(ANS - Buenos Aires) - The Argentine National Government, through the National Secretariat for Worship, has declared interest in the celebrations that Salesian communities in Argentina are holding during 2015 to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of St. John Bosco. The motto of the celebrations is "Don Bosco, 200 years with you."

The declaration stresses that the aim of the celebrations is to make the figure of Don Bosco better known. He was a man committed to the education and training of children and young people, and the transformation of the social situation of the most vulnerable through education and the teaching of Christian values.

The Secretariat for Worship noted, moreover, that 2015 will also mark the 140th anniversary of the arrival of the first Salesians in Argentina. It acknowledges the good work being done by Salesians and Salesian educators in Argentina at the present time, serving the needy and working for the transformation of the social conditions of the most vulnerable sectors of the community.

In this regard, it said that the Salesians in the country run primary, secondary, agro-technical, industrial and professional schools; job-training centres; residential homes for children; and mission centres. Salesian works involve 745,585 people in about 131 locations in 21 different provinces of Argentina.

The statement encouraged the Salesian communities in Argentina to continue to think of the Bicentenary as an opportunity to raise awareness on the rights and opportunities of disadvantaged young people, beyond the context of their own Salesian works.

Further information is available on the official website of the Bicentenary in Argentina at www.bicentenariodb.org.ar

Published 07/01/2015