1

2 Chapter Documents

3 CONTENTS

4 PRESENTATION 9

5 PRESENTATION

6 The theme: “Da mihi animas, cetera tolle”

7 Method of discernment

8 The people involved

9 The Spirit of the GC26

10 Deliberations regarding the Constitutions and Regulations

11 23 February - 12 April 2008

12 Main priority: poor young people

13 My dear Confreres,

14 Today we bring to an end this Salesian Pentecost. Yes indeed ! This is what the 26th General Chapter was meant to be: a Pentecost, a moment of particular openness to the Spirit of the Lord. The words which Pope Benedict XVI sent us in his message for the opening of our assembly still resonate in our hearts: « The charism of Don Bosco is a gift of the Spirit for all the People of God, but only by docile listening and openness to the action of God is it possible to interpret it and in these times of ours, to make it relevant and fruitful. … Pouring out on the Chapter Members the abundance of his gifts he will enter the hearts of the Confreres. He will make them burn with his love, He will inflame them with the desire for holiness, urge them to open themselves to conversion and strengthen them in their apostolic daring»42 .

15 1. The Chapter event: a short chronicle

16 In fact, this was exactly how we wanted to live the Chapter: under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so that it would be Him to help us to understand better, to bring up-to-date, and to make fruitful the charism of our Founder and Father. During these days we have experienced the action of the Spirit, who inflamed our hearts to make us eloquent and courageous witnesses of the Lord Jesus, to bring to the young the good news of His resurrection and to propose to them the joyful experience of meeting Him.

17 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

18 Charism

19 – Identity (charismatic) of the Salesian, cf. Address of the Rector Major for the opening of the GC26, page 105 (“our DNA”), pages 114-115 (inseparable connection between “charismatic identity” and “apostolic passion”)

20 Church

21 Constitutions

22 Da mihi animas cetera tolle

23 Deliberations of the GC26

24 Don Bosco

25 Education

26 – Evangelisation and education: God’s call (“evangelising by educating and educating by evangelising”), 25; situation, 29; see to a more effective integration of evangelisation and education following the logic of the Preventive System (guideline for action n. 6), 41. 44. 45– Without education there is no long-lasting and profound evangelisation, cf. Letter of the Holy Father for the beginning of the GC26, page 91

27 – We carry out the mission of evangelisation according to the pedagogical charism that is our own (“at one and the same time educators and evangelisers”), cf. Address of the Rector Major at the conclusion of the GC26, pages 139-141

28 Educative Pastoral Community

29 Educative Pastoral Project/Plan

30 Eucharist

31 Europe

32 Evangelical Poverty –

33 Evangelical Poverty, 79-97

34 Evangelisation

35 – We carry out the mission of evangelisation according to the pedagogical charism that is our own (“at one and the same time educators and evangelisers”), cf. Address of the Rector Major at the conclusion of the GC26, pages 139-141

36 Family

37 Formation

38 Inculturation

39 Jesus Christ

40 Laity

41 Management of the works

42 New Frontiers

43 – The “new frontiers”, one of the “keys to interpreting” the GC26, cf. Address of the Rector Major at the conclusion of the GC26, page 141

44 Rector

45 – Respecting the constitutional distinction between the role of the Rector and that of the Economer, 121

46 Salesian Brother and Salesian Cleric

47 Salesian Presences and works

48 Salesian Spirituality

49 Social Communication

50 Solidarity

51 Structures of animation and government of the Congregation

52 Vocational and spiritual accompaniment

53 Witness

54 Word of God

55 Youth