(ANS – Barcelona) – The World Mission Advisory Council is an international group of representatives from all over the world who meet to talk about ways to improve and understand Salesian Missions at world level. It held a meeting in Barcelona, from 23 to 25 of February.

The participants studied and gave feedback to the new document from the Salesian Missions Department that seeks to clarify the role of the Local Mission Animation Delegate. It should be published soon.

They also looked at the Mission Department’s road map for the years 2014 to 2020, and spent time studying and proposing new priorities for the next two years before we meet again.

Reflection focused also on how to see the 27th General Chapter with missionary eyes. Part of the job was to brainstorm on how to disseminate the Salesian Missions Department’s new document in a more effective way. This document – Missionary re-reading of GC27 – really presents the 27th General Chapter in the light of the missionary call. The council suggested that it could be used in the coming provincial chapters.

“We belong to a large global family!” said Juan Carlos Montenegro, one of the participants. “We took a photo of ourselves in the same place where Don Bosco’s photo was taken with Michael Rua while he was in Spain. The significance of this photo is that 129 years later a group of Salesians from all over the world took another one in the same place. If Don Bosco were to see this, he would be super-proud!”.

On the fringe of the meeting Fr Guillermo Basañes, Councillor General for the Salesian Missions, released a short message in Spanish, on the work done during the meeting and on what it means to be a Salesian missionary today.

Published 02/03/2015