In this year in which the Church devotes the Synod of Bishops to the Young and
their yourney of faith and of vocation I should also like to look at both the
young saints of the Salesian Family, of which there are 45 under 30 years of age –
a sign of the dynamism of the Salesian spirit incarnated in youngsters, teenagers
and young people – and also at the youth of saints as a manifestation of the way
God can act in the lives of people in a variety of the most different ways.
By means of talks of the highest quality, opportunities for sharing ideas in group
work, the aim was achieved of being able to present the material and the
processes that assist in the verification and follow up of any presumed miracles
but above all this gathering has been further confirmation of the fact that the
promotion and the care given to the Causes of Beatificaton and Canonization of
our Family give rise to the dynamics of grace that are the source of evangelical joy
and to the sense of belonging to the charism, renewing resolutions and
commitments to fidelity to the call received and creating apostolic and vocational
fruitfulness.
This seminar – which will have its third edition between 13 and 17 April 2021 –
gives rise to some reflections that involve the General Office of Postulation and
those bodies that are coordinated by it at local level, but also makes some
demands on the Government of the Congregation and on the Departments of
which it is composed, in order to then branch out into the local situations, under
the direction of the Provinces and of the Salesian Family, in accordance with the
local Churches: a process that unfolds with two different timescales or, if you
prefer along two different paths – the institutional and the pastoral – which need
to act in harmony as they give each other support. In this area some challenges
have surfaced that need to be recognised and faced up to:
(1) To continue in the Salesian Family, in communion with the local Churches,
the process of promoting the Causes by means of initiatives to make our
candidates for holiness known, imitated and prayed to. As a challenge I would
like to ask “Do we keep in mind and pray to our Blesseds, Venerables and
Servants of God? Do we have confidence in the communion of saints? Do we
believe in the power of intercession of the saints?”
(2) To coordinate as well as possible the process of “Government” and that of the
Postulation Office it is necessary that for each Cause at local level there are some
people who take on the responsiblity of following up our Causes, keeping them on
track and keeping them alive, and spreading devotion to the Servants of God, the
Venerables, and the Blesseds in commmunion and collaboration with the local
Churches. Vice-postulators, collaborators and promotors need to raise
awareness, inform, and encourage approaches to the local Bishops and superiors.
To keep things moving there is no need to wait quietly for the Bishops to make
their decisions and give recommendations from on high. What is needed is to be
responsible and to awaken a sense of co-responsibility, in a spirit of communion
with the Church and of pastoral creativity. A first initiative could be that of
proposing to/in the local Churches and within the Salesian Family a day on
which to present and make known the findings of the Seminar.
(3) To increase our awareness of the crucial importance of a miracle and the need
for it for the successful outcome of a Cause. In the light of the talks by Card.
