By Fr. Alfred Maravilla SDB
General Councillor for Missions
Rome, Sede Centrale, 18 December 2021 -- On 18 December 1859, 162 years ago today, with 17 members, Don Bosco founded our Congregation with the name of "Pious Society of St. Francis de Sales". Since that distant 1859 our Society has not ceased to spread throughout the five continents, with a clear educational charism towards the most disadvantaged youth and a missionary spirit and commitment without geographical limits.
For this reason he accepted the proposal of the Missions Sector to address his annual invitation for missionaries to all the confreres in all the Provinces of the world today, instead of the traditional 8 December. He takes this occasion to point out that the missionary spirit and commitment are essential elements of Don Bosco’s charism.
Fr Angel Fernandez Artime reminds us that our missionary commitment has contributed greatly to the spread of the Congregation in 136 countries on all five continents with 14,500 members. He points out that commemoration of the centenary of the death of Fr Paul Albera underlines that one of the characteristics of his service as Rector Major was his commitment to the missions, which he considered essential to the charism of Don Bosco.
Therefore, he invites all the confreres to make a careful discernment and to put themselves at the disposal of the Rector Major for the 153rd missionary expedition that will take place, God willing, on Sunday 26th September 2022, in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco, as it has been done since the time of Don Bosco.
He also encourages the Provincials to be the first to help the confreres to cultivate the missionary desire in their lives and to facilitate their discernment.
