(ANS – Turin) –At the end of the solemn Eucharistic concelebration held yesterday morning at Colle Don Bosco, the Rector Major, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, and the Mother General of the Daughters of Mary Help pf Christians, Mother Yvonne Reungoat, met the press in the sacristy of the Basilica and spoke with them of the Bicentenary and of the conclusion of SYM DON BOSCO 2015.

by Gian Francesco Romano

In front of the many situations of war and conflict in the world, the world meeting of the Salesian Youth Movement was a testimony that spoke by itself. “These young people showed that together it is possible to construct peace”, Mother Reungoat declared; and Fr.Á.F. Artime, in his turn, emphasized the gracefulness with which delegations bigger in number related to the young coming from more difficult areas – such as, for instance, Syria or South Sudan.

To the Rector Major, the appraisal of this Bicentenary Year, which was so beautiful and so demanding, is certainly a positive one. And if the present is marked with beauty, the future is seen with eyes of hope. “We cannot stop”, said the Tenth Successor of Don Bosco.

A theme that in the course of time remains unchanged for the Salesian Family is the preferential option for the neediest children and youth. In this regard, the Rector Major quoted the humble, silent and yet fundamental service of the Salesians who remained to work with the orphans from Ebola in Sierra Leone.

At a precise question on what to do with boys and girls of the western world, who are basically less touched by wars, epidemics and extreme situations, Mother Reungoat recalled how numerous can the forms of poverty be among the youth: cultural, affective, religious poverty… Because of this, the sister reminded that also today, as in Don Bosco’s time, the solution is to be found in educating and accompanying the youth to discover the sense of their own lives.

“Don Bosco has a universal appeal, because he donated even his last breath to the young” summed up the Tenth Successor of Don Bosco.    

Published 18/08/2015