(ANS - Quito) - Taking advantage of his visit to the country, from the 10th to the 11^th of September, the Office of Communication of the Salesian Province of Ecuador has made an interview with the General Councillor for Formation, Fr Ivo Coelho. From this interview, we can understand the work, the reality, and challenges facing the Salesian Formation sector. Fr Coelho was elected Formation Councillor by the Salesians of the 27^th General Chapter (GC27); he was previously the rector of the Ratisbonne Salesian Theological Studentate  in Jerusalem.

"You need to consider Formation from another point of view, since one get more by providing a constant accompaniment to the young, because they consolidate their vocation, they love it and give with all my heart," said Fr Coelho, answering a question about the challenges in this sector.

On the other hand, concerning the points to be reinforced in Formation, he said: "And how do we form them? ... With our daily life, spiritual direction and a humane spiritual accompaniment (...) It is therefore also necessary to consider that communication is a fundamental dimension of formation, it is the backbone."

Fr Coelho also spoke of the guidelines offered by the GC27 in the formation sector, emphasizing the community aspect: "To live by witnessing is important, now we talk about the prophecy of fraternity, because to live in community we are experiencing the evangelization and the witnessing. "

Another question concerned the formation sector in Ecuador; This is the response of the Councillor: "In this province, there is a very good practice with regard to the pastoral care of vocations, from the moment the young people, who come into contact with the Salesians, have opportunities for volunteering, is an interesting fact (...) it is very relevant because the young people get to know little by little the work of Don Bosco and all the areas of action at the local level, and this is a strength of this province."

The full interview is available in Spanish on the website of the Salesians in Ecuador.

Posted on 12/09/2014