Cagliero 11 ottobre 2014 - ING


Cagliero 11 ottobre 2014 - ING

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Nome società
Titolo n otiziario
Newsletter for Salesian Missionary Animation
A Publication of the Mission Department for the Salesian Communities and Friends of the Salesian Mission
D ear friends of Don Bosco
Missionary!
We are in the missionary
month par excellence in the
Catholic Church. In recent
times we have been involved
in many different missionary
formation courses in Shillong, in Quito and Rome
(Generalate and the Salesian Pontifical University).
An interesting observation: the missionaries who ne-
glect their ongoing formation, become more ignorant,
and at the same time, little by little, their initial zeal,
their "first love" (cf.. Rev. 2, 4) is also extinguished. On
the contrary, the capacity to organise well and gener-
ously one’s time for ongoing formation is a clear indi-
cation of the quality of a missionary. How beautiful it
is to see that many do this in the different Provinces of
the world !
At the same time, this commitment to formation, often
has a high material cost. For example, to study in a
professional way the different languages of the peoples
to whom the missionaries are sent, often involves a
heavy budget. Will there be also missionary solidarity
for this purpose? We hope so!
A better quality of missionary formation: this is another
beautiful gift to offer to our dear Father Don Bosco
during his jubilee year!
Thank you! !
Fr. Guillermo Basañes SDB
Councillor for the Missions
The Rector Major “Not only give, but also
receive more than what you give”
D uring the meeting with the missionaries of the 145th Salesian Missionary Expedition, at the Generalate on
December 9, 2014, the Rector Major emphasised the importance of the missions in the Congregation and
that “our reference will always be the Gospel, the Constitutions and Regulations (...) we must have eyes
always on the origins, on Don Bosco, the first Salesians, the earlier Rector Majors and the early missionaries, be-
cause as always, from the beginning, we are a missionary congregation”.
He stressed: “You are a group of Salesians who have felt a special calling to reach out to others, this tou-
ches the very Salesian roots; and we believe that in the coming years, the Lord will continue to call so many other
confreres for the mission ad gentes”.
On the other hand, he pointed out a central element in understanding the role they play in the mission:
“You are sent to different Provinces not only to give a bit of new air, of strength, and of support; nor with the in-
tention of solving a problem in a Province, but you are sent to proclaim the Gospel to young people and to those
most in need; and when a new brother arrives in a community, he enriches it with one’s knowledge, culture and
vocation”.
He also stressed: “Today to say 'Salesians' means being
among the poorest and the most needy in society; it should
not be just a slogan, but a reality (...) it must be the mission-
ary passion that every Salesian feels to reach out to young
people; so, we need a congregation more close to them, to
the people, to society; this will ensure the continuity of the
charism and the mission.”
And as a final message, the Rector Major focused on
love, commitment and work: “An important aspect is to love
the people who welcome you; sometimes you see confreres
who feel they are colonizers of the place in which they have
arrived, I saw it in Africa, where some missionaries feel like
white Europeans with power (...) Work and Temperance is the
recommendation, and to work does not mean to make and do
things in a hurry; remember that you go not only to give but also to receive, and sometimes even get more than
what you give”.

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My experiences in the postnovitiate led me to
offer myself totally for the missions
M y missionary vocation was born at the novitiate, through a missionary ap-
peal in 2009, However, the experiences during the three years of post-
novitiate, where those which led me to commit myself to the missions. In
the first place, my apostolate in a dangerous slum of Lome in Togo for two years
with the children of migrant fishermen from Ghana; then my summer experiences in
the first year with the street children of Porto Novo in Benin; in the second year
with war refugees in Duekoe in Ivory Coast. These experiences have been strength-
ened by what I experienced in Sierra Leone, where I was sent by my Provincial for a
year of practical training in order to have a missionary experience in view of helping
me discern my missionary vocation. There I was assistant to the aspirants and I had
the opportunity to work among the poor children and youth, the majority of whom
are Muslims, as well as in several areas, such as schools, the oratory and the parish. It was a great experience which
allowed me to experience new forms of pastoral organisations of the English-
speaking world and follow a new rhythm of life different from my French-speaking
origin. The key for me was that during this year I felt really at the service of those
for whom I wanted to offer my life as a missionary. Thus, after that year of dis-
cernment I did not hesitate to ask boldly to be sent to the missions in order to of-
fer myself totally at the service of the young and poor children wherever the con-
gregation will send me to meet them.
It is certainly true that my country and my Province are in need of mission-
aries, but I wanted my “yes” to reach young people and children, wherever I am
deemed worthy to serve them. To me the Course for New Missionaries and the pil-
grimage to the places of origin of our charism has been golden opportunities for
formation, a return to the sources and a preparation for this mission. Thus, imme-
diately after the course I arrived full of enthusiasm in South Sudan in 2013, where I was sent by the Rector Major, Fr
Pascual Chávez.
In this new mission, I have lived poor with the poor because I have lived almost like them without spending
money and by following a simple diet. I lived in situations which I had never imagined and which were very difficult
from the Salesian, Christian, or human point of view. But these experiences have made me mature as a Salesian and
helped me to make some resolutions for the rest of my initial formation and also for my Salesian life.
Cl. Hubert Zoubinu
Togolese, missionary in South Sudan
Witness of salesian missionary sanctity
“Beware of being gloomy. The one who is always frowning, gloomy, shows that , in
his soul or in his nerves, there is something wrong. May joy and happiness never
leave you. You'll have to work amongst people who lead a hard life, you have to
comfort them, make them happy. May your holiness be calm, clear,
happy” (October 22, 1932).
From an address of the Servant of God Cardinal Augusto Hlond (1881-1948),
Salesian and founder of the Society of Christ for Polish Immigrants
Salesian Missionary Intention
For Pastoral work amongst migrants from Latin America
to the United States
That they may discover God’s love through the range of services they receive from the
Salesians and lay people who help those without documents, education, catechesis, and
show solidarity to the hungry and homeless ...
There are more than 40 million people of Latin American origin in the United States and more
than 11 million there without documents and hence with no legal rights. They suffer exploitation
at work and live in precarious circumstances... many Latin American migrants leave the Catholic
Church for want of adequate pastoral accompaniment. In 2011 the Interamerica Region initiated a
Pastoral Project of work for migrants. It sought to develop teamwork amongst Provinces in the
Americas and strengthen the work already carried out in the two US Provinces (SUE e SUO).
All previous issues of “Cagliero 11” are available at purl.org/sdb/sdl/Cagliero