(ANS - Pordenone) - The Vatican Publishers in Pordenone are holding a convention these days entitled “Listen, read and grow". This is now the ninth such convention. Yesterday, Tuesday 27 October, Fr Francesco Cereda, Vicar of the Rector Major, spoke about the relevance today of the message of Don Bosco.

Fr Cereda spoke as part of an evening totally dedicated to the figure and the relevance of the Piedmontese saint, in view of the celebration this year of the bicentenary of his birth. With him in the "Giuseppe Verdi" theatre were Fr Luigi Ciotti, founder of Gruppo Abele and Free Association, and Fr Giuseppe Costa, SDB, Director of the Vatican Publishers.

In his talk Fr Cereda looked in particular at "the fundamental goal of the educational project" of Don Bosco, summarized in the formula "good Christians and honest citizens".

"For Don Bosco, the main issue to be addressed was the salvation of the soul" said Fr Cereda. At the same time he proposed the “mysticism of work” to his Salesians and young people - well summed up by the motto "work and temperance".  He maintained a vision of life that is basically to be understood as a "vocation".

Nowadays, according to Fr Cereda, the relevance of the message of Don Bosco means promoting "an educational environment characterized by collaboration between educators and young people, from the spirit and atmosphere of family, trust, friendship and dialogue". It means developing "with young people a personal relationship that enables the educational process to start from the situation of each individual and to recognize and enhance the identity and unique characteristics of the individual". It also means establishing "an educational relationship in the belief that young people are active and are made responsible for their growth to maturity, supported by educators with a role of accompaniment and guidance."

This year the convention has brought together as many as fifty-four distinguished speakers. In twelve sessions they discussed various topics, such as social exclusion, immigration and the condition of the sick, the poor who are uncared for and prisoners.

Precisely for this reason, another event took place also yesterday in the prison in Pordenone. Seventy prisoners were given a rosary and two books, published by Vatican Publishers: "Tell the prisoners I am praying for them" and "The Lord was also a prisoner". These are collections of what Pope Francis has said about prisoners and the situation in prisons.

Published 28/10/2015