Taken from the website of the Salesian Publishers in Prague
Prague, Czech Republic, 8 February 2023 -- Since the start of Salesian presence in the Czech Republic (1927) there have been some 82 Salesian Brothers. In 2015 the 'Portal' publications released a wonderful collection of their brief life sketches, timeline and respective photographs. At present the Czech-Bulgaria (CEP) province has 11 Salesian Brothers who witness through a large variety of contributions to the Salesian mission and charism: Teacher in technical school, Educator in Youth Centre, Provincial Economer, Historian of the Czech Salesian province, Provincial Secretary, IT professional, Social Communicator or Social Worker.
Through a large collection of living and already departed Salesian Brother profiles shines a wonderful Salesian consecrated life expressed in the not-so-visible or less known way of being a Salesian religious. A striking feature of the collection is the direct first-person narrative of each of the 82 Brothers: "I was born... I felt... I was surprised."
This special publication is the result of painstaking research in the province, in the Salesian Central Archives in Rome (NB: With special gratitude to the late Fr Luigi Cei, SDB) and a passion for the Salesian vocation that will soon celebrate its Centenary in the Czech Republic in 2027.
The 208 pages are really quite interesting reading, with many adventures and stories of young men who followed Jesus with the heart of Don Bosco. The life stories of Salesian Brother - Missionary (Argentina, Ecuador, Hong Kong or Zambia), of their humble but crucial contribution to the Salesian mission shines out in many stories. Probably the most famous Czech Salesian Brother in history was Br Frantisek Hlavac, the first editor of the Czech Salesian Bulletin since 1930.
We pray that this original publication will inspire many more provinces to raise the visibility of the Salesian Brother Vocation through their vocation story-telling, so important in the context of many very clerical Catholic communities around the world.
