(ANS - Turin) – To honour Don Bosco in the manner that he would like, that is, with a gesture that would benefit young people, the Tenth Successor of Don Bosco, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, appealed to entrepreneurs and government agencies, that no later than August 16, 2015, date of the Bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth, 200 new jobs would be set up for young people.

The Rector Major’s appeal came at one of the highpoints of the Bicentenary Year, the national civil commemoration of Don Bosco at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 24 January, the feast of St. Francis de Sales. On that occasion designed to pay homage to Don Bosco and to those who continued his education project for young people, the Rector Major appealed to his listeners to view the current difficult reality from a different perspective: "We talk of crisis because there is no money, but we need to take a broader look."

"We must ask ourselves,” he continued, “what opportunities we want to give our young people. We are responsible for what we decide to offer them, and this is also a political decision. The first challenge for us is to make an effort to understand their world and what they want, because it is easy for older people to be at a distance from young adults. We must offer young people the opportunity to be honest citizens and good Christians. "

Don Bosco was a social Saint, author of the first apprenticeship contract in Italy. He has left his mark all over the world. "He was a man from Piedmont for the whole world,”  said Fr Á.F. Artime. “People everywhere have recognized the value of his educational and social activity. As the Salesian Family we want to be recognized for our love for young people, and among them especially the marginalized, the abandoned, the poorest."

Published 30/01/2015