(ANS - Brindisi) – “The Educational Work of the Salesians” is the title of a book by Salvatore Barone, Past Pupil of Don Bosco, who died last April. It tells the story of the Salesians who are celebrating eighty years in Brindisi, in this Year of the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco.

The book was launched on Saturday 3 October in the theatre of the parish of the Sacred Heart in Brindisi. The attendance included the author's son, Vincenzo Barone, his nephew, Fr Giuseppe Di Sario, and the Rector and Parish Priest, Fr Mario Stigliano.

Published by Balsamo-Ragione in Brindisi, the book - with proceeds going to charity - is "an attempt to highlight the heritage of values ​​transmitted to our city by a group of priests and lay people who have given more than seventy years of uninterrupted service".

The Educational Work of the Salesiansconsists of five chapters preceded by a historical introduction in which the author recalls the arrival of the Salesians in Brindisi, between 5 and 7 December 1934. The first Rector of the House of Brindisi was Fr Joseph Villani.

In the book the author – himself a past pupil – recalls the history of the oratory and of the Salesian School in Brindisi, the presence of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the story of the Association of Salesian Cooperators and the story of the Salesian Theatre.

"As a backdrop to everything there is the history of the Second World War, the post-war period, the fifties and sixties; the history of the city as a backdrop to the events and then, finally, there is the history and the events of this Salesian house" said Fr Di Sario, highlighting one of the keys to understanding the text.

Salvatore Barone has also published two other books: "The Mother of the Salesians" (2003) and "The Church of the Salesians" (2008).

Published 12/10/2015