(ANS - Rome)- "Every one of you is important to us:" this is one of the things the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, said to the young people of Don Bosco Boys Town in Rome when he visited them on 17 October,  accompanied by his secretary Fr Horacio Lopez.

                                                                                                                                                            by Gian Luigi Pussino, SDB

This visit had been planned for some time. It was a joyful event, marked by the simplicity, familiarity and approachability that are typical of Salesian spirituality. Don Bosco Boys Town in Rome is like a second Valdocco,  as Fr Egidio Viganò said long ago. It was founded in the years immediately following the Second World War and is still very much alive. In the course of a year, about a thousand children and young people attend the Oratory, 300 young people who are admitted to vocational training courses, more than 200 kids at risk are helped each year in the programme called Rimettere le Ali (Give them Wings).

A legal help-desk for children, foster care, group homes, helping early school leavers – these are but some of the activities of Don Bosco Boys Town on the Via Prenestina (www.borgodonbosco.it).

Fr Leonardo Mancini, Superior of the Salesians in Central Italy, described the work of Don Bosco Boys Town to the Rector Major. He identified three elements: responsibility is shared between Salesians and lay people, all who knock at the door are welcomed, and care and attention are given to poor young people.

The Rector Major began his visit by meeting the young people resident at the Centre for Minors and those who come for the morning or evening courses. More than a hundred young people take part in programmes designed to help them to return to fulltime education or in courses for hairdressers, beauticians and electricians.

There is no distinction of race or religion, as can be seen from the presence of some mothers in their typical clothing. The Oratory called a halt to normal activities when Fr Angel arrived.  He listened willingly to their questions and responded. His visit ended with a prayer to Mary. With the Rector Fr Stefano Aspettati and the Provincial Fr Leonardo Mancini, the Rector Major went on to visit the vocational training centre, and then the family home with its ten residents. Finally he met many representatives of the educative community in the spacious chapel.

Once again, Fr Ángel responded to numerous questions relating to several aspects of education and life - youth unemployment, educational commitment, the formation process for educators, and the presence of women in the Salesian mission. Fr Angel repeated several times his gratitude for the good work of Boys Town, a sign that “Don Bosco is still alive and active in our day."

The Rector Major encouraged all involved to continue this mission shared by Salesians and lay people. "This is not an optional matter, but a strategy which cannot be ignored. In the next six years the congregation must endure that this choice becomes a reality." The visit to Don Bosco Boys Town gave the Rector Major an opportunity to emphasize yet again that the future of the Congregation is with marginalized people of all kinds, especially with poor and needy young people. "This is not a risky dream but a reality rooted in our origins: this is what guarantees that we will have a future."

The meeting with the Assembly of the educative community concluded with some young people being commissioned in the educational mandate and then a common prayer. At the end of the evening the Rector Major met with the Salesian community and had supper with them.

Published  20/10/2014