Letter from Fr Pascual Chávez, Rector Major

My Dear Confreres and Friends of the Salesian Missions,
I greet you with a heart full of joy at the celebration of the Solemnity of Easter, the Feast of mankind par excellence since with the conquering of death it represents a hymn to life, the Feast of Feasts of the Church, which precisely takes it birth from the Resurrection to bear witness to it before the world, the Feast by antonomasia in the Congregation and in the Salesian Family called to bring the young, especially those who are poor and most in need, to the fullness of life in Christ.       

In this Easter setting I am pleased to present to you the missionary theme to be proposed to the whole Congregation in the year 2011, when the 125th anniversary occurs of the fifth missionary dream – the last – which Don Bosco had in Barcelona. The main purpose of this initiative is to give a strong impetus to Salesian missionary voluntary service in all our Provinces. The focus is on the continent of American, where some very significant experiences of voluntary service have been taking place, and which, for 40 years already, have involved thousands of young people. At Valdocco, on the last Sunday of September in the Missionary Expedition which we hold each year, we can see at the side of the  religious many young people who bear witness to the free gift of their lives and their time to the Salesian mission as volunteers.

Salesian missionary day in 2011, which will have as its title “Volunteers to proclaim the Gospel,” gives us a theme of great significance, a subject specifically chosen for Salesian missionary voluntary service. In the DVD, which will follow this letter, you will find described some experiences from three Provinces in America, which show us this apostolic protagonism of the young, tried and tested over the years.

Here then are some reasons which led us to choose this theme:
1. Returning to Don Bosco means also, discovering the most important dynamics of the preventive system, those of the apostolic groups which arose/began in the Valdocco Oratory. After 150 years, these dynamics are present, even though in  a different way, in the various experiences of youth groups; all together they constitute a powerful experience of missionary voluntary service which has developed especially in recent years. Every years hundreds of young volunteers, coming from our centres are sent out to undertake a demanding mission. In voluntary service we find the must authentic expression of the young sent to evangelise, we find a serious faith journey, a visible expression of Salesian youth spirituality.
2. We want to respond to the signs of the times, as the “Project for the six-year period 2008-2014” puts it: ‘To foster the development of voluntary service with a clear Salesian identity paying special attention to formation’ (section YM 4.2); in addition, ‘Accompanying the development of Missionary Voluntary Service – to encourage the setting up missionary groups, circulate information about successful experiences of youth voluntary service (missionary) and encourage its vocational outlet’ (section Missions 2.1.3). The delegates at the last GC26 expressed a strong desire for and commitment to the development in our Provinces  of  experiences of missionary voluntary service. We also find the subject emphasised by international bodies such as ’UNO (World Day of Voluntary Service 2001) and the European Union with the Year of Voluntary Service 2011.
3. The continent of America has been chosen  precisely because it was the first which developed formation and accompaniment programmes for explicitly missionary voluntary service. Some Provinces provide us with a rich tradition of voluntary service on which those Provinces which are just beginning this process can draw. In addition the theme for 2011 SMD is very much in harmony with the Strenna for 2010, through the same  evangelising and vocational dimension. To sum up, we want to offer to the whole Congregation and to the Salesian Family a rich experience though short films and formation material  produced in various Provinces, especially those in America.

My dear friends I encourage you to accept this invitation of mine to contribute to the development of missionary voluntary service in the cause of the Gospel, and for the protagonism of young people in the Salesian mission. I thank you for your generosity and solidarity.

Affectionately in the Crucified and Risen Christ,

Fr. Pascual Chávez Villanueva
Rector Major

Letter from
the Councillor for the Missions
the Councillor for Youth Ministry

We are pleased to jointly offer our warm Easter greetings, with the most sincere good wishes, to all the Salesian confreres confident that the Risen Lord walks with us on the roads of the world. It is a cause for joy to us to introduce the aims of the 24th Salesian Missions Day (SMD).

We hope that through the activities of the SMD 2011, all Provinces can benefit from the missionary enthusiasm of young volunteer missionaries, and the communities that welcome and accompany them in their experience.
 
Following the publication of the manual  “Voluntary Service in the Salesian  Mission" (Fr. Antonio Domenech and Fr. Francis Alencherry, Rome, 2008, SDB) as a result of the 2006-2007 Regional seminars, we want to offer some examples of good practice to encourage us in this field. We hope that the SMD in 2011 will also be in the Provinces a clear indication of that coordination of the Salesian Mission desired by the GC26 (n.115).

What are the objectives of the Salesian Missions Day 2011?
1. First of all it aims at making known and sharing the different models of Salesian missionary voluntary service through some meaningful experiences: testimonies from the volunteers and from the Salesians who train or accompany them in the missions; different experiences of groups and volunteer movements around the world. The focus of 2011 is directed to America - especially the three experiences in Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil  - through the example of model volunteers, like Sean Devereux (+1993 in Somalia), as well as significant steps taken by some Provinces that can inspire all Provinces (cf. the Province of Ecuador since 1968) [communicative aspect].
2. Then its aim is to help in either the improvement in quality of missionary voluntary service or the starting up of the missionary volunteer movement in the Provinces who are just beginning. In the CD for the SMD which accompanies the videos, you will find a wealth of material offered by some thirty Salesian Provinces with their programmers, itineraries, courses and training material for voluntary service: from the planning stage to the evaluation of  its apostolic commitment. SMD aims at encouraging a reflection at Province level regarding our models of the youth situation in voluntary service. [training aspect].
3. It aims also at helping the Salesian communities to be more open both in accepting and sharing their lives with the young volunteers, as well as in promoting voluntary service among our young people; underlining the positive results of voluntary service such as  mutual enrichment as well as vocations and missionary enthusiasm. By sharing some of these experiences  we learn to deepen the  educational and pastoral value of voluntary service, in order to overcome the difficulties which arise in this regard. Recognizing, therefore, that in some missions we could hardly imagine our work without the support of the volunteers.
4. It aims at helping and accompanying  a vocational journey before, during, and after the experience of missionary voluntary service. Vocations which are the results of Salesian missionary voluntary service are becoming more frequent in all continents.  Listening to the observations of the young Salesians who come from this experience helps us to trace the possible paths to be followed in the Provinces who embark on this journey. Voluntary service offers young people a valuable opportunity to be disciples and apostles, to live their lives as a gift to share.
5. It wishes to focus more on the creativity of the Provinces, rather than on financing a specific project as in the previous years. In fact there are many and diverse ways of helping the volunteer programme at the inter-Provincial level, such as, for example, the formation of volunteers. (The guidelines indicated in the materials for the SMS can be of inspiration in this regard).

We conclude by thanking of all the confreres and young volunteers involved in the preparation of materials, especially those who are making a daily contribution to process of missionary voluntary service. As a sign of the close collaboration between the three Departments of / for the Salesian Mission, we thank especially the Department for Social Communication and Don Bosco Media - Eurofilm of Turin because, without their networking, undertaken with dedication, we could not have presented all of this to you.

With our special greetings, imploring the assistance of Mary, the Mother and Help of Christians, for all the young missionaries.

Fr Vàclav Klement,
Councillor for the Missions

Fr Fabio Attard,
Councillor for Youth Ministry