(ANS – Rome) – Again this year on the occasion of the anniversary of the first Missionary Expedition, the Councillor for the Salesian Missions, Fr Václav Klement, renews the appeal to the Provincials  to contribute to the missionary outreach of the Congregation. The text of his letter follows.

Councilor for the Missions
November, 11 - Orissa, India
Missions -130

Appeal for the 143rd Missionary Expedition

Dear Father Provincial,

On the anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition I invite you to contemplate the missionary heart of Don Bosco. From the courtyard of Valdocco he always dreamt of reaching out to young people around the world to bring them to Jesus. We are invited to understand his vision and his missionary heart if we are to know the full stature of Don Bosco. The more he sent missionaries, more young people asked to join the Salesians!

I believe the Lord is calling many of the 500 novices entering the Congregation each year for a life mission ad gentes - ad extra – ad vitam. At present about 30 Salesians respond generously every year to the call of the Lord: “Go … and make disciples of all nations”! (Mt 28:18-20).

Each of us can help the missionary activity of the Congregation especially through prayer for missionary vocations, communicating the great missionary needs of the universal Church. There are at least 5 billion people, who never met Jesus Christ. This is also an invitation to examine the way we live radically our faith and consecration.
With this letter I send you the list of the urgent needs of the Congregation for 2012, as updated by the Rector Major.

There are a few steps to follow for missionaries ad gentes which are meant to help the confreres to discern well the missionary vocation within the Salesian vocation: (1) missionary formation, (2) an initial discernment (http:// tinyurl.com/5wzjsqf), after which a written application is sent to the Rector Major. Each candidate makes himself totally available to the Congregation, however, one may express his preference or concrete predisposition for a specific mission territory, (3) the discernment process concludes with a dialogue between the Councilor for the Missions and the Provincial of the confrere, (4) After a positive outcome of the discernment process, the Rector Major assigns the candidate to a specific destination, (5) All new missionaries are invited for the Course for New Missionaries (Rome-Turin) in September 2012, (6) the 143th missionary expedition will take place in Valdocco, presided by the Rector Major, on September 29, 2012.

To facilitate a good discernment I invite you to send me the applications or directly to the Rector Major as soon as possible (before January 31, 2012).

I entrust this appeal for missionary generosity for 2012 to Mary, at Muniguda in Orissa (India), where recently many of our brothers and sisters bore witness to their faith in Jesus Christ with their martyrdom.

Fr. Václav Klement, SDB
Councilor for the Missions

The list of the urgent needs of the Congregation for 2012, to which Fr Klement refers, can be seen on the sdb.org site on the page of the missionary magazine “Cagliero 11”.

Published 11/11/2011