(ANS -Santiago) - Since last Wednesday, September 25, Fr Adriano Bregolin, Vicar of the Rector Major, has been on a visit to Chile, to join the celebrations at the Don Bosco Institute of Punta Arenas. He is representing the Rector Major, Fr Pascual Chávez.

Before reachingPunta Arenas, the Vicar of the Rector Major met the staff of the Salesian Office for Information and outlined the three main reasons for the reconfiguration of the province which will be one of the topics to be discussed at the Provincial Assembly of Chile (2 to 4 October), together with the Salesian Educative Pastoral Plan of the Province (SEPPI) and the Project of Animation and Government (PAG).

First, Fr Bregolin pointed out that at a global level, reconfiguration is already well under way in several provinces, especially in Europe   Itis necessary with a view to renewal.

The reasonsfor this are:

• To improve the quality ofour works, transforming them into real Salesian ‘presences’: "The work is an external structure. It becomes a ‘presence’ when we work with living people, in a Salesian way in accord with our charism."
• We have to make choices: "We do not have sufficient resources to do all the good in the world. We have to choose and decide which are the most important works from the point of view of our apostolic and Salesian vocation. The works are bearing fruit when they are able to generate new vocations to Salesian Family."
• To identifythe needs of the present day: "Think about what are the greatest needs in our countries today, for the benefit of young people. There are new ministries to young university students that we should consider important. We have to work in a new way. We need to identify the areas of poverty where we can help, and know what the spiritual needs of the people are. "

Fr Bregolin concluded by stressing the importance of reflecting carefully, so as not to repeat the same things every year. "History moves onand the Salesian charism has its own dynamic vocation in interpreting reality and responding accordingly. I think the changes in the configuration of the province and its structures should take into consideration this important fact."

Published 30/09/2013