DON MICHAEL RUA, ANOTHER DON BOSCO

A visual display of materials relating to Don Bosco's first successor

Catalogue for the 2010 travelling display

Rome, 2009

PREFACE

A number of initiatives have been publicised for the centenary of Michael Rua's death (1910-2010) aimed at calling to mind Don Bosco's first successor from a number of points of view. Amongst the various displays, one which stands out in particular is the travelling display Don Michael Rua, another Don Bosco organised by ACSSA (Associazione Cultori di Storia Salesiana) aimed at reconstructing the human and institutional story of the figure of Don Rua thanks to the help of pictures and documents: from the time of his his birth until he first came into contact with Don Bosco, from when he lived side by side with Don Bosco, until his long stint as Rector Major where he developed Salesian work in a way that was strongly marked by continuity and freshness.

In putting the display together, efforts have been made especially to highlight his role as an active promoter in everything, of the Salesian Society, the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Salesian Cooperators Association. This fits in with the theme of the 5th International Historical Congress on Salesian Work in Valdocco, Turin: “Don Rua Founder” (28 October - 1 November 2009), which opened the cultural celebrations for the centenary.

Given the possibility for the exposition of showing only a small part of the collection of the available iconography, documents and testimonies, selection criteria were obviously applied in combining unpublished or little known photos, manuscripts, and synoptic tables and graphics on the various panels.

We would like to think that this display will contribute to a better knowledge of the person who is rightly numbered amongst the greatest of “Don Bosco's sons” both for his holiness and his activity alongside and immediately after Don Bosco.

Layout

The display comprises six sections:

1. Biogrpahical features of Don Rua (1-5)

2. Don Rua “with” others (6-10)

3. Salesian education in the 18th and 19th centuries (11-16)

4. Salesian geography of the period (17-22)

5. Some of Don Rua's European journeys (23-24)

6. Death and glorification (25-26)

The display consists of 26 panels printed on light, self-supporting PVC, 90 x 200 cm. The number of panels allows for the display to be set up anywhere: it could be set up under cover, in any kind of available space (halls, classrooms, corridors, common areas...), allowing people to juggle the way things are divided into sections.

The display has an accompanying and complementary DVD and a catalogue-guidebook showing each of the panels with commentary, and offering a life of Blessed Michael Rua. Together they make a useful guide for whoever visits the display, and parts of the video and catalogue will also be useful for whoever is unable to see the display.