(ANS – Rome) – To coincide with November 11th , the Anniversary of the start of the first missionary expedition of 1875, the Councillor for the Missions, Fr Václav Klement launches an appeal for the 144th Salesian Missionary Expedition that  will depart, traditionally from the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians on September 29th , 2013. On the site sdb.org there is a list of places that require Salesian missionaries, educators and evangelizers.

The appeal, in fact, is a letter sent to the Superiors of the Provinces and Vice-Provinces of the Congregation for the date of 11th November, in remembrance of that day of 1875 which was marked, with the delivery of the crucifix by Don Bosco to the first group of Salesians, starting the missionary adventure of the Congregation.

The Councillor for the Missions recalls that "The deep missionary motivation cannot be other than a profound faith in Jesus Christ that urges one to follow, in a more radical way, wherever the Lord wishes to lead one to serve him. It is also the expression of the passion to share the experience of fullness of life in Christ. For us Salesians, the missionary option is also an expression of joy and enthusiasm in living our Salesian vocation. It is in this light that I invite you to respond generously to the Lord's call to proclaim ad gentes – ad exteros – ad vitam: ' Go into the whole world! ' (Mt -20 28.18) ".

To help the superiors of Vice-Provinces and the Salesians eager to be missionaries, to discern for a missionary option ad gentes, Fr Klement recalls the importance of a correct discernment of a choice that is, by its nature, vocational. The next step is to communicate the availability of those interested in missions to the Councillor or to the Rector Major possibly by next January 31st . "Each candidate puts himself totally at the disposition of the Rector Major according to the needs of the Congregation. He can, however, express his preference or concrete arrangements for a specific missionary territory ".

The Sdb.org website also provides a list of the various places that require new missionaries, a map that contains the needs that come from all continents, including Europe and for which reason the Salesian Congregation has undertaken from 2009, the Project Europe, after a course of study and analysis. The list contains some information such as the languages needed, the description and characteristics of the work and of the environment in which it is located and the qualities required for the missionaries.

Published 12/11/2012