5344(II)_Salesian Family in 2020 - 32 groups with 251,159 members

250 page presentation of the worldwide Salesian Family

By our own correspondent

Sacro Cuore, Rome, 22 March 2020 -- The 'Book of the Family', the long-awaited gift to the 28th General Chapter members, the 2020 edition of the 'Salesian Family' was announced by the Rector Major only few days later after the sudden conclusion of the Chapter at Valdocco. Wonderful layout of 250 pages (Pius XI printing press in Rome), published in 6 languages (Italian, French, English, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish) with numerous photos - makes this publication really a beautiful presentation of the worldwide spiritual and apostolic family of Don Bosco. It is the third edition after the initial one in 1988 and the most recent in the year of 2000.

The Rector Major presents this 'Book of the Family' as a "gratitude to God for the gift of Salesian Family with its charismatic energy for the Universal Church and it is a beautiful opportunity to thank the Spirit of God for having given us our Father Don Bosco because this Family was n.ot born as the fruit of a single human project but of God's initiative." Indeed, with the fast-growing Salesian Family member groups, it is not easy to be aware of the great gift we have received from God for the good of the young and poor people around the world.

Thanks to the members of the Secretariat for the Salesian Family – Fr. Eusebio Muñoz, Fr. Giuseppe Casti, Fr. Jayapalan Raphael, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni and Fr. Joan Lluís Playá – who have committed to this publication, collecting the data. Each SF group is presented along these 5 elements: Founder and origin, History, Identity and Mission, Present Situation and Challenges for the Future.

The editors show a special predilection for the images from our humble EAO region, you may indeed spot in the three distinct parts (Identity Charter of the Salesian Family, presentation of 32 SF groups and contacts with updated statistics of each group) the photos from no fewer than 13/23 countries of our Region: Cambodia, China, Hong Kong - China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.

Among the 32 SF groups, five were born in our Region - SAL (Sisters Announcers of the Lord) in the Apostolic Vicariate of Bishop Versiglia; SIHM (Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary), DQM Secular Institute (Daugthers of the Queenship of Mary) and SQM (Sisters of the Queenship of Mary) in Thailand and the CSJ (Caritas Sisters of Jesus) were born in Japan.

We expect that this precious publication will foster mutual knowledge among the 14 groups of the Salesian Family in our EAO region, especially when translated and published in different languages in our 23 countries. In this way many more young people and lay mission partners can appreciate the vast movement of the Holy Spirit raised through Don Bosco and his Salesians over past 150 years.

• Salesian Family Book Ed. 2020

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