Valdocco, which shows the 136 countries where the Salesians are to be found, to the curiosities inherent to the Rector Major. Cardinale goes on to mention that the Rector Major loves the guitar, that he wanted to be a doctor, that he plays basketball, and that he is the son of a fisherman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Javier Mart\u00ednez-Brocal, ABC\u2019s correspondent for the Vatican, spoke, affirming that reading the book is a food for thought for anyone involved in communication, because it speaks of so many stories of great vitality that are often ignored and suppressed in the dominant flow of communication: \u201cWhere are we looking at? Is the reality of communication the real reality? It is the one that keeps us going, that gives us hope, that makes us present…\u201d he said. He then highlighted the enthusiasm of the Salesians and their ability \u201cto be full of God and to transmit it with all joy\u201d. He also remarked how the charism of presence witnessed by the book is a fundamental witness for the post-pandemic we are living in. He concluded his presentation addressing the Rector Major: \u201cKeep on traveling!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, Fr. \u00c1.F. Artime expressed his sentiments of gratitude for the friendly and familiar presentation and stated that he had accepted the proposal of such a book from Fr. Costa only if it served to show, as Don Bosco wanted, the good things that are done. Or, as he wanted to put it, the many \u201cmiracles of Salesian education\u201d that occur silently in the world every time a young person\u2019s life is changed in the name of Don Bosco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis book brings together so much life that it is good to make it visible,\u201d he said, giving the perfect summary of the text. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(ANS – Vatican City) – A diverse gathering took place recently among Salesian cardinals and bishops, international journalists, personalities from the field of communication, from the publishing world, religious men and women, and other special invitees who all participated with true attention and lively involvement in the presentation of the book \u201cThe Charism of Presence and Hope: A Year Traveling with Fr. \u00c1ngel Fern\u00e1ndez Artime\u201d, … Continuar leyendo The Charism of Presence and Hope – \u201cA Book that Gives an Account of the Salesian Vitality in the World\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10336596,"featured_media":6926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[516714022],"tags":[35890],"class_list":["post-6925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salesian-world-news","tag-featured"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59ePG-1NH","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salesianbulletin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/93d4f244ed5c9a9241c1ad0819b468a2_l.jpeg?fit=655%2C437&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10336596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6925"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6929,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6925\/revisions\/6929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}