(ANS - Milan) – The pilgrimage of the relics of Don Bosco to the province of Lombardy and Emiliana began on the night between 30 and 31 January with the official handover from Fr Luca Barone to Fr Elio Cesari in the presence of the Rector Major.

At 6.30 a.m. on the Feast of Don Bosco, the relics arrived in Varese where they visited the Salesian house. Then, accompanied by students of the school, they were taken to the Cathedral for two large concelebrations. That same day they stopped at the diocesan seminary of Milan in Venegono, and in Olgiate Olona and Seregno, the first two diocesan parishes dedicated to St John Bosco. A large number of the faithful took part in the different prayer sessions and many approached the sacraments of Confession and Eucharist.

That night the relics also made a ​​stop in the mechanics workshop of the Don Bosco Social Works in Sesto San Giovanni where the students of the professional school and the community of the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians kept vigil.

Early in the morning of 1 February many adults and students gathered in the church of St. Nicholas in Lecco to venerate the relic, recite Morning Prayer and attend Mass.

Symbolic entry of Don Bosco to Milan: the casket containing the relics was loaded on a special tram with the inscription "CONFIDENTIAL - DON BOSCO – 1815” on the front, and the date 2015 on the back - a clear reference to the bicentenary of his birth. It was welcomed by workers of the Azienda Trasporti Milanese, by civil and religious authorities and by the boys of the Oratory of St. Charles in Casoretto.

The tram made several stops along the streets,  giving the children of the Oratories in Milan an opportunity to offer hymns and prayers to Don Bosco. When they reachedPiazza Fontanathe relics were welcomed by the authorities and about 800 young people who were waiting in spite of the rain. They celebrated by releasing colourful balloons in the air.

The relics were escorted to the Cathedral where they were welcomed with a hymn specially composed for the occasion, to the cheers of 5,000 people and a welcome address by Mons. Mario Delpin ,Vicar General of the Archdiocese. From afternoon until night the relics remained in the Cathedral.  Several events had been organized in collaboration between the Archdiocese and the Province with the help of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) and the Foundation of the Milan Oratories. These included prayer by the catechists, public veneration, Mass for the Salesian Family and an evening vigil for teenagers.

The young people of the SYM who had gathered in Milan for their annual Forum  finally made ​​their way to the Cathedral at 11.30 p.m. The relics were then accompanied in procession with singing, dancing, prayer and reflection to the Basilica of St. Augustine and to the St. Ambrose Institute.

Published 05/02/2014