(ANS – Buenos Aires) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the community of the San Juan Bosco parish which will be officially inaugurated next Sunday 22 March. The parish will have the pastoral care of the residents of the slum neighbourhoods of La Cárcova, 13 de Julio, Curita and Independencia. The Pope expressed the hope that this parish "will do good to all" and emphasized that it bears the name of the founder of the Salesians, because Don Bosco "worked so much with children and young people."

The Pope writes in his message: "The parish is named after Saint John Bosco, in the bicentenary year of his birth, simply because Don Bosco worked so much with children and young people.  One of the characteristics of this parish will be the number of children and young people. The parish will help them to be integrated, and to lead a happy dignified life, so that they can be happy and have a job and form a family."

"I hope that this parish will do good to all of you. I pray for you, that you may go forward.  I pray for the parish priest, I pray for all who work in the parish. I bless you all, all of you, all who collaborate in the parish, and I ask you to please pray for me," he added.

The priest who has been assigned to the parish, Fr José María "Pepe" Di Paola, is a long time friend of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.  He told theAgencia Católica Argentina" that this is the first “slum parish” dedicated to Don Bosco."

Published 17/03/2015